The Creative Digital Darkroom

This tutorial takes photographers beyond the quick tips and gimmicky effects of many digital photography books. Author Katrin Eismann — an internationally acclaimed artist, bestselling author, and gifted educator — offers high-profile work, including her own, as examples for teaching photographers how to use the digital medium to create, edit, and output images that reflect their true vision.

Co-authored by photographer and teacher Sean Duggan, The Creative Digital Darkroom translates skills, concepts, and nomenclature of the traditional darkroom into digital solutions for photographers who sense that, despite the newness of the technologies at hand, there remains a timeless method for learning and practicing photography the right way. This is not a Photoshop book per se, but it does focus on the photographic aspects of Photoshop, something other books claim to do but rarely have the discipline to accomplish. The Creative Digital Darkroom includes:

• Four sections that cover the black & white darkroom, the color darkroom, creative techniques, and production essentials
• Chapters that begin with a thorough foundation followed by numerous tutorial examples that apply the theory to real-world examples
• Examples and a layout that enables readers to find, understand, and apply the featured techniques quickly and easily
• The authors are both renowned photographers and Photoshop experts

Clearly, The Creative Digital Darkroom is not your typical digital photography “how to” book. It’s ideal for intermediate and advanced photographers, artists, and educators looking for clear, concise, insightful, and inspiring information and techniques on how to make their photographs shine. The language, and techniques will immediately appeal to serious students and professionals, and the original tutorial images and high-profile work will make the book an important visual resource for educators and art appreciators.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent content, bonus customer service
This review briefly covers two things: The book, The Creative Digital Darkroom, and the customer service experience I’m having with Amazon, O’Reilly and one of the book’s authors, Katrin Eismann.

About me: I’m an amateur photographer and an engineer. I shot film with a Nikon FE2, then spent some time with a digital point & shoot. Now, I have a Nikon D90 and hope to do the things with a digital darkroom that I could not do in color film because I didn’t have a chemical darkroom.

First, the book review. This is based upon a quick read. The book is 400 pages and has high information density. This is the sort of book that I read once to learn what is available to me, and then use it as a reference for deep dives. I spent a few weeks perusing books in local shops and the local library. Here’s why I picked this one:

– It is a beautiful book that is well-illustrated. The photos are available online. The writing is clear and the examples are well thought out. The overall structure/organization makes good sense.

– The book does a good job of covering both technical (objective) and artistic (subjective) elements of “developing” a digital photo. To me, it felt like both subjects were covered well, and were not confused.

– On the objective side, you are taught what is technically good, and how you get there. The process can result in intermediate steps in which the picture looks worse than when the process began. The authors patiently explain the entire process for a series of varied examples. If you are looking for a book that informs at the level of, “slide the slider to adjust color”, then this book is not for you. Personally, I found the level of depth to be at the appropriate level–a good bit of info I can put to immediate use, and a lot of info that will challenge me in a productive way to reach the next level of digital photography.

– On the subjective side, the amateur in me was introduced to a wide range of digital photographs that were developed in a way that was non-obvious (at least to me).

As for customer experience, I had a problem others here have recently posted about: the book arrived with a color jacket but low-quality b/w print inside. Because I had held several copies of this book in my hand prior to purchase, I was certain that something was clearly wrong. At the time of this writing, I can tell you:

– Amazon MAY be stocked with bad copies

– I contacted Amazon about a return and they were very accomodating–the process could not have been easier or more pleasant.

– I then contacted the book’s publisher and one of the authors–they, too, were very helpful, offering to replace the book themselves.

– The Amazon replacement arrived, again in b/w. I am now returning the book to O’Reilly so that they can examine it. Katrin is sending me a replacement. They are going to great lengths to accomodate me in every manner. At this point, my principle emotion is that I feel bad for them having to sort out the apparent problem with Amazon’s stock.

5 Stars Must read for anyone starting out with Photoshop or Lightroom
I’m half way through this book and already I’ve learned more about how to use Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 than I’ve gotten out of any other book or website. The authors’ style is very straightforward and provides not only directions on how to use the tools in the applications, but also explains why you should use them. Also, there is a special download-only chapter on printing that does a marvelous job explaining how to configure photoshop and lightroom to get the most out of your printer.

2 Stars Prepare your photos to view on your monitor.
This book is chock full of great information. After a quick scan of the entire book I was excited to really delve into it in-depth in spite of the really lousy page design. On closer study, I was fairly appalled at the errors throughout this book. None of which are listed on the companion web site’s errata page. When I’m following someone else’s step by step work flow, I expect it to be correctly laid out for me. This book does not do that.

The largest problem with this book is that it seems to operate on the assumption that one is going to go through all of these processes only to have one’s photographs appear better on the monitor’s screen. The fact that to learn anything about printing one must read the “printing” chapter online is ludicrous.

All in all, a very good book information wise, graphically a disaster, and a true challenge to decode some of its step by step methodology. But seriously folks, we do all this work to our files so that we can print. This book falls flat.

2 Stars Newspaper-print photo quality really kills this book, sad to say
I’m puzzled by the enthusiastic reviews of this book. I agree that the writing and concepts are quite good. But the book design and the printing quality are a real negative for a photography book (so to speak…). It made me think I was looking at a low-grade newspaper: all the images and screenshots are printing in low-res, low contrast B&W with significant banding and streaking. In addition to looking shabby, it makes it hard to see the effect the images were supposed to illustrate. It’s so bad that I thought I was reading a cheap rip-off of the original, possibly published by pirates in some far-off copyright-ignoring country (which shall remain nameless), since it’s inconceivable that writers and photographers the quality of Eismann and Duggan would tolerate this shabby presentation of their work. I’m also amazed that O’Reilly, normally a very-high quality publisher, would put their name on this thing.

The book design is also a head-scratcher: huge swaths of small type with little white space. Just looking at it gives me claustrophobia, and reading it is tiring.

I wouldn’t normally rate a book primarily for these kinds of faults, but sheesh…this is a photography book! It’s supposed to have at least half-way decent photos in it, not images that look like an old newspaper! And for $49.99 list, it should have GREAT images and printing!

I returned it almost immediately.

All in all, I was left with with the age-old question: What were they thinking?

5 Stars Knows whereof she speaks
The author of the classic digital retouching and restoration handbook is back with an updated “digital darkroom” book for the latest version of your favorite image editor.

This one covers topics that really need explanations for the ambitious photographer/image editor. It covers RAW processing, workflow, image correction, and software options such as Lightroom and various plug-ins. You’ll learn about color spaces, file preparation, and other essential topics. Although I expect that few readers of this book have ever actually worked in a chemical darkroom, they’ll find the digital orientation of this book useful and informative.

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Photoshop CS4 Down and Dirty Tricks

UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF THE HOTTEST TRICKS, AND MOST REQUESTED PHOTOSHOP EFFECTS IN ONE AMAZING BOOK!

Scott Kelby, co-host of Photoshop User TV and the world’s #1 bestselling Photoshop author, is back to unlock the secrets of an amazing new collection of the latest eye-popping, jaw-dropping, Photoshop special effects—the same kind that made Scott’s previous editions of this book one of the top selling Photoshop books in history.

You’ll learn some of the most closely guarded Photoshop CS4 special effects—the same ones you see on TV, in magazines, and on the Web. Using Scott’s simple step-by-step method, with hundreds of full-color images, you’ll see exactly how it’s all done. The book is written so clearly, and it is so easy to follow, you’ll immediately be able to create all of these effects yourself. You’ll learn:

    • The latest photographic special effects
    • How to fake studio shots (you’ll be amazed at how it’s done)
    • The latest cutting-edge type effects
    • The most popular effects used by big movie studios
    • The most-requested advertising effects
    • Commercial effects that clients go crazy over!
    • The most asked-for current Web effects
    • Amazing 3D effects using Photoshop Extended
    • Plus loads of effects that look hard, but are easy once you know the secrets

And not only that, but the whole book is packed with creative ideas, layouts, and design techniques that will help you unleash your own creativity. It’s all here, in the only Photoshop book of its kind. You’re gonna love it!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Another Kelby How-to
I look forward to every edition of Scott’s Down & Dirty Tricks and have them all. Each one is better than the one before (not including CS3… ;-p). Judging from some of the reviews, some of the reviewers may not be aware that Scott started with Photoshop for (Mac) artists/designers long before delving into how to improve one’s digital photography. Even though I’m also a photographer, my first love is Photoshop and how to improve on and achieving those cool tricks to my photography. I highly recommend any and all of Scott’s publications. Open the book and start anywhere. Easy to understand and fun to read.

1 Star Totally useless for me
I have a bunch of Kelby books and really liked most of them. However recently I have started to use other authors’ books and started to like them even better. The books of Martin Evening and Ben Willmore are really great…much better than anything I ever read from Scott. This books has nothing for photographers like me. This book may not be off topic but I found these special effects so useless (well except for the desaturated portrait), that I am not sure that I would buy a Kelby book ever again. It may be use useful for other readers but a total waste of money for me.

5 Stars Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks
Very useful book way awesome a must get book! It will open your mind more of designing!!

5 Stars Great Book
Scott has done a great job on this update. Remember it is about Photoshop, not photography. With that in mind, some really great Tips and Tricks.

4 Stars A solid entry level book to new CS features and special effects
What I like about this book are…

(1) Step by step, picture-guided method of teaching. Very easy to follow.

(2) The book covers a variety types of usage of Photoshop tricks, like effects of type, photo, vector art, lots of commercial material, posters, web material… etc.

What I do not like about this book…

The paper!!! Yes, you heard me, it’s the paper. I am by no means an expert of paper, but this type of paper is so much harder to flip the pages. They don’t really stick to your finger (so you can’t easily “clamp” the pages up with 2 fingers), instead the pages stick to each other (so it’s not easy to flip pages using the edge of the paper. You might think I’m crazy complaining about the paper, but I found it very annoying, and it just made reading the book that much more unpleasant.

What I wish about this book…

I wish that it came with a CD of the materials (say texture, photos… etc.), so readers can actually follow it step by step; which in my opinion is always a better way of learning.

Other thoughts:

- The material used in the book has very very strong commercial sense

- After reading it, I think this book teaches you design more than anything.

- The book is really about Photoshop tricks here and there, a lot of them you don’t really need the latest CS to achieve. The title of the book is really not so helpful, in the sense of what the book is about.

- Scott is a decent graphic designer. I think he went to school for it…

Conclusion…

I think it is worth the money for me.

I learned graphic design, a little bit web, and many tricks for my photography.

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Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book

This thorough, self-paced guide to Adobe Photoshop CS3–written by the experts at Adobe Systems’ is ideal for beginning users who want to learn key Photoshop concepts and techniques, while readers who already have some experience with Photoshop can use this book to learn Photoshop CS3’s more advanced features and newest tools. Using clear, step-by-step, project-based lessons, each chapter walks readers through the creation of a specific project, with each chapter building on the reader’s growing knowledge of the program, while review questions at the end of each chapter reinforce the skills learned in each lesson. Photoshop CS3, long the industry standard for digital imaging software, offers plenty of new features and enhancements for creative professionals and digital photographers alike. Users can enjoy unrivaled editing with non-destructive Smart Filters, improved curves, and adjustable cloning and healing with Preview Overlay. Increase productivity with Photoshop CS3’s streamlined interface and new Photoshop Lightroom ” integration. Anyone who wants to create a composite will benefit from the revamped Photomerge® tool, which lets you apply automatic layer alignment and blending to your images, while the new Quick Selection tool lets you select pixels not just by color, but by texture and shape as well. And digital photographers will be pleased to know that they can now process multiple Camera Raw images in a fraction of the time it used to take.

Educational instructor notes—created to help teachers plan, organize, and time their lessons—are available for this book (and for other Classroom in a Book titles) at www.peachpit.com/instructorresources.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Photoshop Classroom in a Book
Adobe puts out an excellent book and tutorial that makes it very easy to learn all the wonderful things that this program can do. Even for those experienced with the older versions, this book brings them right up to speed in no time.

3 Stars It’s okay
I just wish it had the CD when I bought it….It would have helped so much more.

5 Stars Love it!
This book is so easy to follow! I would recommend it for beginning to intermediate Photoshop users.

5 Stars Photoshop cs3 classroom in a book
Since I have rarely worked with Photoshop, this book was perfect for getting to know the tools and how they worked. Each lesson was step by step; you were given an image of the end result and the pieces to start with. I will be hanging on to this book as a reference for the finer details that I will not work with on a daily basis.

5 Stars Great book
Very clear and easy to use you want to learn CS3 this is the book

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Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Blatant Theft
They took my money but I never received a textbook. I kept waiting for it and I eventually got too far behind in the class to catch up, even after I bought it again from another source. I had to drop the class all because of this awful company. I lost money in more ways than just the textbook. I want it back.

Worst experience ever.

5 Stars textbook 2
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book I loved this book! It was very informative and perfect for my classes!

5 Stars Photoshop Classroom in a Book
I have been a big fan of Adobe products since they first came out. This book series has been around for almost every program and every upgrade they have released, so the folks at Adobe know how to best showcase the awesome power of their programs in a concise, class room type instruction manual.

The teachings are straightforward and easy to follow for the beginner, with tips and extras for the more advanced student. The lessons are broken down into easy-to-manage sections, and one can go through them in order or just go to the section that they need immediate help in. Many Colleges actually use this series as their text books for photoshop and digital manipulation classes.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn Photoshop and quickly get up to speed in Photoshop CS4. And for those who want to take it a step farther, Adobe offers professional certification in most of their programs.

5 Stars If you are starting Photoshop for the first time, get this book!
I aquired Photoshop as a hobbyist and this was the third book I bought trying to figure out what I could do with the software. Other books define what each feature does and how to access it, but Classroom in a Book puts the features into context. I learned the software as well as some basic graphic design and photography skills. Before you spend money and time on a class on Photoshop, try this book!

5 Stars Good starting point
I was able to complete most of the exercises in this book. The directions sometimes were different than on my mac. In the margins, there is additional info, and that cleared up many things. I liked how the book teaches us to use Adobe Bridge to organize photos! Very handy! I love all the things this book teaches you! I used it for a college class. There are lesson files with images to to the exercises on the computer. All you need it a CD ROM player. There are extra credit exercises and quizzes in this book. There is some photo retouching, though Photoshop does much more. Some 3D is in a later chapter. I do not believe I can do this as I am on a Mac.

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Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers The Ultimate Workshop

Professional commercial photographer and digital imager Jeff Schewe (based in Chicago, USA) has teamed up with best-selling Photoshop author Martin Evening to

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Adobe Photoshop CS3 Teach Yourself VISUALLY Tech

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something – and skip the long-winded explanations? If so, then this book is for you. Open it up and you’ll find clear, step-by-step screen shots that show you how to tackle more than 150 Photoshop CS3 tasks. Each task-based spread includes easy, visual directions for performing necessary operations, including:

• Finding images and video clips.
• Changing size and resolution.
• Using the Quick Selection tool.
• Adjusting hue and saturation.
• Applying Smart Filter effects.
• Creating a contact sheet.
• Helpful sidebars offer practical tips and tricks.
• Full-color screen shots demonstrate each task.
• Succinct explanations walk you through step by step.
• Two-page lessons break big topics into bite-sized modules.

Order your copy today and master Photoshop CS3.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars This book helped me start to understand photoshop.
As a newbe to photoshop I needed a book to present an easy to follow, visual plan. This book did it for me. It helped me to understand other books I bought to teach me photoshop. I can build on the things I learned in this book. Not a book that takes you step by step through a photo retouch but will get you started with some photoshop tools.

4 Stars The best way to learn
I bought this book at the request of my instructor. This has been the BEST purchase I have made in a longtime. I have the CS3 for dummies and it explains but if you don’t know then you don’t know. This book has step by step pictures to teach, also every lesson is done on 2 pages only. GREAT BOOK! If you need to learn CS3 then you need this book. I own a sign and graphics company and this book really is an awesome tool for us here because you can reference quickly and can understand and comprehend a lot faster than just reading.

5 Stars Great Beginner Book hands DOWN
I have to laugh at this book. I have been a photoshop user for a long time and was given this book as course material for my intro to photoshop class that i had to take. I in my own record time finished this book in a week and half. I didnt really learn much from this book, but it was fun doing it. Dont let that scare you, this book is great for a beginner and touches on some great key facts for a beginner that needs to know, i just have been using photoshop for awhile and knew alot of the functions. I do feel that this book does not cover all the basics or features like some of the top need to know 100 how tos. In the long run, this is a great starting book for a user that wants to learn Photoshop CS3

5 Stars I am glad to have this book
As a novice to PS, I bought 3 other books. After reading those books, I still don’t have confidence to work on my own pictures. Because they taught me by showing what features applied to their projects, not the case for my own pictures. I want to know all the basic features in PS so that I can pick the tools by myself. Even this book is simple, some features you already knew, but SOME USEFUL FEATURES you might not know in PS. After reading this one, I know what to do and keep moving on to be a professional. You won’t be disappointed if you are new to PS. Thanks.

5 Stars This Book is Awesome for Beginners like me. I’m reading it right now and learning PhotoShop!!!
Just started going through this book so far its seems pretty good. It’s awesome for beginners like me. Once I keep going through it I can give a better review…

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Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4

The Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in for Adobe Photoshop has changed the way photographers work with images. Shooting in the raw format gives digital photographers complete control over every aspect of image quality. Camera Raw makes the process of using raw files easier by providing a standardized way of accessing and working with these uncompressed digital negatives. Today serious photographers shoot raw images only. Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop was the first book devoted exclusively to the topic, explaining the advantages and challenges of using Camera Raw to produce magnificent images. Real World Adobe Camera Raw in Photoshop CS4 keeps pace with new directions in digital photography and raw image processing. Jeff Schewe, a contributor to the development of Camera Raw from its beginnings, updates Bruce Fraser’s bestselling book with inside knowledge of how new features let photographers optimize and convert images for the best results in Adobe Photoshop CS4. Hands-on techniques show readers how to expose and shoot for raw image capture as well as use new features. Readers will also learn how to use the latest version of Adobe Bridge to manage the thousands of images–and gigabytes of data–that result from raw shooting. Finally, Schewe discusses how Adobe’s latest revolutionary imaging software Photoshop Lightroom adds to the raw equation.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A Lifeline at Brooks
This book was suggested to us as a purchase for PRO PHOTO 101 at Brooks Institute of Photography here in Santa Barbara,CA.

It is clearly written with helpful illustrations drawn from actual screen content.

5 Stars Camera Raw With Adobe Photoshop CS4
This is an excellent book for someone (like myself) that is not up to speed with Cameera Raw. Goes from the nuts and bolts of the program to the Work flow. Highly recommend this book.

5 Stars A must-read for ACR users
This is a book that I will read more than once. I have Camera Raw for Photoshop CS2 and it was very helpful. When I upgraded to CS4 I wasn’t sure if I should buy the updated edition of this book but there is so much that is new in Camera Raw since CS2 that it was well worth the price – I was not at all disappointed. The late Bruce Fraser’s text updated by Jeff Schewe is a must read if you want to get the most out of Camera Raw. Very clearly written and not “dumbed down”, yet does not assume that the reader is already a Camera Raw expert. The authors discuss RAW in general and workflow as well as great detail about every control in ACR for Photoshop CS4. A must read!!

5 Stars A must-have for those using Camera Raw
This is the 3rd revision of this series, and the best yet. If you are using Camera Raw (and if you are not you should be), this is a must have. Jeff S has done a great job not only explaining the ins/outs of this powerful tool, but the numerous examples will help you as you run into situations processing your RAW files. A must have.

5 Stars Wonderful book!
I’m very happy with Real World Camera Raw – it does exactly what the title suggests and was well worth carefully reading through the chapters. The only exception might be that it concentrates on Bridge as the main workflow partner application whereas I prefer Photo Mechanic. But the principles apply well to either so its not really a negative remark.

If you’re serious about improving your digital workflow, buy this book!

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Photoshop CS3 for Windows and Macintosh

This is the eBook version of the printed book. This eagerly anticipated update to the popular Photoshop CS2 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide uses a combination of task-based instruction and strong visuals to teach beginning and intermediate users how to create great-looking images with Photoshop. Best-selling authors Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas take readers step by step through all of today’s Photoshop essentials: from importing digital photos through basic color manipulation and image correction to painting, masking, using filters, and more. Hot topics like working with Camera Raw, using the improved Photomerge command (that aligns and blends layers automatically) to stitch together images, making selections using the new Quick Selection tool and Refine Edge feature, and Smart Filters are all covered. Both beginning users, who want a thorough introduction to the topic, and more advanced users, who are looking for a handy reference, will find what they need here. In this new edition, using a fresh new design and now illustrated in full color, the authors have streamlined the text by focusing on the most efficient means of accomplishing a task, rather than explaining all possible methods. By the end of the book, users will have a solid foundation for working in Photoshop CS3.

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Photoshop CS4 The Missing Manual

Photoshop is the world’s most widely used photo-editing and graphics program. But with all its fantastic new features and options, the CS4 version can bewilder even the most seasoned professional. Packed with tips, tricks, and lots of practical advice, Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual teaches you everything you need to know to edit photos and create beautiful documents in Photoshop — whether you’re a beginner or a power user ready to try some advanced techniques.

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Photoshop CS3 All in One Desk Reference For Dummies For Dummies Computer Tech

Get your picture-perfect guide to using all the cool features of Photoshop CS3.

Whether you’re new to Photoshop, want to take your skills up a notch, or want to quickly master the new features and enhancements in Photoshop CS3, you’ve come to the right place. Nine easy-to-follow minibooks cover Photoshop fundamentals plus the newest tools and techniques. “Putting It Together” exercises give you hands-on experience. This is your one-stop guide to Photoshop. You’ll learn to:

• Specify size and resolution.
• Correct contrast, color, and clarity.
• Create top-notch selections.
• Composite images with layers and blending modes.
• Make adjustments with levels and curves.
• Prep graphics for print or the Web.

Order your copy of this 9 books in 1 – with hundreds of examples in full color — today!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A usable practical guide for serious readers.
If you are like me — an intelligent (I hope) experienced computer person who has never used Photoshop but wants to learn how to do useful work (not just play around) — this book is for you. For example, you can actually look in the index and find what you are looking for.

5 Stars Excellent full explanation reference
I liked “Photoshop CS3 for Dummies” as a good overview text – then I use this “Photoshop CS3 All-in-one Reference for Dummies” as a detailed text on most of the heavy features of Photoshop. I was pretty good with Photoshop CS and all the versions of the program before – but I am learning a GREAT deal from this tome on the more sophisticated features.

5 Stars awesome resource
This is a great resource at a fraction of the price of the book from adobe. Highly recommended!

5 Stars A perfect pick for any who find detailed Photoshop coverages confusing.
Plenty of Photoshop CS3 books on the market update information to this latest Photoshop release, but few offer an extensive desk reference packing in the latest tools and techniques of the latest program with easy details on how to do everything from simple adjustments such as specifying size to using layering and blending modes for advanced compositions and refinement. From full color screen shots and color examples of modified photos to techniques and strategies, Photoshop CS3 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies is one of the most extensive coverages on the market – and a perfect pick for any who find detailed Photoshop coverages confusing.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

4 Stars Too rich
A complete analysis of the subject with the risk to be excessively rich of information

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Photoshop CS4 Volume 1 Visual QuickStart Guide

This edition of the Visual QuickStart Guide to Photoshop CS4 by bestselling authors Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas covers Adobe Photoshop as well as Adobe Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw (which are included with Photoshop). The elegant layout and full-color photographs make the book not only visually appealing, but also easy to use. Tasks are presented as clear, step-by-step instructions. Most of the photos appearing in the book are available to readers to download so they can follow along closely with the instructions.

New and updated Photoshop program features are clearly marked with bright orange stars, so users already familiar with Photoshop can update their knowledge quickly. Major new features that are covered in this edition include workspace options in Photoshop, the Adjustments and Masks panels, and the new Bridge interface. Less publicized features are also covered, such as tool options and keyboard shortcuts.

This new edition also covers color management; workspaces; layers; selections; masking; compositing techniques; the History panel; blending modes; brushes; exposure, tonal, color and focus adjustments; retouching; layer styles; filters; type features; gradients; PDF presentation packages; preferences; presets; and more. Readers will learn everything they need to know to get a good working knowledge of Photoshop.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars QuickStart Guides Photoshop CS4
These CS4 QuickStart Guides look like a great idea. Was told about them by a friend who said they start you off just like you don’t know anything about the product and walk you through the whole product bit by bit.

Wonderful idea. Will buy more of these to get myself caught up on Adobe’s line.

5 Stars Great book
I bought this book for a class that I am taking and it is very well written and in full colour, which may or may not be important; to me, it is. It is pretty thorough. I have had some experience with Photoshop, but I have learned a great deal about this program that I hadn’t known before hand with this book. I am waiting for the Illustrator CS4 book to be released.

1 Star Not for a beginner!
I bought this book hoping it would be a good start for someone who has never used Photoshop. I was very wrong. The book is very poorly organized. It rambles on about things you don’t need to know to start out. For example the very first thing you need to do is create a new document yet the book does not tell you this. It tells you how to create a new document but hides this topic in the second chapter.

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Scott Kelbys 7 Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 Voices

Scott Kelby, the world’s #1 bestselling Photoshop author, and the man who changed the Photoshop and digital photography world with his ground-breaking, award-winning “Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers” unveils a exciting, brand new way of thinking, and working in Adobe Photoshop that will not only change the industry again, but it will change the way we all work in Photoshop forever, so we can finally spend less time fixing our images, and more time finishing them.

You’re about to become a Photoshop Shark!
Scott has focused in and really narrowed things down to just exactly which Photoshop tools and techniques we absolutely, positively have to know, and he found that there are just seven major tools, seven major features that we have to master to enhance our images like a pro. But then he took it a step further. Out of those seven major tools, he looked at which parts or sections of those tools do we really need to master, and which parts can we pretty much ignore (in other words, he whittled it down so you’re not learning parts of the tools that you’re probably never going to need). Then, and perhaps most importantly, he determined exactly when and in which order to apply these seven techniques that make up Scott’s amazing “Photoshop Seven Point System.”

But the magic of this book, is not just listing the seven tools and showing how they work. It’s how they’re used together, and how Scott teaches them (and makes it stick), that makes this book so unique.  You’re not going to just learn one technique for fixing shadows, and another technique for adjusting color (every Photoshop book pretty much does that, right?). Instead, you’re going start off at square one, from scratch, as each chapter is just one photo—one project—one challenging lifeless image (you’ll follow along using his the same images), and you’re going to unleash these seven tools, in a very specific way, and you’re going to do it  again, and again, and again, in order on different photos, in different situations, until they are absolutely second nature. You’re finally going to do the FULL fix—from beginning to end—with nothing left out, and once you learn these seven very specific techniques, and apply them in order, there won’t be a an image that appears on your screen that you won’t be able to enhance, fix, edit, and finish yourself!

Plus, Scott’s techniques work across a wide range of photos, and that’s exactly what you’ll be working on in the book, from landscapes to portraits, to architectural, to nature, from event photography to everything in between—there isn’t a photo you won’t be able to beat!

This is the book you’ve been waiting for, the industry’s been waiting for, and Scott’s “Adobe Photoshop Seven Point System” is so revolutionary that he’s officially applied for a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and this new system is only found in this amazing, ground breaking new book. Once you learn these techniques, and start applying them yourself, you’ll be the next one to say—”You can’t beat ‘The System!’

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Must Have in Your Photoshop Library
OK, I thought I’d save some money by borrowing this book from the public library. There was so much value in the first few exercises, that I returned the book and bought my own copy. A must have in your Photoshop library.

4 Stars Scott Kelby 7 point system for Photoshop CS3
I have had Adobe Photoshop CS3 for quite a while and could not seem to get my head around how to use the features the program offers. I spent hours looking at tutorials and purchased two or three books that just did not do a good job in terms of giving me a comfortable feeling with Photoshop CS3. I was somewhat determined to find a way to learn to use Adobe Photoshop CS3. Some how I stumbled on to a review regarding learning to use Photoshop CS3. In the review someone mentioned Scott Kelby’s books. I figured that I had already invested serious $$ to purchase the program and a few more $$ would not be a big deal. After reading the first chapter, my attitude about Photoshop changed. I managed to clean up a few photos that I had taken last summer by using tips that I picked up from the first chapter in the book. I would recommend the book to someone who is relatively new to Photoshop CS3 based on my experience. I believe one of the keys was the fact that the Raw photos used in many of the examples are available for download. This gives you the ability to walk through each example in the book. I would rate it 4 plus stars……

5 Stars Raymond Photos
Learning PHOTOSHOP takes time and Scott walks you step by step in this book. I have used the 7-POINT SYSTEM on my photos with pleasing results.

Great to have Scott’s PHOTOSHOP CS3 as a reference source.

5 Stars Must-have
I am only half way through with the lessons in the book and it has changed my editing dramatically already! I highly recommend it.

3 Stars Now that CS4 is here we have to buy yet another copy!
I haven’t had the book that long so I have no idea how truly useful it might be. One thing that irks me about these books is that when a new version of Photoshop comes out Mr. Kelby wants users to buy another book rather than doing updates on his web site for those who have recently purchased the previous book. I used CS3 which was provided during a class I was taking and toward the end of the class purchased a copy of 7-Point System at a local store. I had intended to purchase CS3 but ran into some problems. Shortly after I purchased the book CS4 came out. I attempted to purchase CS3 for my Mac to no avail. Two suppliers listed CS3 for sale but when I ordered it they shipped me CS4 instead. I returned those and attempted to find CS3 but wound up in the end with CS4 due to lack of availability of CS3. Attempting to use the book with CS4 is frustrating so I will wind up getting rid of the book. When the CS4 version of this book comes out I will NOT be purchasing it. I really dislike how updated versions of these books contain the same old material (corny jokes included) for the most part with usually small updated sections for the new version. The updates could be posted online for users rather than constantly needing to buy yet another book which contains just a few elements needed to use it with the latest software. I suppose if the book was completely rewritten it wouldn’t be so objectionable.

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Adobe Photoshop CS4 How Tos 100 Essential Techniques

This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 is more than just the world’s most popular image editing tool: as part of Adobe’s Creative Suite, it’s a key component of an overall design workflow that lets users work seamlessly among all of their graphics applications to create graphically rich content for print, Web, motion graphics, and mobile devices. This info-packed guide lets users get right down to work by focusing on the Photoshop CS4 features they’re most likely to use and showcasing each in a stand-alone technique–complete with a relevant hint or two and a graphic example.

Readers learn just what they need in small digestible bites, exploring the program in a way that makes sense to them. Before they know it, they will be managing their files in the new Bridge interface, discovering new workspace options, using the new Adjustments and Masks panels, and taking advantage of Photoshop’s built-in integration with Photoshop Lightroom to import, select, develop, and share their digital photos.

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Adobe Photoshop CS4

This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version.

Long established as a must-have guide for Photoshop users upgrading to the newest version, Up to Speed goes right to the heart of Photoshop CS4 what has changed, what is new, and how you can get the most out of the features as quickly as possible. Rather than sift through hundreds of pages detailing every last Photoshop feature and function (both old and new), you can go directly to the new features that interest you the most and get the explanations you desire in the classic Ben Willmore style– intuitive, crystal clear, and in-depth. By focusing on a single topic–what’s new in this version–the award-winning author provides precisely what experienced Photoshop users have been clamoring for, in exactly the depth they demand. After reading this book even if you’ve been using CS4 for awhile don’t be surprised to hear yourself say, I didn’t know CS4 did that! In addition to learning the new features in no time flat, a welcome side effect of learning from Ben is that you can expect to become a better, faster and more efficient Photoshop user, and few things are more fun than becoming better at Photoshop!

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Photoshop CS4 For Dummies For Dummies Computer Tech

This latest version of Photoshop has a few new tricks up its sleeve and Adobe Photoshop CS4 For Dummies will teach you how to use them. From the basics like getting your images into and out of Photoshop to enhancing, cropping, and color correction, it’s all here!

You’ll get all of the basics of digital images and master the importing and exporting of images. You’ll find out how to create easy enhancements like adding shadows and highlights and making color natural, in addition to learning how to use the Adobe camera raw plug-in. Before you know it, you’ll be making beautiful “art” with Photoshop by combining images, precision edges, dressing up images, painting in Photoshop, and using filters. You can even streamline your work in Photoshop using advanced techniques. Find out how to:

• Import images and use all the tools and processes
• Reduce digital noise, make colors look natural, add highlights and shadows
• Optimize images for print or the Web
• Edit images
• Explore the Painting function and master the daunting Brushes panel
• Add layer styles
• Create on-screen presentations, contact prints, and more

Complete with lists of ten reasons to love your Wacom tablet, ten reasons to own a digital camera, and ten favorite tips and tricks, Adobe CS4For Dummies is your one-stop guide to setting up, working with, and making the most of Photoshop CS4 for all your digital photography needs.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars From the Author
First, a couple of notes on this title:

–This is a book in the incredible “for Dummies” series and, as such, is a reference book. Please don’t expect a lesson-based/for-the-first-time-user or a “cookbook” tips & tricks book. That’s not what the “for Dummies” series is all about.

–Use the Index and Table of Contents. Add PostIt© notes and bend corners of pages (unless, of course, you borrowed the book from the library). There are some sections of the book to which you will refer regularly, those subjects that pertain to the specific sort of work you do with Photoshop. You could read the book cover to cover (which ensures you don’t miss a single joke or cartoon), but that’s not what we had in mind when we developed this title. Instead, we recommend that you consider this book to be more like a dictionary or an encyclopedia: when you have a question, look it up.

–”Photoshop CS4 for Dummies” is for smart people. To really take advantage of Photoshop CS4 (and this book) you might also want to use the Index to look up things with which you are already familiar. Who knows? There might be a better/faster/easier/smarter way to do things you already do.

Now, a couple of personal comments:

–I’d like to thank the incredible team at Wiley for making this project one of the smoothest book updates I’ve ever experienced! Bob Woerner and the rest of the gang, thank you!

–Congratulations to the team at Adobe for putting together another great product.

–Thanks to my colleagues on the “Photoshop World Instructor Dream Team” for always being willing to share insights and ideas.

[...]

Enjoy!

Pete Bauer

2 Stars Decent Book
Liked it…didn’t quite do it for me and ended up having to by the Missing Manual version…wished I would have bought it first

5 Stars Excellent tutorials, well laid out book, very readable and informative

Strengths: Well laid out , easy to use and in color. Price is well worth it. Authoritatively written.

Weaknesses: No Cd. You will have to find own photos to use regarding the tutorials.

Novice/Intermediate/Advanced

Introduction

Photoshop is the premier graphics manipulation application. From humble beginnings, this program has developed into a “blockbuster,” getting better and better, adding new features over time. While there are many graphics programs that can do some of the tasks, Photoshop CS4 offers most power and flexibility for the graphic novice, intermediate and professionals. Graphic editors who use Photoshop will find this book useful for a variety of reasons.

The author is Photoshop World Dream Team Instructor and is the author of graphic books, a host for video training titles and much more. His experiences in the field of graphics are displayed in this book and display his excellent style, knowledge of graphics, capable utilization of the Photoshop program for many graphic needs. His reading style is both authoritative and informative. But there is more within the pages that assist with learning how to use Photoshop and its complexities.

Users gain a good sense of understanding through the excellent tutorials and readings. The book has 401 pages, as opposed to 396 pages in the previous version with CS3. Once again five sections and twenty chapters are highlighted. The pages and tutorials are well laid out. White space make for easy reading as the non-cramped text is very easy to read. Photos and illustrations are in full color. Tutorials are aided by bold titles, numbered sections and steps. Like many of the dummies books, there are icons which highlight tips, new features, warnings, technical information, remembering important knowledge. Cartoons, which adorn each section, are both humorous and artistically cute, relate poignantly to a computer/ graphic use life, computer usage or in another way.

The sections/ parts include: Basic training (warm and friendly introduction to Photoshop from the beginning), Enhancing for Digital Images (use of color, raw images and raw plug-in, fine tuning images and dealing with problems), Creating “Art” in Photoshop (combining images, using vectors, using layer styles, text messaging, painting fun and using filters), Power Photoshop streamlining your workflow and extending CS4. Lastly the Parts of Ten (Top 10 favorite Photoshop tips and tricks, Wacom tablet information, Ten reasons to won a digital camera). But there is more inside this version compared to the version with CS4.

There are several highlighted sections which designate information and guidance regarding new CS4 and specific features. Here there is additional information concerning new panels for adjustment layers, the use of camera raw files and importing, Bride review and commands, panorama sticking, new layer masking tools, color harmony and brush reviews, working with 3D and more.

Conclusions

I really like this book for many reasons. For one, this book is a great buy. It is a excellent guidebook, resource guide and readable. Novice users will not “become lost”. The author communicates in concise, clear and understandable ways covering the strengths and versatility of the application. The text conveys a remarkable and easy to understand way to use Photoshop for your graphics needs.

This text will make a fine addition to graphic users library, especially to those who are in need of a fine resource/guide to learn about or upgrade skills with Photoshop CS4. You’ll be up and running in no time and adding to your graphics capabilities and knowledge.

5 Stars Migrating to CS4 — Beginner & Intermediate
Although I previously had CS2 and CS3 I decided to start from “ground zero” with a CS4 “Dummies” book; I have had good luck with this series and found this book to be valuable regardless of whether you are a first time Photoshop user or migrating from a previous version. However, this book may not be advanced and detailed enough for very advanced users of previous versions.

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