Why I Never Warmed Up to Photoshop

I can do three things in Photoshop without help. I’ve done more, but I tend to forget the actual steps, sending me back to the help menu in a loop of frustration. So in the end, it feels like I’ve never done them before. It’s software amnesia.

For the longest time, there was only Photoshop (no Lightroom, Aperture, Capture One Pro, or Photos). And I feared that I would never become a photographer because of it. If the road to success runs through this application, I’d better start working on a backup plan. (Maybe a writer… Nah!)

Photographers who liked Photoshop suggested that I take a class to help me overcome my difficulties. Those sessions always went the same. At first, things looked promising. I would sit there and watch the instructor breeze through the steps of creating layers and refining masks.

“That doesn’t look bad,” I thought. “I can do that.”

Later that night, I would open my computer and try to repeat those steps. I was lost by the third one. It was like waking up from a dream, swearing that I’d remember all the details the next morning, only to have them vaporize before my very eyes.

Thankfully, others had the same problem. (I don’t wish bad on them. It’s just, well, you know.)