Bernskiold Learning » Online Training

NAPP

Erik Bernskiold — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:33:29 +0000

Before you even begin reading any further this is my disclaimer about this review. I don’t get any kickbacks at all or anything like that for saying that I like NAPP etc. I’m just a very happy NAPP member and my thoughts here in this review are not influenced by any kickbacks or similar!

Now that that is out of the way we can begin talking. NAPP, short for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, is perhaps the leading association for Photoshop users worldwide with more than 70,000 members around the globe. They also hold the semi-annual convention, Photoshop World as well as produce a large load of tutorials and training materials for their members as well as DVDs and books.

Right up front I should say that I’m a happy NAPP member and that I really like their way of teching things and the benefits I feel I get from being a member of the association. For me it is not as much about learning as it is with sharing with the load of other users that get together on the private member forums. Now of course the training is great and at a very high-quality as with what you’d expect.

For tha annual membership fee of $99 (US members) you get a whole lot. You of course get access to the members only website with loads of tutorials and product reviews but you also get discounts on a lot of software, hardware, hotels and more. As if it wasn’t it you also get access to the member forums, the magazine Photoshop User in your letterbox as well as the best customer serivce and help that you’ve ever experienced. Seriously, other companies should take notice and learn!

Would there be any downsides or reasons not to become a NAPP member? No. I wouldn’t say there is actually. Being a NAPP member is great and being apart of the very large community that is NAPP is just a bigger bonus as well apart from the tutorials. If you ever have a question about photoshop or similar, you know you can ask the helpdesk or the forums and get many brilliant answers.

From: NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals)
Website: www.photoshopuser.com
Price: $99/year (US members)
For: Every Photoshop user out there!

HOT PICK!

Lynda Online Training

Erik Bernskiold — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:32:43 +0000

Lynda.com offers perhaps one of the largest stock of tutorials in their system on almost any larger piece of software you can find. The tutorials are by many world-class trainers and recorded in Lynda’s own high-quality studios.

The quality of the training videos offered by Lynda is great with high-resolution videos and good crisp audio that will not disappoint you. There are videos with not so high-resolution videos, and less good audio but it is acceptable seeing as they have been doing training videos over such a long time, that they cannot redo the older classes to the new standards of today.

One disadvantage to the services is that the tutorials do not come with the practice files, unless you have their premiere account which can be bought at a substantially increased cost from the base price at $25/month.

So how does Lynda stand up against the previously reviewed Kelby Training? Well, it is not really a fair comparision, seeing as Lynda is out to and hosts tutorials for a ton of more programs where Kelby Training on the other hand, focuses more on the Adobe products and photography. I’m more a fan of the video and audio quality over at Kelby Training but they are a newer addition to the business, where Lynda has been in it longer and obviously have a lot of lower quality files from older times.

If you are out to learn a program from the ground, or polishing your knowledge, Lynda is a great asset for you boosting loads of tutorials that you can be watching from just $25/month and for that price, you can’t really go wrong.

Kelby Training’s Online Training Review

Erik Bernskiold — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:31:17 +0000

When Kelby Training launched their new online training system to replace their old there was a lot of fuss over it and it was praised from all angles because it was a great improvement over the new system they had, that’s for sure. In this review we are going to look at how it actually works and if it is worth it.

How does it work?

So how does it work then? Well you sign up for either a year or a month and you will get access to all of their online courses from the major names in the business today (such as Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, Matt Kloskowski, Corey Barker, Moose Peterson, Katrin Eisman, Dan Margulis and more) and it is not just courses on photoshop but all of the adobe products, photography, colour management and a lot more as well and more coming!

How are the courses?

The courses work as they advertise and they have the high-quality you’d expect. The fact that you get the sample files and info documents available for download with the subscription is a bonus over the other similar sites like Lynda.com where you need to purchase another subscription to get the files. The files stream relatively fast and after having some troubles in the beginning I have talked to one of their IT guys and they’ve assured that they are working on new solutions all the time to improve the streaming of the videos as well and right now it works good. Now onto the course quality, they too are of a very high-quality with crystal clear audio and video that you indeed would expect for a paid service. If you are expecting the photography classes to be all computer slideshow stuff, then you are absolutely wrong! They have sent a camera team to film the courses live on the locations needed, for example they sent a camera crew with Moose Peterson to do one of the landscape classes and they also are of very high-quality.

What’s the variety of the classes like?

It is mostly Photoshop based but with tutorials in the other Adobe programs as well and also photography and colour management with more promised to come. There are also an ACE Boot Camp class to help you prepare for the Adobe ACE Exam. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the class variety and how many there are if you are out to learn Photoshop or the other Adobe applications, however if you are looking for other applications, you should look elsewhere.

Verdict

If you want to learn Photoshop, Photography or any of the other Adobe applications this is the place you should be looking about since they cover their subjects very well with new classes rolling out all the time. The classes cover the techniques so you really do understand them and they also explain the quick tricks to help you work faster as you are doing the classes, so you pick up tricks in the techniques as well. I hope they don’t venture into too many programs but keep up the high-quality and in-depth classes on fewer subjects. With some of the worlds best instructors doing classes for them, they are really in for a hit and you as a student in a class should learn a lot!

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Professional Portrait Retouching Class by Scott Kelby

Erik Bernskiold — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:05:40 +0000

Today on Kelby Training a brand new class (like most weeks) are launched. This time however it is an amazing class by an amazing man. Scott Kelby is launching his brand new online class called Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques. It’s going to teach you the best ways to retouch your portraits, without making them look unreal or overdone. It’s all the real retouching stuff used by professionals worldwide every day. After the jump you can see a promotional video that Scott did for the class where he himself explains what is covered.

Training News

Erik Bernskiold — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:54:15 +0000

Wedding Photography with David Ziser – 15 ways to improve on-camera flash

David Ziser has now a brand new online class over at KelbyTraining.com on improving on-camera flash for wedding photography. The official class title is "15 ways to make Your On-Camera Flash Take Better Photos" and what you’ll be learning is to take better flash photos, with your flash on the camera, which could be very useful for anyone who has got a flash and are mainly using it on the camera, or if you are looking to get one and want to know what you can do up-front. So go over to the class at KelbyTraining.com.

Photoshop Elements 6 for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski is out!

The brand new book, "Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers" co-authored by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski is now on its way to the bookstores. The book deals with all the new things now in the new version of Photoshop Elements and they have added a lot of new chapters for example a big one about Camera Raw handling using PSE 6. You can be one of the first who gets the book by ordering it at Amazon.com or Barnes&Nobles.com.

Creative Suite Tips & Tricks on its way to relaunch!

Yes, you read that right, after some time being down due to bandwidth trouble and hosting trouble, the Creative Suite Tips and Tricks podcast will be brought back at the end of this week (alas a new episode coming next monday). It’s going to have a complete redesign and you’ll be seeing a lot of new and improved stuff there. On the track, I have an episode plan that is spanning a good 12 weeks or so into the future. Just keep reading here to perhaps get a little sneak peak on the new look and episodes

I think that about it rounds off the training news right now so again, stay tuned for all the cool stuff. Oh and also, I updated the reviews section with a couple of new reviews this weekend.