how do I get photos to work space from computer files?

[Jerry Staats]

Iam brand new to photoshop and want to start with my photos .How do i select the photos photo from the computer files? Iam using High Sierra operating system.

[Abambo]

Do you have Photoshop, (Photoshop) Lightroom or Photoshop Elements?

In Photoshop you do "file open".

In Lightroom, you need to "import" photos (into the Lightroom database). To add to the confusion, we now have Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC. Lightroom CC transfers your photos to the cloud, Lr Classic uses local storage.

For Photoshop Elements, I assume that there is also an import operation to do.

For more information, you will need to give more detail on the product you use, but also on how you organized your photos for now.

[Jerry Staats]

Thank you Abambo I just installed Photoshop CC along with LR Classic CC using the $9.99 a month for A year.

[Jerry Staats]

Abambo the way my photos are organized is First move from a SD or SQD card placing the photos on the desk top by drag and drop, then I create a new sub file in the MY LR photos by drag and drop from the the desk top, then I import to LR 6 which now I do not have after installing PS cc and LR classic CC.

[Abambo]

First Lr Classic CC is like an upgrade to Lr 6. You should use Lr Classic to organize your pictures. Lr Classic should have upgraded your catalog of Lr 6 for use by Lr Classic.

I import immediately from the card to the final place and into the database of Lr. I do my "basic" edits in Lr, if I need to do advanced edits, I open Photoshop from inside of Lr (Edit in Photoshop CC 2018).

This way I keep all my photos including the Photoshop edits organized in my Lr Database.

I have the impression, that you will need to do some reading on the catalog of Lr.

[Jerry Staats]

You are correct. I do need to do some reading on Lr catalog and also Photoshop CC.Where do I go to get this? Thanks.

[Abambo]

Please find some information below:

It is very important to understand, that the catalog is a database holding your edits (stored as instructions to be applied), previews and links to the image files, which will reside somewhere (you decide where!) on your harddisk.

Importing to Lightroom means establishing that link. It does not mean copying the actual file into the Lightroom catalog. If you import images from a CF or SD card or from a camera connected to your computer, this implies also copying the image files to a location you specify. If you import your image files from your harddisk, the standard behaviour is to add the files to the database and to leave them at there current location. Lightroom tries hard not to import duplicates of the files in the database.

All this means that when considering Backups, you should backup the image files and the catalog. Editing with Lightroom is non destructive. You can always return to the initial state of the image.

The final output will be done by exporting the image or a range of images. This tells Lightroom to apply your edits to a copy of the source file and to store that file at a location you choose.

My workflow is: Import from the card (I shoot only raw) -> tag & edit -> export for different uses, like facebook, web, print, customer use. In between, I use Lightroom to walk through the directory trees and search for specific images (if I've made my tagging correctly, Lightroom is very fast to find images with a certain property). If I need to move pictures around, I do that inside of Lightroom, so that I do not loose the connection.

On the other hand, Photoshop is a more classic application: you open a file, you edit and you save (like in Word). The good thing is, that Lightroom and Photoshop may work hand in hand. You need to edit a picture in Photoshop: You open the picture from inside of Lightroom (Edit in Photoshop) and after terminating you save and Lightroom takes care of the new copy (remember: Photoshop is like Word, so when you open, edit and save, you overwrite the original).

First information on the Lightroom catalog may be found here: Photoshop Lightroom catalog FAQ

Exceptional good information on Lightroom and a source problem solving recipes are located on Victoria Bampton's web site: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/

The information that helped me a lot getting started in Lightroom where the excellent videos from Julieanne Kost. Please note that most of the information for older software versions is still valid today. You may use this link as your entry point to Mrs Kosts tutorials: Julieanne Kost, Principal Digital Imaging Evangelist, Adobe Systems, Inc.

There is also a lot of cool information on sites like Lynda.com or similar. Those are, however, not for free. YouTube also hold a bunch of information, but especially for a beginner, it is difficult to detect the good ones.

[Peru Bob]

File > Open from the Editor menu.

[Jerry Staats]

What do you mean "Editor menu" ? Whereis the editor menu?

[Peru Bob]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Jerry+Staats  wrote

What do you mean "Editor menu" ? Whereis the editor menu?

Open Photoshop. In the upper left corner of the top menu click on File and then click on Open.

[melissapiccone]

Download and use Bridge. You use Bridge to navigate your computer. When you double click on an image it will open in Photoshop.

[Abambo]

OP uses Lightroom, so it is best to use Lightroom for file navigation.
Bridge has the same problem then Windows Explorer or the Finder. Modifications in the picture tree are not forwarded to Lightroom.

[mglush]

I think it would be really helpful to spend a little time watching some tutorials as you are starting out. Here are two links on the Adobe website that should give you some information to get you started.

Photoshop tutorials | Learn how to use Photoshop CC

Lightroom tutorials | Learn how to use Lightroom Classic CC

Michelle

[Abambo]

Yes, I didn't think about those videos. But they are a great source of inspiration.