Basic Info

Title: Look Amazing In No Time
Cost: $24,99
Purchase: Phlearn.com

What is Phlearn?

”Phlearn is a company, whose mission is to provide photographers with the skills, confidence and encouragement that they need in order to pursue their dreams, overcome their fears, and live out their passions.”

That is the mission statement that can be found on their website. Phlearn has set out some pretty ambitious goals, and they pursue these goals by creating both free and low-cost paid videos and articles that include photoshop tutorials, community (better known as “PHamily”) contests, interviews with a wide spectrum of individuals from across the industry, photo battles, and inspirational images from around the web.

Overview

Today we are going to be reviewing one of their PRO Tutorials, titled: “Look Amazing In No Time”. The goal of this tutorial is to teach the viewer how to manipulate their subjects in Photoshop and this way bring out their best features quickly, but effectively. In the video Aaron Nace, the public “face” of Phlearn, talks about several different Photoshop techniques: skin retouching, creating depth and style, using the liquify tool, adding realistic artificial blurs, dodging & burning… The list just keeps going on.

But now that we know what this tutorial is about, let’s take a closer look at it:

The tutorial (as all Phlearn PROs) costs $24.99, which really is a very cheap price for all the material that this tutorial includes. After purchasing the tutorial you immediately receive an email with the download link in it. The size of the folder containing the tutorial video and other materials, is 170MB and it downloads onto the computer very quickly (in my case, it took about 4 minutes). Inside that folder you’ll find the following items:

  • A one hour long tutorial video
  • The original photograph, so that you can follow along and test out
    the techniques taught in the video
  • A free bonus texture brush

The Tutorial: Production quality

The quality of the recorded screen-capture is good, and the overall production quality was great. Aaron’s voice was clearly audible throughout and I was able to see what he was doing in Photoshop at all times.

The Tutorial: Difficulty

This tutorial has been created in a way that makes it very easy to follow along, even if you’re new to Photoshop. Most of the shortcuts used are clearly explained and Aaron makes always sure to explain not only the HOW, but also the WHY, which is very important if you want to be able to take the techniques that you learn and apply them into your own images. So with that said, I would say this tutorial is suitable even to the photographer who is just starting out with Photoshop.

The Tutorial: Teaching

Aaron Nace is known for being a very funny and relaxed person in front of the camera, and that is definitely the case with this video as well. The way Aaron talks and teaches is very entertaining and engaging, and thus makes the viewing experience very enjoyable. The techniques that he uses are clearly explained, and as I stated before, Aaron makes sure to explain WHY he does something before he does it. Aaron also goes into great detail about what tools should be used in different situations (for example when to use the healing brush and when to use the clone-stamp tool). So, overall the learning experience is very enjoyable and productive.

CONCLUSION

The title of the tutorial is “Look Amazing In No Time” and that is exactly what this tutorial will teach you. Aaron and the whole team at Phlearn have created a great tutorial that gives you the skills and knowledge that you need in order to make your subjects look amazing quickly. And the fact that the techniques used in this video are explained in a way that even a beginner would understand them, makes this tutorial very special.  And did we mention the tutorial costs only $24,99?

The information, presentation and production are all done extremely well and thus I feel that this tutorial truly deserves 5 out of 5 stars.