Photoshop skills...
 

As a wise man recently pointed out, my Photoshop skills are non-existent.

So what are my options for getting some rudimentary skills in this area? For example I'd like to be better at grafting Kevy's face on to all matter of photos.

I don't have a copy of Photoshop handy, what would be a cheap way to do this? Is there a freeware app that I should look at, would I have to purchase Photoshop elements, or something more?

Bring out the Gimp

Or GimpShop which adds a skin to make the interface more like Photoshop

Hummm this note on the front page of their website is not overly reassuring:

a few alternatives to Photoshop

while Ive not tried any of them, they dont look terrible. YMMV

For simple thing I use fotoflexer online at the office because the MS Office photo editor is crap.

For a less expensive editor, I've used Paint Shop Pro for years. It's pretty powerful and costs a fraction of what a full version of Photoshop will be. Reminds me, I should upgrade, I'm way behind...

Simple. That sounds like me. I'll give FotoFlexer a try. Thanks.

I don't use Photoshop. I use a combination of Lightroom and Capture NX2.

The easiest way to get skillz is to google that sh1t. There are tons of tutorials out there, from blogs to message boards to slideshows to full helpful videos. I haven't taken a single class. I just search "photoshop how to..."

I can offer advice too, if the WWWebs aren't helping.

Sometimes the opinions of a few friends is more interesting than the uber consciousness of the Google hive mind.

But yes, now that they have helped narrow down the field of available options to a more manageable level I will toss a bit of Google-Foo at the issue.