Customer Reviews

Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 5.5 Classroom in a Book (Classroom in a Book (Adobe))

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this book not knowing much about Photoshop but being a photographer I needed to learn and learn quick so I could perform my job. This book is the best thing I have bought in a long time. The instruction was simple and I was working away in just 4 hours. I could not reccomend a better book than this. You also can't find a better deal than this price!

This is a good start if you are not familiar with ImageReady and Photoshop. It is because it covers all the basics. Therefore you won't miss a thing if you are serious to learn Photoshop. The examples are pretty easy to follow. I didn't find any problem with the CD.

The Adobe Classroom in a Book series use a texbook approach that is different from others. There are review questions after each chapter. Some people may find the teaching style pretty dry since they can find more design tricks in other guides (e.g. Offical Adobe Photoshop 5 Studio Techniques from Adobe Press). I think this is a personal preference.

The only thing I don't like is it's in black and white. The writing style is similar to the version 3 and 4 books. If you have the verion 5 Classroom in a book, you will not find this one useful for the main difference is only ImageReady. It is also a beginner to intermediate level book. This book is not for you if you want more advance techniques.

I have helped teach a workshop using this book. The book explores what is possible in photoshop and is definately NOT a primer for the Photoshop Certification exam. What you need to prepare for certification is the Adobe Photoshop Certification Guide and a familiarity with Photoshop. The students do very well on their own with CIB 5.5 until they run into a glitch. Usually this occurs because they haven't read the text closely. Sometimes the glitch is a program preference that isn't mentioned or explained in the book or a problem navigating in their own computer. A troubleshooting section would make this book a better teacher.

The addition of Adobe Image Ready 2.0 is extremely helpful and I think worth the price of the 5.5 version even if you already have 5.0 CIB. The one thing I do miss is the 4.0 chapter on layers (the beach bunny), I think it illustrated the uses of layers more directly (and it was aesthetically a better complete image).

Honestly, CIB 5.5 is not a Photoshop Bible but a tool to help you learn what Photoshop is about. I would recommend this book for people who have problem solving skills and the ambition to learn what photoshop can do. This is an excellent book for beginners (who at least know how to navigate their computer).

i teach photoshop and use this book as a text along with 2 other books since there is no scanning info in this book!...in version 4.0 there was a chapter on image correction basics which is not in this book...the layer chapter in version 4.0 is better also...even with these faults it is the easiest book for beginners to understand and follow without being overwhelmed by text!...the other 2 books i use are PEACHPIT PRESS / VISUAL QUICKSTART GUIDE PHOTOSHOP 5.5 and HAYNES & CRUMPLER/ PHOTOSHOP 5 ARTISTRY...the visual qs guide is a great inexpensive reference...it does not have a cd of images, so is not great for those learning who have no scanned images...the photoshop artistry book is excellent for photographers, but a bit text-heavy for beginners, so i use it for my level 2 students!

Adobe has done a fine job with this book, but I would not suggest this one for anyone with a good working background of Adobe Photoshop. One could find practically the same information in the user's guide that comes with the program. I read the other reviews and bought it thinking I would find some interesting information within, but I did not. I would still rate this book high for the novice or for some one using Photoshop for the first time, under these circumstances this book would be a great help.

This book is designed to supplement a users knowledge in order to prepare them for the Adobe Certified Expert exam. In that capacity it excels. For a reference manual, I would recommend Adobe Photoshop 5 Studio Techniques (ISBN 1-56830-474-9) as this offers some usability tips not found in many reference tomes.

I would also recommend browsing internet sites that offer photoshop tutorials. These can offer a great deal of free advice to advance your skills. MS

This is a great book, but essentially the same book as the CIB Photoshop 5.0 book. There are two additional lessons, but all the other lessons are identical. I was very disappointed to have spent so much money on just two chapters that I needed. If all the lessons were identical to the previous book, why didn't they just issue an update (2 lessons only....) I felt gypped.

Adobe Photoshop 5.5 Classroom in a Book provides a wealth of information for no one, but intermediate to advanced users.

If you are a beginner, please consider another book. Since this book is written by the Adobe staff, the book uses an impersonal voice, and does not explain why things should be done the way they were done in the book. You just follow directions and be impressed about what they TOLD you to do, but never get to play around with it yourself.

You may rather be confused and lost, if you are just starting to use the application.

In the tour along, they are four major omissions within the first 25 pages! If you are confident and believe that you can work without directions, you may benefit from this book.

I consider myself an intermediate user but on one omission I spent nearly nearly half an hour to figure out how to continue.

However, the contents of the book is quite helpful to those who already know how to use Adobe Photoshop.

I tried to report those omissions to Adobe Press, but the Adobe Systems website gave no access for such reports. What a poor customer feedback system!

I've been searching for books on Photoshop 5.5, and this is the only one I have found. And boy and I really thankful. It delivers everything it promises and so much more. I really like the classroom approach to Photoshop because it Photoshop is such a robust program.

The review questions at the end of each chapter really reinforce what you have learned. The color insert is incredible and worth the price of the book alone when you see how the end result should actually look. Chapter 9 on Special effects is great. I am really weak on mask and channels and Lesson (Chapter 5) really has allowed me to do things I never could before. Thanks again. The book is really dry as books go, but I'm okay with that because I really need some serious help when it comes to learning a program like Photoshop 5.5.

This book is easy to read and understand. Topics are well organized too. Is is a very good book for beginners and intermediate level users. It covers all the capabilities of PhotoShop 5.5. This book does lack the advance techniques coverage. If the Adobe Creative Team can publish two types of version to beginners and advance users, that will be great!