Customer Reviews

Complete Photoshop CS2 For Digital Photographers (Digital Photography)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has 11 Chapters packed with need to know information for everyone interested in Digital Photography.
Chapter 1. Explores file formats, resolution and pixels, gets involved with 16 bit images, then it goes into adjusting in Camera Raw.
Chapter 2. Is all about Adobe Bridge, this helps plan and organize your images.
Explains how you can label, rate your images. Want to add copyright information to your image; you need Metadata, shows how to make a Metadata Template.
Use batch Renaming to rename an entire folder of images. Learn how to do contact sheets, picture package, PDF presentation with security. Make a Web Gallery add Watermark to your images automatically.
Chapter 3. It tells you how to crop and size your images without destroying their appearance. When you resize images you need to know all about resolution, this chapter explains in very good details about resolution, image size, canvas size all the resampling methods are here. Learn how to crop unwanted detail so that the picture draws the viewer into the picture, shows different cropping methods.
Chapter 4. Covers Image Correction, learn about histograms in detail.
Brightness/contrast, Shadow/highlight, Levels, Curves, Adjustment layers, it's all here.
Chapter 5. Bring out the best color in your images. Yes, this chapter is all about color Correction, try using adjustment layers. Learn Color Balance using variations, Match Color, Hue/Saturation use levels or curves to correct color.
Chapter 6. Sharpening and Noise Reduction, use the unsharpe mask to sharpen images, work in Lab Mode to sharpen, fading the sharpness, the Smart Sharpen tool will sharpen an image but not the grain, Nondestructive sharpening. Use Channels for noise reduction, Smart Blur for reducing Luminosity Noise, Lab Mode to reduce color noise.
Chapter 7. Takes you to the image retouching world, remove moles, blemishes, reduce wrinkles, whitening teeth, use the Healing brush, patch tool and liquify tool.
Chapter 8. Color effects, convert your images to grayscale and sepia, or just change the color of an object in a photo, add a vignette or an edge to your photo, make frame effects that mimic reality.
Chapter 9. Cover Special Effects, add depth of field to images, and turn a photo into a sketch or a watercolor painting. This chapter also involves the Vanishing Point, Speech Bubbles this chapter is a lot of fun.
Chapter 10. Working with multiple image, learn how to use color range to remove an object from its background, use the extract tool to extract images compositing two images, combining images, creating cast shadows.
Chapter 11. Covers Collaging Techniques and printing, blend collage using Layers, Masks and Blending Modes, use the advanced blending. Create a seamless panorama, also make an animation with the help of Image Ready, learn about color management and print accurate colors.

Conclusion: - This book is for Photographers who are changing from film to digital, amateurs and hobbyist that want to master Photoshop for their digital images.
The book is nicely laid out, clear figures and instructions. Comes with a CD-ROM with image files used from the tutorials also five video clips are included along with some actions.
5 (five) out of 5 (five)

I must have 15 Photoshop CS/CS2 books on my shelf and although I've learned something from each of them, there is one thing that is missing. That is, readability. Complete Photoshop CS2 for D.P. is the first book that I WANT TO READ!! I like reading this book!!
Each chapter is clear, concise, and full of tips. It is presented in such a way that you learn twice as much, in half the time!
If only I could start over I'd buy this one book. Not only would I save space on my bookshelf, but I would have enough money for CS3!

I've been using Photoshop for quite a while but have only recently been delving into digital photography. I haven't really been able to harness the power of combining the two and this book has many of the answers I was seeking in an organized and logical progression. I also appreciate the friendly voice in which it's written, it's not filled with head spinning jargon but is not "for dummies" either. All in all a valuable read and a book that won't just sit on my bookshelf but will be used as a reference for a good while to come.

This book is a must have for any user of Photoshop both amateur and pro. It covers a wide range of topics including raw format, color correction and the bridge just to name a few. The examples and concepts are provided in a great amount of detail so you never get lost. The author will walk you through each and every step of the process and explain alternatives to complete the task. Source material is available on the provided CD for a majority of the tips, tutorials and some extra content like Actions.

If you are a photographer by day or just like to shoot for fun then this book is for you. Colin really knows how to cover a topic in great detail and without all the fluff you find in most books. A few of the chapters are devoted to specific additions to CS2 which is great to get up to speed on the new features such as the bridge or the new and improved photo gallery. I give this book a 5 out of 5 and the reason for that is because the content is relevant, to the point and it is nice to get some sample source to work with.

Photoshop is a tremendous package that will enable you to do justa bout anything you want. But one of its problems is that it is so all encompassing that there are many features you will not use. This book is oriented specifically to the digital photographer. It includes everything that you could want to know about working with the images from your camera while minimizing the coverage on other things.

Photoshop has often been called a digital darkroom. Like in a regular darkroom, this book talks about things like working with multiple images and in printing. Unlike a lot of other books it covers a lot of information on types of paper, color management and other details for getting the best possible print. Another point worth mentioning is the additional coverage on the new features included in CS2.

A CD is included with the book that has all of the images used in the book so you can see them on the screen as well as on the printed page. It has five video files from Photoshopcafe. There is an overview of Adobe Bridge, using shadow/highlights, reducing grain with the new Reduce Noise filter, and using the new Vanishing Point.

Perhaps the strongest point of the book is the writing style of Mr. Smith. He has the ability to make the most complex task rather simple to both understand and to use.

This book by Colin Smith is the book you will want to keep handy in your digital darkroom. If you are an amateur or professional digital photographer, this is a great reference book for those quick how-to questions. This book will also help the photographer who is making the big switch from the traditional darkroom to digital. As in the past, the tutorials in this edition of this book cover basic digital darkroom techniques updated for Adobe Photoshop CS2. On the included CD, you will find the images used in the tutorials as well as sample training video clips from PhotoshopCAFE.

Smith has structured this book to make it easy to find answers to your questions. The first two chapters cover working with your photos in Camera Raw and how to easily manage your extensive selection of photos in the Adobe Bridge application. You can view, categorize and search for photos. You can even watermark your comps. Chapters three through seven teach you digital techniques for improving photos. For example, you will learn how interpolation applies to resizing photos and how to work with histograms and adjustment layers. When you are ready to print, the book explains color management. The last few chapters talk about some fun techniques such as adding frames, artistic touches and special effects to photos, and creating collages and animations.

Colin Smith has extensive experience with Adobe Photoshop. He has written several books including How To Do Everything With Photoshop CS and CS2, Photoshop Most Wanted 1 and 2, and New Masters Of Photoshop 1 and 2. He has also written several articles for NAPP, Mac Design Magazine, Photoshop User and Planet Photoshop.

I have been struggling to make full use of Photoshop CS2's remarkable power, and it wasn't until reading and using Colin Smith's wonderful book that it all finally began to make sense. Not only is everything explained in clear language in a step-by-step way, but the companion CD allows you to go through the steps and get hands-on experience working with Photoshop so you can really understand what you're doing.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to unleash the secrets of Photoshop and learn how to harness its incredible power.

This book covers a lot of complex material and some details.
The explanations are generally very clear, but to get the most from it you need to work through the exercises (on CD) and probably re-read the sections that might still be a little difficult to follow.
If somebody looking for step-by-step and good tip and tricks this book probably isn't for you but you'll find a lots great tips.
If you're willing to put in some effort you'll be able to make amazing improvements to your photos. Strongly recommended.

......in less time than it takes to get up, carry the trash to the bin 15yds. from where i sit,.... adobe raw's wonder, became a part of my thinking...... i am not nesessarily a teach yourself book person, but i was familiar with colin' work, and commend the way he " shares " information, so i opted to purchase this gem of a manual. suffice to say, i've not been bored yet. In less than 10 minuets, raw became a whole new dimension, and figuring out the bridge ( somewhat ! ), was not far behind.
.......i recommend this book ! if you're a person who likes reference, this book is a MUST ! if you are a struggler,..... surrender to simplification.

Thank You Mr. Colin,.... nice piece of work.......gpaul

This book has everything you'll need to know to make your images look like a pro's. It addresses all the common problems and challenges that digital photographers of any level encounter. The best part of the book is the project oriented approach to correcting and enhancing images. For me it serves as a quick and user friendly reference guide. I recommend this book for anyone wanting to get the best out of their digital photos.