Create!: The No Nonsense Guide to Photoshop Elements 2 [Paperback]

Greg Simsic (Conductor)

Book Description

Series: No Nonsense Guides | Publication Date: January 2, 2003

Draw on the knowledge presented in this wonderful guide written in plain, understandable language. Learn to perform all kinds of image editing tasks including photo restoration, collage-making, overlaying images, and much more. Or, if you prefer, create your own masterpiece from scratch.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Because Your Computer Should Improve Your Life, Not Complicate It

No Nonsense Guides are here. With a plainspoken approach, these books are inexpensive starters that are light on idle chat and heavy on practical advice. They're lean and mean and stripped down to fighting weight, so you'll get from point A to point Z with instruction that's short and sweet, clear and concise. So, crack the cover and unleash enough useful information and helpful pointers to transform you into a first-rate Photoshop Elements 2 user.

What you'll do inside:

• Revive old photos
• Create digital paintings
• Organize your images
• Optimize graphics for the Web
• Share files with friends
• Make slide shows
• Save files for premium performance
• Add 3-D type
• Transform photos into works of art
• Combine images
• Create illusions
• Improve digital photos

About the Author

Kate Bodenmiller still owns a Mac Se II, which she keeps in a box in her basement. With the help of more current apple technology, she makes a living as a freelance graphic designer in the book publishing and consumer product fields. Greg Simsic is an artist living and working in New York City. He has penned 5 books on Photoshop and Illustrator including Photoshop Type Magic and www.photoshop.imageready - his latest. All of these books emphasise simple, clear direction - some say an antidote to his otherwise altogether aimless sojourns. He has worked in the graphics and design field for ten years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/OsborneMedia (January 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072227389
• ISBN-13: 978-0072227383
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,745,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Create!: The No Nonsense Guide to Photoshop Elements 2, March 19, 2003

By 

Shyamadeva Dandapani (Anchorage, AK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Create!: The No Nonsense Guide to Photoshop Elements 2 (Paperback)

I almost decided not to pick up this book to review because it was a book about an Adobe Photoshop product. My comment is not meant to be negative. In my opinion Photoshop has a straight up learning curve. It is very time-consuming to learn. And it is very difficult to comprehend and put to use in everyday digital photography and image scanning without a lot of training. I own Photoshop 5.0 and Illustrator 8.0 and think they are both great softwares. However they are very intense programs to learn to use.

I had been searching for a simple, straightforward image editing software for my digital photos to use both personally and in my business. When I decided to review this book, I also decided to give Adobe the benefit of the doubt, so I bought a copy of Photoshop Elements 2 to go along with the book.

It was a huge surprise. Both the book and the software. What a great little "how to book" that gets you up and running very quickly. It is simple and direct. The first part of the book does exactly that...you are up and running with a few quick lessons on how to use the program effectively. The latter part of the book goes into more detail. They use a real pared-down and "let's get to the point" writing style which I enjoyed very much. The authors have really done a masterful job of making it easy to open up the software and begin to edit your digital images from the very beginning (page four). In fact, I was able to edit a number of my own photos very easily as I read the book and applied the instructions.

I discovered twenty-four "how to" books available on amazon.com for Photoshop Elements 2. Amazingly they range in price [greatly]this little gem [is] the least expensive one of them all. I also found the authors have written another book in the no nonsense series titled, "Start! The No Nonsense Guide to Mac OS X Jaguar".

I would definitely recommend the Photoshop Elements 2 software for anyone wanting a good, economical digital imaging software. An to get you started, I would highly recommend Create! to anyone who is thinking about doing image editing whether they are a novice or an experienced digital image editor. So Create!, it is worth the money!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Something we all can use!, February 26, 2003

By 

"bugabear1" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Create!: The No Nonsense Guide to Photoshop Elements 2 (Paperback)

Finally a book we can use! We were amazed at the clarity of the information, easy to follow "plainspoken" approach, and great tips (you'll love the "facts" that pop up throughout)!

My wife and I have taken on the arduous task of archiving the family photos. We wanted to do this with a little flair and style, but found that our skill set wasn't up to our intentions. We've asked people for help. We've read books that were either over our heads or were more interested on being "wacky" and cool. We were at a loss.

This book is like having someone right there with you guiding you every step of the way. Specific information and instruction are easy to find, and the authors get right to their point. We've been able to clean up some old photos, adding cool effects that have left our family in awe. We also have a couple kids, and have used some of the tips we picked up to organize and energize our collection of their photos. The software is great, but we couldn't have found our way around it at all without this book.

Don't waste your money on other titles. This is the one and only source for any Photoshop Elements 2 user. It is clear, concise, and truly helpful. You'll be amazed with the things you are able to do.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to Elements, February 28, 2003

By 

jeffrey insko (Northampton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Create!: The No Nonsense Guide to Photoshop Elements 2 (Paperback)

Finally a computer book that gets it! When I bought my digital camera I didn't have any graphic skills at all and learning to use Photoshop Elements (which came with my camera) seemed very intimidating. But Create! cuts to the chase. It had me retouching my digital photos and preparing them for the web in to time flat. The writing is crisp and breezy and didn't treat me like a ten-year old (there's not a goofy pun anywhere in this book). There's just tons of easy-to-understand, useful, practical advice. In fact, I was amazed at everything they've packed into this slender book. It proves just how much useless chatter fills most other computer guides. This book gives you so much more for your money than the average software guide.

Bodenmiller and Simsic deserve credit for re-thinking what the computer book ought to be: short, inexpensive, and smart, with a beautifully designed interior that's simple, clean and uncluttered. And instead of organizing the book around the technical aspects of the software (much of which is meaningless to a novice), they've organized their book around accomplishing specific tasks. Yet they still manage to cover all of the cool features of Elements. I can't recommend this book highly enough to anyone who prefers a smart, plain=talking approach to software instruction. I absolutely loved it!