Although the individual applications are powerful, Adobe apps can be challenging to pick up. Taking a class is a good way to get started when learning a new skill, and Adobe courses are no exception. Having an instructor to answer questions and other students to network with makes Adobe classes interesting and fun. Some training programs also offer portfolio classes and job search assistance for students. Check out some of these in-person Adobe classes in Los Angeles.
ONLC Training Centers: Adobe Photoshop Core Skills: Level 1Â
Key Information: ONLC has more than 300 locations across the US and is one of the oldest computer training schools in the country. This class meets with a remote instructor at ONLC’s training center in Los Angeles. The center has computers with the necessary software preloaded. Tuition is $795 for the two-session course.
Get a thorough overview of Adobe Photoshop. Learn to retouch images, change color and tone, straighten and crop photos, and set the correct resolution and image size. The course will also cover selection tools, layered effects, and creating composite images.Â
Photoshop is very similar on Macs and PCs. This class is taught on PCs with the latest CC version of Photoshop.
ONLC Training Centers: Adobe Acrobat DC Introduction
Key Information: This class meets at ONLC’s training center on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica with a remote instructor. ONLC has over 300 locations throughout the US for computer training. Students use the center’s computers with software preloaded for classes. The course costs $795 for two sessions.
Learn to use the power of Adobe Acrobat to handle electronic documents. Many companies use PDFs for financial and legal documents. Acrobat lets you create PDFs and transfer them to different devices on a variety of platforms without sacrificing the formatting. This course covers creating, reading, modifying, and saving PDF documents.
Before signing up for this class, you need to have experience with the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office. You can take Windows Introduction, Word 2012 Introduction, or PowerPoint 2013 Introduction to get the necessary information.
ONLC Training Centers: Adobe InDesign
Key Information: This class meets with a remote instructor at ONLC’s training center in Los Angeles. Students use computers and software at the center, so there is no need to bring a laptop. Tuition is $795 for this two-session course.
Learn to create professional-looking layouts with Adobe InDesign. Start with a tour of the interface, learn to customize your workspace, and create text and graphics frames. Move on to using color modes, working with swatches, and creating custom colors. Finally, master creating PDFs for printing or uploading your projects to a website.
Like other Adobe products, InDesign works well on a Mac or PC, although students will use PCs in class. Upon completion of the course, students are prepared to take the exam for the Adobe Certified Associate certification.
Los Angeles City College: Adobe Photoshop: Training for Everyone
Key Information: Los Angeles City College Community Services offers non-credit classes to residents of any age who want to learn something new. This Photoshop class is held in Los Angeles and costs $99 for two sessions.
Explore Adobe’s popular photo editing program in this hands-on course. Start with fundamental concepts and continue on to advanced features to learn photo manipulation, graphic design, photo restoration, and layout. Create a movie poster and an art project to print and take home with you.
The class is held in a PC lab, so students don’t need to bring laptops. This course has no prerequisites, but previous photography experience is helpful.
Los Angeles City College: Adobe Illustrator: Training for Everyone
Key Information: Los Angeles City College Community Services provides classes on many different topics to area residents at their East Hollywood location. This Illustrator class costs $99 for two sessions.Â
Learn the fundamentals of Adobe Illustrator and create vector-based graphics that are easy to rescale without sacrificing quality. Some of the features covered include brushes, path controls, shape-building tools, and transparency and gradients tools.Â
Class assignments include creating a personalized logo and business card. Classes are held in a PC computer lab on campus.
Training Connection: Captivate Fundamentals
Key Information: The Training Connection focuses on hiring expert instructors with real-world experience and a passion for teaching. The cost for this two-session course is $995. Class meets at the Training Connection’s Los Angeles office downtown.Â
This beginner-friendly class covers everything you need to know to create educational materials and demonstrations using Adobe Captivate. Learn how Captivate works in an e-learning environment, and find out how to record a demonstration. Add captions and images, set a style, add a soundtrack and animation, and sync with Microsoft PowerPoint.Â
Students receive a training manual to keep and a certificate of completion from Adobe at the end of the course. Training Connection has a free repeat policy.
Training Connection: Premiere Pro Bootcamp
Key Information: This in-depth video editing course from the Training Connection is open to beginners and more advanced students age 14 and up. The cost for this five-session class is $1.845. Class meets at the Training Connection’s office in downtown Los Angeles.Â
Go from beginner to master in the Premiere Pro Bootcamp course. Start with the fundamentals, including the basics of film editing, and move on to working with Premiere Pro to make cuts, add titles, transitions, animation, and effects, and learn to render and export the final product.
No prior video editing experience is necessary. Students will also work with Prelude, Encore, and Speedgrade during class.
Training Connection: Illustrator Quickstart
Key Information: The Training Connection presents computing and business classes in downtown Los Angeles. This Illustrator Quickstart course costs $495 for one full-time session.
Get your graphic design training off to a good start with this beginner’s accelerated Adobe Illustrator class. Illustrator's vector graphics is a favorite for creating logos and icons because they can be made bigger or smaller without losing image quality. Learn the user interface and how to design and manipulate images, work with type, and export projects to the web.
There are no prerequisites for this class. Students can work on Mac or PC systems at the Training Connection Center.
Noble Desktop: Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp
Key Information: Noble Desktop offers a three-day Photoshop Bootcamp live online. Participants 18 and over are welcome. Previous photography experience is helpful but there are no prerequisites. The class costs $975. Noble keeps class sizes small and offers a free retake option during the first year.
Adobe Photoshop lets you retouch pictures, correct the color and balance, and remove and add other elements to create unique images. You can post the edited images on the internet or print them on paper.
Class assignments are hands-on projects to give students experience with Photoshop’s different tools. Practice adjusting color and contrast, working with layers, filters, masks, and graphics, transposing elements in a photo, and choosing the correct file formats for saving photos.
After completing the class, students can take the Adobe Photoshop certification exam. Noble awards students a certificate of completion approved by the state of New York Department of Education at the end of the course.Â
Noble Desktop: Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp
Key Information: Noble also offers a live online Adobe Illustrator class for all levels. You can take the course as three full-time or six part-time sessions. There are no prerequisites, but experience with drawing software is useful. The course costs $975 and you can retake it for free within a year.
Illustrator enlarges or shrinks digital images without losing sharpness when you need to work with logos and drawings of different sizes. The course will teach you to use vector graphics drawing tools, like the pen. You will also learn to work with type, masks, layers, compound paths, colors, blends, effects, and patterns.Â
Noble provides drawing templates to make learning to use the features easier. They also help students create complex shapes for print or digital applications.
When completing the course, participants are awarded a certificate from the New York State Department of Education. The course also prepares students to take Adobe’s Illustrator certification exam to demonstrate mastery.
Noble Desktop: Adobe Creative Cloud Bootcamp
Key Information: If you want to learn how to use this collection of powerful design tools, Adobe Creative Cloud Bootcamp is for you. This live online class costs $4,195 for 17 full-time sessions or 24 part-time meetings. There are no prerequisites, and Noble offers a free retake option within the first year if you complete the course.
Master Adobe’s Creative Cloud in this bootcamp course. Through expert instruction and hands-on exercises, you can learn the most popular Adobe products for graphic design, web design, video editing, and motion graphics with Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and After Effects, plus the design program Figma. This course is for people who want to start a new career using Adobe Creative Cloud products.
Participants need their own equipment and software subscriptions before logging into class. Noble is licensed through the New York State Department of Education. Students receive a certificate after completing the course and can attach it to a website or LinkedIn profile.
FAQ for Adobe Certificates
What is the Difference Between a Certificate and a Certification?
When you complete a course, you earn a certificate. These certificates can be printed out or attached to a LinkedIn profile or digital portfolio site. Certifications are earned by passing a test. Some courses prepare you to take a certificate exam at the end of the class.Â
Adobe Certified Professional is a certification offered by Adobe to users who pass one of their certification exams, demonstrating mastery of a particular Adobe application. After passing the exam, Adobe issues a digital badge you can share on social media or link to a digital resume. Adobe certifications are good for three years.
Should I Pursue a Certificate or a Certification?
Whether you decide to go for a certificate or a certification depends on the reason you are taking the class. A certificate class is a good choice if you want to learn to use an Adobe application for a personal project. Suppose you want to change to a career that requires you to learn one or more Adobe applications. In that case, a certification course presents the material in greater detail. It demonstrates to future employers that you know what you are doing.
Do I Need to Become Certified to Find a Job?
If you plan to start a new career in graphic design, publishing, or video production, earning an Adobe certification can help you, but it is not necessary to get a job. Many employers look for certifications to be sure you know how to use the software; however, your portfolio entries go further to show what you can do. Creative portfolio entries or eye-catching demo reels speak for themselves and can help you get a job.Â
What Certificate Program is Right for Me?
Deciding between certificate programs depends on several factors, including the cost, duration, and setting of the course. You should also consider other life events that may impact your available study time. Choose a course that works for you when it comes to time, money, and convenience.
Which is Better: In-Person or Online Classes
In-person and online classes both offer an instructor to answer questions and provide help, and both present an opportunity to network with and get to know other students. One disadvantage to in-person classes is the time it takes to find parking and get to class. In live online classes, students still have an instructor and other participants to interact with, but you log on to class over a video conferencing platform with your own device and an internet connection. In terms of cost, In-person and live online classes usually come out the same.
Which is Better: Live Online or Asynchronous Classes?
One difference between live online and asynchronous classes is that live online sessions meet at a particular time, while asynchronous classes are recorded and you can watch at any time that is convenient. Also called on-demand classes, you can rewatch parts of the video you did understand; however, you can’t ask questions. While asynchronous classes often cost less than live online sessions, they become dated very quickly in the rapidly changing internet environment.