34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Technical Manual, September 11, 2007
This review is from: Complete Photoshop CS3 for Digital Photographers (Digital Photography) (Paperback)
This is a very good introduction to Photoshop CS3 for the beginning digital photographer and a useful reference book for the more experienced Photoshop user.
The book is aimed at photographers and not graphic artists, unlike many other PS books. It follows a logical work flow progression, beginning with Adobe Bridge, which is an application included with PS CS3 that can be used to import pictures from a camera and to select and sort them. Next it moves to another part of Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), which allows for untargeted adjustments to the imported files. In Part II, it's on to manipulation in the main body of Photoshop, with emphasis on cropping, tonal adjustments and color correction. (Most of the tools mentioned here are also available in ACR in a similar form and although the bulk of instructions is contained here, it can be applied to ACR, although I wish the tie-in had been a little stronger.) This part then shows how to make local enhancements, sharpen a photo and print it. Part III talks about retouching and Part IV about advanced concepts like special effects and combining images. The first two parts will be sufficient for most photographers to learn how to turn out good prints.
The writing is clear, no-nonsense and almost pedantic but that's not so bad in a book of this type. Occasionally the authors will point out why certain adjustments are appropriate, but mostly the reasons will have to be inferred. For example, they suggest the artistic reasons for cropping, but when it comes to tonality, while they explain how to control it fully, the authors don't emphasize the importance of using the full range of light, or when one might not want to. Readers interested in learning more about the art should look at books like "
Photoshop Artistry: For Photographers Using Photoshop CS2 and Beyond (Voices That Matter)" by Barry Hynes or "
Outdoor Photographer Landscape and Nature Photography with Photoshop CS2 (Outdoor Photographers)" by Rob Sheppard.
I was impressed by the fact that Smith and Cooper did not follow the almost politically correct line of saying format isn't so important, and unreservedly said that Raw is the best format for most shooting. The book includes a CD with images to work on. New users will find this tutorial approach extremely useful. Less useful were the videos on the disc which don't relate to specific chapters but seem more designed to sell related video instruction. Occasionally some small piece of information that I considered important, like setting the ACR preference for sharpening, was not included.
Unfortunately, the book does not cover the important changes to ACR made by version 4.1. Readers will have to find instruction about the update on-line at places like Jeff Schewe's piece at http://photoshopnews.com/2007/05/31/about-camera-raw-41/.
This seems an excellent book for new users to learn Photoshop CS3. (People familiar with Photoshop CS2 can save themselves a little time by reading Ben Willmore's "
Adobe Photoshop CS3: Up to Speed".)
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book, July 26, 2009
The writing is clear and precise. Layout is a tutorial type step by step approach, which I personally believe, helps a person understand, accomplish the tasks, and learn. Lots of photographs of various categories and screen shots that gently guide you through all aspects of Photoshop until you complete your final image.
If you are a relative beginner or changing over to Digital this book with its CD - Rom holds all work files, 90 images, flash movies, and a Photoshop file with skin tones to help you progress even further.
If you know how to use a camera but not up to speed with Photoshop this is the book for you.
At $44.99 this book is well worth it.
A quick review of the Chapters.
Chapter 1 - Is all about getting started with Adobe Bridge.
Explains the file formats, resolution, ISO and ways to organize, label and view images.
Chapter 2 - Deals with RAW converter.
Get's a bit more in-depth with 16-bit RAW images.
White Balance, Camera Settings.
Working with multiple RAW images, Batch processing in Adobe Bridge.
Chapter 3 - Cropping and Perspective.
Learn how to correct common photographic problems.
Cropping out unwanted detail, lens correction filter.
Fixing distortion, straightening horizons.
Chapter 4 - Tonal Correction and Enhancement.
Learn about histograms to correct and improve your images.
Too dark, too bright or lacking in contrast?
This is the chapter to bring bad images back to life.
Chapter 5 - Color Correction and Enhancement.
Remove color casts and create a warming and / or cooling effect to photos.
Color correction using variations.
Hue / Sat, match color, lab color, it's all in this chapter.
Chapter 6 - Selection and Masks.
Use the magic wand to select parts of an image, set the tolerance and anti-alias options.
Adjustment layer mask.
The quick selection tool (new to CS4)
Refine the selection, refine the mask.
Chapter 7 - Sizing and Printing.
Show how to resize the photo to retain image quality for print and web.
Printer profiles to ensure that your print matches your monitor.
Resolution, batch sizing images for email.
Color Management.
Chapter 8 - Sharpening and Noise Reduction.
Learn the noise reduction filter, smart sharpen and unsharp mask.
Sharpening using Lab color.
Non destructive sharpening using the high pass filter.
Chapter 9 - Image Retouching.
Reduce wrinkles, remove redeye, tattoos and acne.
Shrink waistlines.
Use the spot healing, patch and healing brush tools.
Chapter 10 - Frame and Color Effects.
Convert color images to grayscale, sepia tone.
Add depth of field to your images.
Create a classic vignette look.
Create a simple border and an edge effect for the photo.
Create a double matte effect frame.
Chapter 11 - Special effects.
Turn photos into hand drawn images and paintings.
Use patterns to create scanlines.
Create a vanishing point.
Use the image warp tool.
Chapter 12 - Combining Images for Creative Results.
Produce panoramic images.
Create collages and animation.
Remove an object from its background.
Extracting images with the extract tool.
As you would expect from Colin Smith and Tim Cooper nothing is left to the imagination, nothing is forgotten a good comprehensive read and learning tool.
5 out of 5
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Resource Tool, July 10, 2009
Every once in awhile you read a book that's more than just a learning tool, it becomes part of your reference library, this is one of those books.
I've been using photoshop for over a decade but hadn't upgraded in a couple of version so got this book to help get me up to speed on CS4. Well it certainly has exceeded my expectations in that regard and others.
The friendly writing style and the beautiful full color screenshot examples made it fun to read and one of the added bonuses is that along the way there are tips, tricks and thought provoking ideas that not only reinforce the learning but will also help make me take better shots straight out of the camera.
The included CD ROM has all the reference files you need to follow along which really helps the info sink in and the video lessons alone are worth the price of the book.
I really like the way it is laid out so that I can reach for it and within seconds have the answers to time saving soultions (like a recipe book for chefs) at my fingertips.
Whether you are switching from film to digital and whether you are completely new to Photoshop or are just upgrading I think this book is a must read and will earn a place in your reference library as well.
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