What is the best way to learn Adobe Photoshop?
Here's my learning process. It has started more than decade ago, yet I still remember it like it was yesterday.I first gathered a basic knowledge about interface and keyboard shortcuts so I can navigate quickly in Photoshop.Then I watched some essential video tutorials (newbie level).After some time, I felt like I'm ready to take any freelance job in PS. Big mistake.I got a very well paid assignment, but I got stuck at some point and I had no idea how to cope with the problem in PS.Time for panic. I quickly searched for a help. I spent all night watching tutorials, most of them useless, but finally found the solution. This is what I call "thrown in water" approach. You need to learn how to swim otherwise you drown. In this case you only lose money and maybe earn yourself a negative review.From that moment, I only chose tutorials made by experts in a given area. Do you want a retouching tutorial? Find a professional photographer and retoucher that offers a tutorial on retouching. Need to learn digital painting? Find digital artist who offers a digital painting tutorial.Good thing with sites like Lynda is that you can find a tutorial on every topic. The problem is that they fabricate such examples, so they can show all tools/techniques at once. This is not how it happens in real life. It is pretty much like schools, which fail to prepare students for real life because they on focus on artificial situations.To give you a few good learning resources. Try:Deviantart - obviously, because this is the place where artists gather and chances are you will find a good tutorial PhotoshopTutorials - excellent tutorials about retouching, photomanipulation and color gradingGoogle - to find a good tutorial, first find an expert in a given area. See if he or she offers online courses or workshops.
What is the meaning of "straight" photography?
well, you should specify you question , it is not clear enough . from the word "straight" we can imply different meaning : vertical & frank there are bunch of photographer that like to take a photo from vertical object & they use vertical line & composition in their photography . also there is another meaning in modern photography about pure photography : Pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of technique, composition or idea, derivative of any other art form. & Definition of Straight photography refers to photography that attempts to depict a scene as realistically and objectively as permitted by the medium, forsaking the use of manipulation both pre-exposure (e.g., filters, lens coatings, soft focus) and post-exposure (e.g., unusual developing and printing methods). For more info: http://www.josephlafferty.com/straight_ph_d.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_photography http://onheliography.com/2011/03/06/straight-photography-in-the-age-of-digital-manipulation/ Also you can go to Corbis .com & search Straight photography there… It gives you good example. In addition you can take a look at “Group f/64” work too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_f/64 I hope that I’ve helped.
Do you think 3D modeling is really that easy ? And does it pay decent ?
Hi, I'm 3d modeler myself. First of all, I disagree completely of it being easier. You can not compare 2 totally different fields in terms of difficulty level, both have different challenges. Yes you won't be a billionnaire by doing 3d modeling alone. If you want lots and lots of money, go for business related fields, or real estate. Having said that I can tell you, that when you're in senior/ supervisor level you can expect around US$ 15,000 a month maybe 20 (in a rather big company). I know few people more senior than me, probably age 30+. Are getting paid that much. The thing is, they are pretty darn good. Recently I've been noticing that some really good character modelers have been going freelance. I've been questioning what's the reason they do this, because it's not hard at all for them to find full time job, but they don't. I am strongly suspecting that it's because they can get more pay by doing freelance (and of course provided that they know people by their previous experiences so they can get good freelance commissioned jobs). I'm not pulling this off thin air. Have a look at this site: http://www.katsbits.com/articles/how-much-should-i-charge-for-freelance-3d-modeling-work.php judging by the price guide listed there, a high quality fully textured hi poly character they can charge perhaps at least 10,000 dollars or perhaps even more. A fast character modeler can make maybe 3 characters a month. This is based on for example, Alessandro Baldaserroni (Blur Studio) has said that he does 1 character (model-texture) in 2 weeks, I'm guessing a thats a rather normal paced work for him, i believe he can do more if he wants to. Now of course everything is good if you have sufficient skills. I'm a strong believer that when you are skillful enough in whatever fields you are, you gonna make a decent amount of money, more than enough to make you happy because not only earning money, you are actually doing something you are passionate about and that really matters! Best of luck! and always2 keep being inspired and be kind to other people, that will get you far!
What are the best ways to become financially set?
Get a good job. :)
What else can I do while doing btech?
Lots of stuff. Btech is a degree. While degree is obviously important, you can do work on developing skills. Here are few things that you many want to do:1) Learn to communicate effectively.2)Learn Mircosoft Excel. It will help you more that you can imagine now. And it is not just about tabulated data.3)Get certified in a software that is related to your long term goals.4)Give some time to social service.5)Get into habit of reading books.6) Learn to cook food. It helps and saves you money in long run.7)Work on projects and research papers.8)Go for internship.9)Travel.10)Learn some other international language.11)Take course from fields other than yours. Learn coding if your are mech/electrical/electronics person. The list can be endless. Basically, do stuff that adds value to your profile. In long run, it will help immensely.