Customer Reviews

The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you're like me, when you sit down to process photos you don't really have the time to explore options and try out new techniques. You just have time to do the work. Though my byline above IDs me as a book author, I also do color correction for the photos in my books, and have done commercial photo retouching since those dark days in darkrooms. I learned Photoshop on version 1.0 (we upgraded from Digital Darkroom, anyone else remember that?), and since that time haven't kept up much with all the new improvements. I just get photos in and need to get them out. Quickly.

Anyway, I haven't bought a Photoshop book in years. I saw the other good reviews this book is getting and thought I'd give it a try.

And boy am I glad I did!

There are four chapters here I'm going to use a lot:

CHAPTER 6 is filled with shortcuts, tips and tricks. Many other books are too, yes, but this one has a straightforward presentation filled with doses of humor. (Whereas many software guides are about as interesting as a dead fish, this one is filled with a lively, witty writing style that nevertheless gets its points across cleanly.)

CHAPTER 7 is all about color correction, which is my main concern. A section called "The trick pros use to make color correction simple" is nice to know. It suggests using black, gray and white cards in your photo, and the Curves adjustment in Photoshop to almost automatically correct the color.

CHAPTER 10 focuses (sorry, bad pun) on problematic photos. Included are:
a. Fixing color in indoor shots
b. When your subject is in the shadows
c. 15-second fix for under- or overexposed photos
d. Dodging and burning in CS4
e. Instant red-eye removal
f. Fixing reflections in glasses
g. The CS4 secret to fixing group shots
h. Having Photoshop extend your depth of field
i. The fastest way to resize brushes ever (plus you can change their hardness, too)

CHAPTER 13 finally explained the configuration of color space to me in a way I, after all these years, now understand. There is also both the lame way and the correct way to calibrate your monitor.

Also covered thoroughly: Bridge, Camera Raw, black and white photography, HDR, special effects and sharpening.

With crisp text, clear descriptions, a pleasing layout and great organization, this is a book I'll be using every day. What a resource!

The author has written two other books, both of which our company uses often:
The Digital Photography Book
The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2

Scott Kelby has never tried to make his guide the biggest or most comprehensive book on Photoshop. His focus is to identify those tasks most useful to digital photographers and give step-by-step explanations to get them done. Most of the information is presented in a very task-oriented approach. The emphasis is squarely placed on giving you the tools to get things done quickly and efficiently. As such, I consistently find it a useful reference book as I edit photos.

The topics covered are varied and generally right in the sweet spot of what will be most useful. There is quite a lot of material on how to use the Raw File conversion utility because in many ways this is the foundation of everything that you will do with an image (assuming you shoot in Raw). Other topics that every photographer should be interested in that are well covered include color management and sharpening. Of course, there are many other chapters covering material almost as essential as what I've already mentioned.

For those who own the prior version for CS3, this is no mere reprint of old material with a few new pages to cover the CS4 features. Mr. Kelby is diligent enough to make each guide better than the last and offers new photos and examples with each new edition. I applaud this effort, because it certainly isn't duplicated by all of his competitors in the field.

In the past, my biggest criticism of Scott Kelby's books has always been his use of humor that takes over certain segments of the book. But I finally realized that he limits the would-be stand up comedy act to his chapter introductions and explicitly tells readers in the introduction to skip this material if they want to, because it has no relevance to the process of learning Photoshop. While I would prefer chapter introductions that give a quick context and introduction for the material, it's probably not the end of the world for those of us who don't find him funny to just skip these sections and let him have his fun.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Mr. Kelby has done an excellent job organizing and presenting a useful guide to Photoshop CS4 and I commend him for that. While I'd still prefer he soften the comedic approach, this is an excellent text that will prove its value again and again to CS4 users.

When I bought Photoshop CS2, I wasted a lot of effort with my photos until I bought Kelby's book. Not only did the book describe how to use some of the features in Photoshop that I used every day, but he also taught tricks such as adding twinkles to eyes. When I bought Lightroom, again it was Kelby who taught me how to use the program. In fact, I told all of my friends who used Photoshop that they needed Kelby's books. So when I upgraded to Photoshop CS4, I of course bought Kelby's book. And this time I was disappointed.

True to form, Kelby presents to the reader step by step instructions for some of the functions you may want to use in Photoshop CS4. Working with color, black and white and dodging and burning are all included in the book. But, as someone who already knew the basics of CS2, the CS4 book doesn't offer a lot of new information. And as someone who uses Lightroom instead of Bridge, I found the two chapters on Bridge to be interesting, but not so useful. The chapters on HDR images are interesting academically, but then Kelby recommends not using Photoshop for these images. The chapters about printing and showing your work are nice, but I bought the book to learn how to use Photoshop CS4 to improve my photos. These other topics would be better in another book so that Kelby could concentrate on teaching tips and tricks.

Missing from the CS4 book are all of the great tips that were in the CS2 book. I find that I actually use the CS2 book a lot when working in CS4 are rarely look at Kelby's Photoshop CS4 book. Also missing is more information about adjustment layers. Maybe I missed something by skipping his CS3 book, but to me, adjustment layers are the most exciting part about Photoshop CS4 and Kelby only devotes a few pages to them.

I actually wish that I had saved my money and used it instead for training on Lynda.com or the Lynda CS's (Chris Orwig is very good) Photoshop CS4 for Photographers. By using the Lynda training, my skills in Photoshop CS4 improved dramatically. Because of the Lynda training, I can use curves and other adjustment layers without reservation. I would recommend Lynda instead or in addition to this book.

In Summary, with the chapters on importing photos from your camera, cropping and printing, this book would be very good for someone who is new to Photoshop and needs to know the basics. However, more advanced uses who are familiar with Photoshop might be better served with a different instructional guide (book or DVD). If you already own Kelby's Photoshop CS2 book, you really dont need to buy this one as well.

This book was recommended to me by the instructor of the beginning photoshop class that I'm taking. For someone who has NEVER used photoshop, I don't think this is as user friendly as I needed it to be. The three stars are primarily due to the lack of foundational language that I needed to guide me through the process. I've found another publication that has met my CS4 needs in a way I hoped this book would have. I'm hoping that after I've built a solid foundation of knowledge with photoshop that I'll be able to pick this book up again and work its magic. I would not recommend this book for the beginner unless that beginner has a strong tech background. This book seems more in line with those who have worked with the process for a while and feel quite secure with their knowledge of photoshop.

I liked the new updated pictures and some of the details, specifically the ones on the new CS4 features. But Scott made a big mistake when he dropped some of the chapters and lessons on the editing. He dropped the Faces chapter, and with it, all the techniques photographers use frequently to edit portraits. The book concentrated more on Bridge and Camera Raw, even when this is important, it's not really Photoshop CS4 (you can use ACDSee or any camera brand software to import and review keepers and bad pics and to perform the initial corrections, but the name of the book is PHOTOSHOP CS4 BOOK ...). And the book still lacks valuable and simple info on printing and color management on CS4. So i got a bit dissapointed with this version, because now we have to use both books at the same time and sometimes even figuring out how to do thins from CS3 here in CS4. I'd recommend the book, but you'll have to buy the CS3 one too.

this book is excellent if you are "entry level" or "intermediate" as far as knowledge required to use CS4. If you are already intermediate and looking for "expert" knowledge or under the hood tips and tricks this book does not have much.

Scott Kelby writes a beautifully illustrated book. The quality and pictures make the pages come alive. He writes for people who want to get more involved in photography. This particular book is good for a person who has had some experience with Photoshop, but who is not an expert. I would highly recommend it!

Scott Kelby is true to his form with his CS4 book as he was in my first experience with the CS2 book. Kelby is a teacher, and the beauty of his presentation is that it is a recipe style how to approach directed at helping photographers use CS4 for specific tasks. To the benefit of his readers/users, Kelby explains exactly what to do in the exact sequence to set up CS4; understand Bridge and image storage; edit pictures; and solve common image problems. He makes using Camera Raw; and the application's many tools and adjustment layers easy and meaningful. He takes one of the most complex software programs and teaches it from the angle of simplicity and practicality, presenting it with a fun approach. The book is successful because it's not a manual. It is successful because Kelby writes to everyday photographers, not to the application. Other CS4 books in this hefty price range are merely manuals that best serve as a tomes to be large paper weights. Scott Kelby makes learning CS4 fun as he shortens the learning curve. My one complaint is that the book's suggested retail price of $54.99 is a bit over the top - even at discount, this is expensive.

My first book by Scott Kelby. I have to admit that I know a fair bit of photoshop, so this may be the reason I did not find it particularly helpful. However, this book is not a good reference for cs4 by any stretch. the first 3rd of the book is about camera raw and bridge, then a good portion is about printing. there is very little in detail about various functions in cs4. I also do not like his style of writing. the introduction to each chapter has nothing to do with photography, or photoshop, and I too found his humor distracting, and simply not funny.
I know Scott is a master of photoshop, and maybe thats why this book was so disappointing. I will be taking it in for an exchange.

I recently purchased this book after purchasing Photoshop CS4 Extended. Since I am relatively new to Photoshop CS4 I was looking for a book that teaches Photoshop CS4 from the ground up. If that is what you are looking for, this is not the book for you. This book seems to be geared towards people that use Photoshop and have upgraded to CS4. Also, if you use Photoshop Lightroom 2 then you will find that half of this book covers CS4 functions that you probably won't use.

I am not saying that this is a bad book; I just want to call attention to the fact that this is not a Photoshop beginners book. By the way, I do plan on keeping this book but I will be looking for something that is geared more towards Photoshop beginners.

P.S. This product was given three stars just to try and draw attention to the fact that this is not a beginners book. I would consider purchasing a Kelby book for CS5 when it is released.