41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trixie McGuire MyMac.com Book Review, April 3, 2003
This review is from: 50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques (Paperback)
Intended user: Beginning to Advanced
I knew just by thumbing through this book that I was going to enjoy the time I spent reviewing it. And then when I read these words on page two of the introduction - "If I had to make a single recommendation about how to quickly learn to successfully use Photoshop, it would be to learn all about those few features that you need to use to get your work done - and ignore the rest." - I said where was this book 5+ years ago? Oh sure there has always been instructional books similiar to this, but most are bible length epics and just as cryptic as the bible itself.
The book comes with a CD-ROM that not only includes:
* 50 sets of "before" and "after" images
* A Photoshop tryout version: 6.0, but hey - beats having to download.
* An ebook.pdf of the book that you can keep on your computer.
* A slide show of all 50 techniques
* A companion webpage: called www.reallyusefulpage.com, and
* You can even email the author himself - right from the CD.
The first six chapters are set up as a Photoshop bootcamp, to help you become successful with the last 44 techniques. Even if you are an experienced user o f Photoshop, I recommend - as does the author - that you complete all six techniques in Chapter 1 before trying any of the other techniques. Then you will have the required knowledge to try any of the other techniques in any order that you want .
Take a Peek at All the Information Packed In This Book:
Chapter 1 - Photoshop 7 Fundamentals - Techniques 1-6:
Configuring Photoshop, Controlling Image Window, Automamating Tasks, Creative Experimentation, Calibrating Your Monitor, and Configuring Basic Color Management.
Chapter 2 - Correcting, Enhancing, and Restoring Digital Photos -Techniques 7-13:
Quick Image Correction, Advanced Image Correction, Increasing Color Saturation, Restoring an Old Image-(my personal favorite), Removing Noise or Grain, Sharpening Digital Photos, and Adding Information to a Digital Photo.
Chapter 3 - Working In Black and White -Techniques 14-19:
(2)Converting a Photo to B&W, Burning and Dodging with Masks, Using Scaling Masks to Speed Edits, Isolating and Extracting Detail using Values, and Selective Focusing.
Chapter 4 - Creative Experimentation - Techniques 20-25:
Hand-Painting a Black and White Image, Creating a Pseudolsolarization, Adding a Traditional Darkroom Texture Screen Effect, Fixing Images with a Digital Graduated Neutral Density Filter, Simulating an Infrared Film Effect, and Creating a Toned Image.
Chapter 5 - Combining Photos in Montages, Collages, and Composites -Techniques 26-29:
Creating Photo Objects, Making a PhotoMontage, Combining Bracketed Photos, and Using a Mask to Create a Collage
Chapter 6 - Fine Art Techniques - Techniques 30-35:
Total Color Transformation, Using Filters to Create Fine Art Prints, Coloring a Digital Sketch, Creating a Pen Ink Sketch Using a Watercolor Wash, Creating a Digital Painting, Creative Use of Filters and Commands.
Chapter 7 - Using Plug-Ins to Add Impact to Your Photos - Techniques 36-41:
Using Image Correction Plug-Ins, Using Grain Surgery to Remove Digital Noise, Convering Color to B&W Using Convert to B&W Pro, Creating Artwork with Buzz.Pro 2.0, Using a Pen Tablet and Pen Palette 1.0, and Using Special Effects Plug-Ins.
Chapter 8 - Making Photographic Prints - Techniques 42-47:
Using Print Preview (Picture Package and Contact), Increasing Image Size to Make Large Prints, Using an ICC Profile When Printing with an Epson 880/1280 Printer, Getting Fuji Frontier Prints Made, Using Shutterfly's Online Printing Service, Getting Lightjet 5000 Prints from Calypso Inc.
Chapter 9 - Creating An Online Gallery - Techniques 48-50:
Creating an Online Gallery, Creating Animations Using Digital Photos, and Creating an Image Map.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone from beginners to professionals who work with Photoshop everyday. Not only is it loaded with detailed, reference information - (and CD) - it's also a [great price]BR>MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
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Trixie McGuire ...
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely useful for learning cool stuff in a fun way., November 8, 2002
This review is from: 50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques (Paperback)
There are two kinds of Photoshop books I buy, large expensive reference books (usually one per version I upgrade to) and specific technique books. The reference tombs I refer to when I’m trying to get something done and can’t figure out how to do it. They aren’t fun, but do provide needed guidance. Then there are the books (like this one) that are fun to sit down with and learn as I actually work on images. By the time I had done about a quarter of the techniques in the book I found that my Photoshop skills had really grown in areas that I’ve always found confusing before. And in several cases I found better ways to do stuff that I thought I already knew a lot about.
I usually don’t have much use for the CD’s that come with books, but this one has the before and after example pictures for each of the techniques, and I found it really helpful to open the actual files that the examples use and work through the steps, seeing the changes as the image is transformed. On the other hand, why anyone would want to use the trial version of Photoshop included on the CD, I can’t imagine. But the whole book is on the CD as an e-book, and that makes it possible to do some cool searches.
Overall I’m really impressed with what I was able to get out of this book, and with the enjoyable way it’s all presented. Lots of creative techniques, good background details about what the controls in dialog boxes do, and a painless workout of Photoshop’s more complex and powerful functions. Definitely a cool way to learn about Photoshop 7.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to get what you need from this book, November 8, 2002
This review is from: 50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques (Paperback)
Great book on Photoshop 7 (and related processes required for making a final product). So many of these types of books are so jammed with "stuff" that I don't know where to start and I usually put the book down before I really get started. This book however is laid out so nicely that you can scan it on Day 1, get started digesting it on Day 2 and then months later you can easily reference it again and again.
This book starts off with a one page "Contents at a Glance," listing the 9 Chapters (like "Chapter 3 - Working in Black & White") and assorted sections and appendices. From there it takes you to the 15 pages of "Contents," listing all 50 Techniques and each step of each technique. Then you go to the page you want and find exactly what you need.
I'm a professional photographer and I've been working with Photoshop for years. Each technique in this book starts with what I already know and takes me to new frontiers. For example, I do a great job capturing an image with my camera, but some things are too sharp in my photograph. Well, "Technique 19 - Selective Focusing" starts with "Step One: Open File" (I'm with ya) and walks we through, in illustrated detail, to "Step 6: Create Final Curves Adjustment Layer" (Wow, that is something new to me and COOL). The end product is exactly (actually, better than) what I wanted and what I had in my head. I knew there was a way to get to what I wanted and this book TAUGHT me how to get there.
What can I say? I don't think that there was a single technique that wasn't an educational part of my Photoshop journey. I am also sure that this book can teach just about anyone enough to make the purchase of this book well worth the price.
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