Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I have been using Adobe Photoshop since version 5.5, but didnt really get into it seriously until Photoshop CS (8). When I purshcased CS, i bought Jan Kabili's "Complete Course" title, because I considered the Classroom In a Book series to be too dry and technical. It seems that most PS books are either completely tutorial based (meaning you have to follow that sample projects in order to get anything from the lessons) or a cut-and-dry reference that doesnt go too in depth on explainations. "Complete Course" was the former, a big disappointment, and I never finished it. I have since upgraded to CS2, and wanted to get THE most comprehensive and most importantly, versatile book, that would provide explainations as well as serve as a reference.

I have not been disappointed in my purchase of Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book. From what I have seen, the book has chapters that suit everyone, whether you have years of experience with photoshop or are a complete beginner. I am somewhere in between, but found even the most basic "beginner" chapters contain some very useful information. As the book progresses the concepts become more complex and allow you to greatly expand your knowledge of PS.

But what impressed me most about Classroom in a Book was that it can be molded to fit your learning style. Included is a CD with example files for you to follow along with each lesson, trying out features as you go. However, if you are like me and do not learn as well from following a tutorial step-by-step, you dont have to use the CD. This book is written well enough and includes plenty of color screenshots that you can do just as well without the sample files. I am about halfway through the book, feel very confident in what I learned from those lessons, and have yet to pop in the CD. Using it (at least for the first half of the book) is up to you and depends on how you like to learn.

I also purchased this book, because sometime in the not-too-distant future, I am planning to take the exam to become an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop CS2. For anyone else considering taking the exam, this is the official Photoshop book. Not only is this the guide that Adobe recommends as preparation for the ACE exam, but it is also highly recommended by many of those who have taken the exam and are now certified experts in photoshop.

This book was definitely one of my best book purchases to date; I am looking forward to the release of Adobe's Classroom in a Book for GoLiveCS2!

Let me start out by saying that I knew nothing about Photoshop when I bought this book. I couldn't even figure out how to make a blue background. I'm now on Lesson 7 (out of 16) and am already comfortable with doing things like editing family photos and cleaning up pictures. This book has been invaluable to me, and I'm only half way through.

The lessons are really easy to follow, step by step with color pictures. It also comes with a CD that contains tutorials and photographs that you work with in the lessons. Each lesson takes about 30-60 minutes, and they're fun :) It starts out easy and gets more difficult with each lesson as it gets more advanced.

Great book.. I'm going to pick up the Illustrator CS2 version when it comes out too.

This is well intended, and mostly well achieved title. That is, it serves a good introduction to the interface and application in general terms. But it falls far short of deeply teaching the application.

Yes, a user will have completed many exercises, and will have had many "successes", building confidence along the way. All good things. Additionally, one learns the vocabulary of Photoshop, the locations of tools and palettes, and something about the program's settings.

But sadly, as a teacher, I see little deep understanding of how to use the application from those who rely solely on this text. And although knowing where things are and what they're called are important steps to passing the Adobe Certified Expert exam, it's more important to know how to achieve results in efficient ways that only real understanding--and much practice--can produce. I was fortunate to help create that exam for the last several versions of Photoshop, and I believe it tests how an adept user actually uses the program. One should be proud to pass that test!

This book will get you started, perhaps, but it won't make anyone adept or expert. Try turning to Real World Photoshop CS2 (Fraser and Blatner) or Adobe Photoshop CS2 for Photographers (Martin Evening) for that. Classes don't hurt either, but I'm biased there. But mostly, joyful, frequent, and curious use will make one an expert.

I'm not a Photoshop beginner or an advanced user, but I found the style of this book very easy to use. As other reviewers have noted - it's not a text book, it really does feel like a series of lessons.

The way the lessons flow together is excellent, but I must admit that I did finish the book hungry for more. If you are looking for something to build up your confidence before tackling an advanced photoshop book - this is the ticket.

Other reviewers have already covered many of the other main points, so I wanted to focus on something that really impressed me - the design effort that has gone into this title. It's clear that Abobe Press took a lot of pride in producing this title, and it is very easy on the eye. Additionally, it has been designed to enhance learning experience with the usual classic things like objectives stated in advance, knowledge reviews and quizzes, as well as the occassional tip from an expert thrown in for good measure. The included CD also contains some nice video sequences of some of the lessons - nice bonus material.

I can only sum up the production of this book in two words - extremely professional. When I wrote to the publisher to report a small error (see the Wiki) they wrote a very polite email back to me and it seemed as though they really cared about producing a quality title. Sadly this is not the case with all publishers these days...

As soon as I finished this book I immediately placed an order for their Illustrator CS2 Classroom in a Book title. I'm sure I won't be disappointed...

This is THE Photoshop book. It's the official book from Adobe press, the official training workbook from Adobe Systems, it's even written by Adobe (well ... people at Adobe). This new edition is printed in full color, a great improvement over earlier books that were mostly black and white with a small section of full color pages.

Color is important in photoshop because a very small percentage of the work you'll be doing is in black and white. If the book is telling you something about color and illustrating it in black and white, it's hard to know what they are talking about.

This book has sixteen lessons that you can complete very quickly if you know what they are talking about but take longer if you're a complete beginner. The first lesson starts out with a blank work area and takes you upward from there. Primarily in tutorial style, this book is a supplement to the reference type documentation supplied with Photoshop. It provides a good way to get started and to have a complete presentation with logical flow from start to finish.

The CD supplied with the book contains illustrations from the lessons, sample movies, a collection of fonts, and other materials.

All in all, this book is well written, simple to follow, tells you enough to become if not a true expert, at least an advanced intermediate user. What more can you ask out of a book?

This is the 12th or 13th book I have purchased about Photoshop. I wish it had been my first purchase, because I am finally now learning the "ins" and "outs" of Adobe's Photoshop CS2. When I finish the lessons and projects in this book, I believe the other books on the same subject will be easy to understand.

This is definitely a hands on book. The clear color pictures and illustrations are rather concise and informing. I am about in the middle of the book now and am already tweaking family photos.

This is a fine, complete book -- no doubt about it, but for an instant boost of your Photoshop Skills I'd definitely recommend another reference: Photoshop CS 2 Visual Encyclopedia, which I just got. It's beautifully executed and is a real time-saver -- based around succinct spreads and steps. It's about the fifth CS2 book in my collection, and my favorite so far.

This was the first book I used (the CS version) when I started learning Photoshop a few years ago. While it was helpful, the book is divided into specific lessons, with little time spent on how Photoshop's tools work together or in what sequence they should be used. The lesson on masking, for instance, shows you how to create and work with a mask, but spends almost no time discussing the logic behind masks or or how they make your photo-editing tasks easier. I guess what is missing is a "holistic" feel to the book. When I finished, I certainly had a better knowledge of some of Photoshop's features, but the knowledge was disjointed.

The next book I read, and one which every Photoshop user should have, is Katrin Eismann's "Photoshop Restoration & Retouching." It is the best book I've seen on Photoshop, whether for the beginner or an advanced user. I won't review that book here -- you can look it up on Amazon. I use Photoshop now at my job and as a hobby, and credit Eismann's book with most of my Photoshop knowledge and confidence.

The Classroon in a Book is helpful, but once you finish it and begin using Photoshop, you probably won't ever look at it again (I haven't). Eismann's book, however, continues to be an essential reference and guide for me.

I purchased this book for my class, and I was not disappointed. I knew very little about Photoshop when I started my online class, and I felt that this book was very helpful and answered pretty much all my beginner-Photoshop user questions. I would recommend this book for people who want to learn the basics about using Photoshop.