Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop CS Studio Techniques

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, I bought this book because of the great reviews it had received, and I gotta say it deserves them. It's so good I read the first 240pp in about 3 days. The first chapter alone will show you how to streamline your workspace to get the most out of Photoshop. By the time you read through to chapter eight, you will have a very solid understanding of some tools that will allow you fix photographs you thought were messed up beyond repair.

Willmore's conversational style makes it easy to understand everything he's explaining, and the images (all in color, unless they're grayscales) clarify whatever confusions may arise. Just be sure to work along with him (using the images in the CD) so you get a feel of the tools he's teaching you how to use.

I have not yet gotten to the part where he teaches you specific "tricks," but I looked ahead and am very eager to get there. I find that highlighting certain parts of the text and rereading them before moving on to the next chapter helps me remember what I just read. This book will definitely turn any beginner/novice into an advanced Photoshopper.

The author removed an important section from this, the CS edition, that was present in the previous books.
Specifically, Mr. Willmore didn't include the Web chapter. To his credit he does state this in the intro section, citing the number of improvements to ImageReady (the web graphic creation part of Photoshop) is huge and that the associated chapter would dominate the book. He also said that web designers are not forgotten, that the book is still very web-friendly, he just didn't include a specific chapter or section that covered the web tools.
Well, something must have happened between his writing of that and the actual printing of the book, because I can't find anything that deals with items such as animation, slices, GIF's, or even ImageReady itself. I do need to say that I haven't read the book cover to cover, and that just because there are no entries in the index for these items it doesn't mean they aren't discussed, somewhere, in the pages that I've not read (although if they are, then the book deserves another ding because the index is incomplete).
What is covered is done very well and very completely. Mr. Willmore knows his subject, and it shows in the thourough way he discusses the program. He provides great primers on channels, masks, color correction, scanning, curves, levels
layers, and other features. He takes the more complex tools and breaks them down in ways any user, no matter how much or little experience he or she may have, can understand and apply. Each chapter has a mini-glossary titled "Ben's Techno-Babble Decoder Ring", each entry further explaining terms introduced in the chapter in a no-nonsence manner.
I will say this is an indespenseable book to go along with with the too-thin User Guide. I'm just disappointed that readers of the previous editions must now purchase yet another book if they want to learn about the web graphic features.

No one could deny that really learning Photoshop is a bit of work. Now that I have my certificate I can tell you that for a fact.

Ben Willmore's book takes what appears to be the sometimes scary commands, tools and features of Photoshop and not only what they are - but when to use them. He explains them in a way that makes it appear simple, and then gives you an example.

The book is easy to follow and one of the textbooks books that should be read from front to back. And consantly used for a reference. I will not be selling this one on Amazon Mktplace!

For you dollar this book is a bargain. I used this book constantly though my last semester advanced photoshop class and it gets the most credit for getting me an A (398 out of 420 possible points) in my class.

I hope he writes an equally excellent book on Imageready.

I highly reccomend this book.

This is not the book to consider if you're looking for an easy introduction to Photoshop(PS) with quick steps to get something done. It is, therefore, not the first PS book you should buy if you are new to the program. (I would recommend How to Wow PS for Photography by Wilmore and Davis or PS Book for Digital Photographers by Kelby if you're starting out with PS and want to get a good feel for it.) This book is a monster both in contents and physical weight - I'm not kidding. It looks more like an overweight college textbook and I'm not suprised as it is apparently used in some college courses in PS.

However, this is not to suggest that this is a bad book. This is a very well written book by someone who knows what they're talking about. The book is broken up into three parts: Working Foundations, Productions Essentials and Creative Explorations. The first part goes through explaining the layout of PS, using the various different tools, making selections of people and objects from backgrounds and working with layers. Part two deals with using Curves, Levels, color correction, channels, etc. The final part gets to the goods stuff where Wilmore shows you how to create some cool effects using the blend modes, layer masks, clone tool and type. To be honest I'm only briefly describing how much is covered in this book. This is so much more.

To get the full benefit of this book you really need lots of time. Wilmore explains not just the how something works or is done in PS, but also the why. If Wilmore doesn't know something about PS then it really isn't worth knowing. I'm getting through the book bit by bit. Get yourself up to speed with Photoshop and make some time to read it first. If you don't you'll be overwhelmed by all the info. If you're prepared, though, you will be rewarded.

I waited too long to purchase this tremendous book from one of the gurus of Photoshop CS;Ben Willmore is an outstanding teacher and takes the time to explain you in an understandable language(not too much tech)ALL what you would know about this awesome software.After 696 pages I assure you'll know the program on his best.Even a beginner finds his way in this well structured and good illustrated book.The examples on the companion cd give you the opportunity to follow step by step the chapters along this book.Visit his website and you'll find more updated stuff to improve your skills.At the end of each chapter there is a "Ben's Techno-Babble Decoder Ring"where the author demistifies technical terms used in that chapter,great!I give Ben the place he desserves in my listmania eg the top.Congratulatios Ben !

I teach college age students this program, and this book has been wonderful for both me and the student. It is easy to follow and understand, and having the images on disk to demonstrate to the class, comes in handy! Also an easy book to teach yourself the program or just brush up on some new techniques!

This is an excellent book if you are a 'Near Intermediate' photoshop user. I, unlike some reviewers below, think its a bit advanced for a beginner, although there are intro. paragraphs, they are terse and gloss over some important aspects of the toolset. Otherwise this is a great book for introducing users to the main concepts in the software; layers, levels and colour are well covered in this book, and there are great examples (and exercises) to accompany these topics. The author is a great techer and his style is self-effacing and initimate. Advanced fatures such as the Curves dialog and channel palette get a mention, though again they are quickly covered and much of the text is reduced to 'tricks' that can be performed with these tools. There are two other things to mention:

1. Imageready is not covered at all.

2. Photoshop techniques fro image generation, such as; smoke, rain, wood, metal etc. are not covered.

The book focuses on Photoshop's core compositing engine, and it covers it really well. This is a great stepping stone to more advanced books by the likes of Eisman etc. Recommended.

Easy step by step examples. A lot of information. Comes with a disc to help practice with.

I'm really fond of this book. I'm an advanced amateur photographer, and I use Photoshop as my "digital darkroom". This book has really opened the world of possibilities for me. If you know just a little about Photoshop, you can still do quite a lot, but it will all be trial-and-error, and you'll waste a lot of time. This book will actually save you time and show you how to do things fast.

Great Book! This book goes into detail explaining techniques used to generate photo realistic results. The best Photoshop book I have read other than Chanel Chops. The book has very high quality color photos and the text is easy to read. I attribute this book in part to my personal expertise with Photoshop. It has helped me make some serious money doing graphic arts projects. I highly recommend this book.