The Real Photoshop Course

Learn Photoshop the right way.

Anyone could create a great image with Photoshop. You don’t need me for that. But, how long might it take? Few can achieve the quality results they or their employers or customers desire in only 5 Minutes or less. Time is money. It ought to be YOUR money. I ask photographers and photo-editors, “How long would you estimate it will take to create this or that,” they quote 4 hours to 2 weeks. Hey, If it’s more than 5 minutes, you’re working too hard. Join us, and start ramping-up your profitability and skill!

What Students are saying:

“It was the best 2 hours I’ve spent in education. I learned more from your class than in 14 weeks at University.”

—Jack Hunter, New Yorker Magazine cover artist.

This course is not a boring tool-by-tool explanation. Rather, it is a compilation of what Rick’s clients (over the past 34 years) say they wish they’d learned about Photoshop from the start. There is no substitute for saving time while increasing your quality! All skill levels will learn from this 30+ year Master of Photoshop.

Week 1—The Right Beginning: Selections are Stencils

In week one, Rick eases into a foundation for accomplishing the most difficult and time-consuming tasks in all of Photoshop. We set the stage for future expertise.
Selection shortcuts no one knows
Objects vs. Pixels on canvas, and how to “jump” or isolate photoshop subjects.
Intro to Channels and Masks
Intro to “Non-Destructive Image Editing”
Smart Objects,
Adobe Camera Raw vs. Photoshop’s Camera Raw Filter

Week 2—Layer Masks, Blend Modes, and custom brushes

Layer Masks for Creative Effects
“Lights On, Lights Off”
“Bridge is Married to Photoshop”
Creating a “Watermark”
5 shortcuts for custom “Fills”
Making History – and controlling it.

Week 3—Accurate Color & Sharpening Images

RGB/CMYK/L*a*b*—How L*a*b* makes accurate color a breeze.
How “Editing in CMYK Mode” destroys your images
Accurate Color Settings per output device/substrate/paper combination
A Crash Course in Color Management
Don’t lose the 8% of your customer base due to this color issue (free money on the table here!)
Set accurate color globally with one click for all Adobe Creative Cloud apps—except for the one “Rebel.”
Photoshop’s “Glitter & Glue” technique is a marvel!

Week 4—The Holy Grail—Cutting images from their backgrounds

Cutting Images out of Backgrounds—in 5 minutes or less
The “Hair Trick”
Advanced Channels
Combining Channels
Make a custom “Hair Brush”
Make a Stencil or mask from any photograph

Weekly, you’ll have direct access to Rick, his critiques of your work, assignments, and questions, to which he will respond individually via a recorded YouTube video—just for you. His analogies alone are worth the price of admission, and will really help you to remember the key concepts.

Course Requirements

This course is for photographers of all levels. You must have Adobe Photoshop.

Instructor: Rick Burress

Rick Burress has consulted and taught professional photographers for over 30 years. His work has appeared in the award-winning Arizona Highways Magazine, and is a published author and consultant.

What students are saying about Rick:
“I just finished The Real Photoshop Course with you and I just wanted to let you know that this is a great course. I’m a newbie to Photoshop and like others it can be some what intimidating. (it was for me LOL) You really made it easy to understand and you help too ease the fear of using certain functions in Photoshop. Absolutely love this course.!!!

I would highly recommend this course to all who either struggle or feel intimated by Photoshop. Your enthusiasm and love to teach others makes learning easy. Looking forward to seeing more of you as part of the BPSOP family.” – John O’Brien

“Okay, now I just want to say “Thank You!” You are awesome. I am learning so much. Thank you for the clarity you have provided. I knew right what you were talking about when you discussed color space and printing mediums. You cleaned things up so nice. You are, dare I say it?, a genius! (Now don’t go photoshopping your head real big!)

Thank you again for sharing your vast knowledge with us and providing it in an understandable fun way.
Excited to be learning so much.” – Dave

“Just finished the Real Photoshop Course and Ricks teaching style is superb. I only used photoshop to remove some wires in a shot but know I have learned so much in four weeks. I just saw the announcement for the Bridge course, on my list for my next course. Rick is a wonderful asset to BPSOP. Great job!” – Al Fox

“My head is exploding! You taught me so many great Photoshop techniques in this PShop in 5 minutes course. I have lots of tips to practice and try to master. You have spawned many creative ideas in my head to apply them to. Your explanations of complex techniques were so clear and simplified that even my aged brain could follow. (Although rewinds helped.)

Your critiques were positive and encouraging. I look forward to more Rick Burress lessons in the future.” – Bob Gilmartin

“The Real Photoshop Course clears the air of technical smoke and jargon and gets you producing some amazing art right from the get-go as you enter the fantastic jungle that is Photoshop. Rick’s teaching style ensures that you will never again be intimidated by the Layers Panel, which is at the heart of working in Photoshop. Not only did we get four amazing Lesson videos, numerous bonus videos hit on specifics, and Rick’s extensive video critiques of our work were invaluable. And best of all, if it takes longer than five minutes you’re working too hard! Highly recommended!” – Fred Nenninger

“We truly enjoyed your class. You are a gifted teacher. We learned a great deal and had fun doing it. We are excited about the prospect of you offering more courses through Bryan’s organizations. We look forward to learning more from you! – Sanford & Jerry

‘Thank You’ for the awesome Photoshop course! The course had some great content and you taught us some really cool tricks. Enjoyed your lessons a lot! – Zita

“Don here. Been a BPSOP student for a number of years but I have to say I’m really impressed with Rick’s teaching techniques. I really enjoyed his PS class and learned a lot. Bridge looks like a real savior when it comes to file transfer and organization.” – Don Checots

“Thank you for this class! It has been eye openingly, jaw droppingly, COOL!

And my friends who have a commercial graphics degree like me, but have been actually using it as a job for the last 25 years don’t know any of it!

One of them has retouched for 20 years, goes to photoshop world every year, and has never used a channel!

How has this thousand times easier way to cut stuff out of the background not been taught?

So again thank you so much for teaching me new skills I can use and pass on! – Suzanne Newlin

“Rick, I absolutely loved this class. You are a great teacher, you break things down simply without “dumbing it”. I appreciated that. You were very responsive to my many questions – sainthood for patience is in your future! Your discussion and recommendations on settings within PS are so helpful! My experience in Photoshop has been very limited up to this class. At times I cried, tears of frustration when listening to the videos I thought I would never get it, quickly followed by tears of joy when I actually followed along, trying your tricks! You have given me a much better appreciation for just how mighty the beast of Photoshop is – if Bridge is it’s bride, it should be dubbed Beauty & the Beast!” – Teri Craven

What a wonderful and thrilling adventure attending your excellent “Real Photoshop Course” was!! This was such a challenge and I know it isn’t over yet, since I am off to rewind all your great and helpful Bonus Videos again and again for sure! I love the way you teach and how patiently you repeat all the facts again and again – this has been very helpful!

You are the real master in Photoshop and know all the tricks that probably many Photographers never heard of! Your kindness and knowledge is overwhelming and you are so gifted in your teaching! Thank you very much again for the generous transmission of all these in PS hidden gems that will make editing easier and also less complicated for your students!

I so hope you will teach further in BPSOP and I will keep up about more courses by you in the future for sure!

I learned so much during this course! Thank you so much Rick, you are brilliant! I will recommend this course as well as your course about editing in Camera Raw at You Keep Shooting for sure! – Severine Blaise

Having purchased many editing classes (completely self taught with Photoshop) I never got past the first ten minutes of instruction. Instructors either weren’t clear, went too quickly or just jumped in at a point that I could never understand. Not so with Rick Burress’ classes. He only offers three classes and I have taken them all. Wish I had found his classes a long time ago and Bryan Peterson’s School of Photography. Learned so much so quickly, I am now excited to continue my photographic journey and continue to learn in this kind and supportive environment!

I wanted to express my appreciation for your kind and relaxed method of teaching. But it does go quickly! I had points I had to pause after a few seconds and try what you were talking about! lol Since my son has spent the past four years teaching I have a new appreciation for instructors and how hard their jobs are. The great ones inspire. You are one of the great ones!

Thanks for a very informative and enjoyable learning experience. – Michele

I am primarily a Lightroom user, as Ive found Photoshop difficult to learn, and even more complicated after I’ve taken multiple courses. Thank you for your simplicity; already, I’ve learned years’ worth of explanations, and have had several lightbulb moments that would have saved me countless hours in previous editing efforts. – Deborah Sutton

I just wanted to send you an email saying how much I got out of your “The Real Photoshop Course”. I have been using Photoshop for several years and felt pretty comfortable using it. I was amazed at how many new techniques I learned by taking this class. Besides the main course videos, I found the bonus videos and the weekly Q&A videos to be very informative. For example, in the last Q&A video you showed me how to fix a halo problem by using different Blend Modes with the Clone tool . I had never considered using different Blend Modes with that tool. This was an extremely valuable tip.

Thanks again and I hope that we cross paths again soon,

Bob Rosenbladt

This video caps off the best course I’ve ever done at BPSOP and before that, at PPSOP.

It has filled in many of the glaring gaps in my Photoshop understanding, though as I am of ‘mature years’ I shall need to refer frequently to the lessons and generous bonus videos. I am eager to begin tomorrow Rick’s Bridge course!

Rick is a superb teacher for an on-line course and I’m guessing he would be just as good in a face-to-face class. He explains tricky concepts—and there are so many in Photoshop—with neat analogies: stencils, glue—and has paced his course to build on earlier lessons without obvious irksome repetition. His presentation is very immediate—he is always on-screen, humorous, quirky and kind. I say ‘quirky’ because he has a cute habit of appearing in the opposite corner of the screen, or half-filling the screen when he wants to hammer home a point. His well modulated voice and eye contact assure the student that he is addressing them directly.

In BPSOP’s stable of stellar teachers, Rick is a winner.

Thank you Rick, for presenting the course I’d been wishing for!”

Anne Forbes

Rick, You make learning easy. You care about your students learning. I spent 37 years in public education (teaching elementary school, teaching teachers for Georgia State University, and public school administration. I know an excellent teacher when I see one. You are definitely one of the best.

Dorothy Rothbart

To Learn more about how our courses work please visit: Course Info

“I just wanted to thank you for another wonderful class. I have to confess that each week when I read the new assignment, my first reaction was mild panic and a deep certainty that I would not be able to produce anything worthwhile that fit within the parameters you had set. But before I knew it, the ideas started to flow, and I quickly became obsessed (no, that isn’t too strong a word!) with exploring the possibilities. I can honestly say that the photos I produced in response to your assignments are among my favorites. Thanks for bringing out a creative side I didn’t know I had!”

Barbara Geiger
Understanding Color

“Thank you so very much for this course! It’s allowed me to take the blinders off and present my images for what I want them to be without being a slave to the “reality” of the camera. I would also add that in conjunction with your printing course, this has been the most useful course I’ve ever taken. Your notes are more than comprehensive and your comments and critiques are direct, clear, and always directed to the improvement of the art.”

Bill
After the click

” I want to thank you for this class and for your patience and availability to answer all of my questions. I have learned very much through this class. I have used LR in the past, but mostly for editing images. I now have a better grasp in the organization of my images, an even better understanding of editing images, and an understanding of the value of presets. I still have a lot to learn, but this has put me on the road to be able to improve my photography. Again, thank you! ”

Dale Yates
Lightroom Quickstart

Classes Starting Soon!