Teach Yourself Photoshop
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Price £11.99/ Available for iPad
Teach Yourself Photoshop does what it says on the tin. Less interactive and very much video tutorial-based, the app is far more accessible than a DVD approach because it can run right alongside your computer on an iPad while you imitate processes onscreen.
It's even possible to download the images used in the tutorial to your computer (not to the tablet, however, because the Zip format isn't compatible) in order to feel more immersed in the editing processes taking place.
With 10 main categories each broken down into six videos (that's 60 videos and hours of tuition) the bite-sized chunks are easy to digest and it's simple to pause or rewind sections to pinpoint specific frames, should you ever need a quick refresher.
George Cairns' narration is clear, easy to follow and never patronising. He talks through the basics at a Photoshop Elements level, to raw processing in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), up to more advanced techniques in the latest Photoshop CS5.
Full topic titles include Photo Editing Basics, Getting Started With Raw, Improve Exposure, Master Selections, Get To Grips With Layers, Retouch Your Photos, Solve Common Problems, Black and White Made Easy, Digital Darkroom Effects and Organising Your Images.
Verdict
The videos show good quality reproductions of the Adobe software, although the occasional cutaway does look over-compressed from time to time.
If you want a taster of what the app is like, then the first chapter of videos are available online to give you an idea of what's on offer.
We like it, but there are more interactive approaches available elsewhere – this is more DVD-like than other apps.
