New to PS Elements user

[kowal]

I have just purchased a copy of PS Elements 3.0.
I find the program very confusing.......could anyone please point me in the direction of some online resources for Newbies?

I am also interested in creating double portrait photos.....like main photo and second photo in background......like you see in many studio portraits....school pics, etc.

thank you
Leo

[haikai]

there are many ways to do everything in PS. it would be difficult to describe how to go about doing your double portrait thing- it sounds like you're new to photoshop so it might not be helpful to spout off a bunch of instructions that might not make sense.

i believe lynda.com may interest you (i think there may be some video tutorials there too). as far as online resources go, it's hard to say because most are pretty specific in the task they are trying to teach.

i know it's tempting to skip the basics, but you'll be able to tackle just about any problem once you know them so i'd recommend investing in a decent photoshop book. having a book on hand has always been a lot more convenient for me (and is something you can take around and read at your leisure).

since you bought the program, i'd hate to hear that you've gotten frustrated with it and never use it, but it's all pretty simple once you learn the interface and the basics of digital images.

best of luck,
-hai

[SamuraiJack]

I will second the opinion that you need a good book. I use Elements 3.0 and Photoshop CS extensively for art and photo enhancement. I'm not quite sure what I would have done when I was first learning with out some decent books.

I highly recommend The Photoshop Elements 3 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby. It's a $35 book from Barnes and Nobel, but you can get it on Amazon.com for $23 plus shipping. It covers all the basics of the program plus goes into more advanced techniques on photo editing. It also has a section on combining photos that you were asking about. All the pages are in full color with professional photos and step by step instructions. Again, I highly recommend it if you are new to Elements 3.0 and want to learn it.

Here is the link so you can check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0321269055/qid=1112916330/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-8366448-4914563?v=glance&s=books

Hope that helps you out. I'm quite sure it would fit your needs very well and is easily affordable.

Wes