Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop CS2 A - Z: Tools and features illustrated ready reference

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

 

 

I must admit, I was a little reluctant to purchase this book as all of the Photoshop books over the years I have read that are set up as being basically encyclopedic have failed. I am now very glad that I purchased this book.

I would consider myself an intermediate Photoshop user and several things appeal to me about this book. First of all, unlike many encyclopedic like books just tend to repeat what the option or function is. For example, lets say the Photoshop option is "Find Edges". Many books would say, "finds the edges in an image" and that's pretty much it. But not this book. There is a nice discussion of the option and the dialog box that pops up when Find Edges is selected and the three sliders available and what each does. This book also directs you where to find the option and in which versions of Photoshop it is available.

Secondly, this book is wonderfully illustrated. Thirdly, it is not strictly encyclopedic. There are a number of follow along type exercises and the images can be found online at a companion site so that one can work along with the book. In addition, there are quicktime movies that can be viewed or downloaded to further explain material in the book.

In conclusion, This is definitely the best encyclopedic type Photoshop book I have seen and I have seen many others that have failed at this type of information presentation. I am giving it a five not only because of it's usefulness but also because this book suceeds where so many have failed. And at $16 it's a great buy.

I'm new to CS2 and was having trouble weeding through all the possable ways of developing my photos. This book is a wouderful help with undrstanding some of the complicated tasks involved, the projects are simple to read and simpler to do, even if you are using your own photos instead of the ones that are included with the book on a CD. Having completing the projects in the book I reference it reguarly for my own projects.

Title: Photoshop CS2 A-Z
Author: Philip Andrews
Publisher: Focal Press
ISBN: 0240520025
Pages: 244 pages
Reviewer: Charles Renee
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


This Photoshop advice and teaching book by Phillip Andrews is a great find. It's not a sit by the fire and read book but, rather a wonderful ready reference.

Adobe keeps making great products and adding new features almost to the speed of "hold on I can't keep up.? This book offers some handholds on Photoshop. It is set up in dictionary style in which it describes every feature and action in Photoshop from A to Z with really nice color photos. In many cases it has multiple screenshots of features, filters and actions.

Even though the title describes itself as CS2 it has tips, tricks and shortcuts that apply to older versions of the program as well. It will tell you what versions each feature works with and highlights the CS2 only items. Photoshop CS2 A-Z might be the needed push for someone sitting on the fence about whether the program upgrade is worth it. This book is not a substitute for classroom type text books but a great companion for everyday use. My copy is already getting its share of daily abuse. Easy to use, easy to read, 5 star rating!

I found this book incredibly easy to use - the explanations are concise and brief, and everything else can be figured out as you work. The alphabetical layout makes it simple and straightforward.

The Adobe Photoshop CS2 A-Z etc, etc is a beautifull book. As a complement to other more accurate howtos is of a great help. The only complaint I found when I had on hands my actual copy was the so small point used on the summary tables at the beginning of each feature.

Easy to look for the subject you want, but the book was too succint and the character were so small that I had to use a magnifier lens. Where is the other author Peter Bargh who wrote the previous edition? I puchased both editions.

But not enough to explain any one process through. OSX users, be advised, most of the dialog boxes are Windows which you need a magnifying glass to see.