Getting started in Photoshop is a daunting process. It's a deep program that has many functions, and this is probably why it doesn't have most intuitive interface. The best way to start is to just dive right in, so here are a few tips for the uninitiated.
Coming to you from you of YouTube's most prolific Adobe educators, Nathaniel Dodson of Tutvid, this video offers some great information for those who are a bit hesitant to start using Photoshop because of its complexity. Dodson wastes not time in this video so I would recommend that you open up a photo of your own in Photoshop and follow along with him, pausing the video as you need to.
When I first started using Photoshop I would become very frustrated with myself and the program because it's so obtuse. Arriving from Lightroom, my brain had been so used to getting handed information in a literal way. But, Lightroom was built from the ground up to be user friendly, while Photoshop 1.0 was first distributed in 1990, a time when very few people even had access to a computer. Since then, Adobe have been adding layer upon layer, increasing the program's versatility and functionality. However, in its complexity lies its genius. Once you master some of the basics in Photoshop, you soon realize that there often many different ways to so the same thing, and certain methods may suit a particular job more than others. It takes time a patience to learn how to use — give yourself a head start with this video.
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Wow, 200 miles an hour, but a great intro for a new user. Tho' I've been using PS for a while, I've never been trained so watched it to pick up the basic things I've missed....and yep, learned something.