How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating stunning photomontages on a budget [Paperback]

David Asch (Author), Steve Caplin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240521544 | ISBN-13: 978-0240521541 | Publication Date: December 1, 2008 | Edition: 1

Having trouble getting an artistic idea out of your head and onto the screen? Want to produce amazing creations in Elements without reading pages and pages of instructions? How to Cheat in Elements is the can't-miss book with the can-do attitude. Under the expert guidance of Elements masters David Asch and Steve Caplin, you'll get the hands-on experience needed to quickly craft inspired images that captivate the imagination.

Fool your friends by creating montages and manipulations that look like the genuine article. Save time with invaluable shortcuts and tips to cut through unnecessary steps, helping you to work faster and smarter. Work through each section to build up your skills or dip into a project to learn a new technique:
* turn day into night
* add snow, shadows and water to your scenes
* make fire and smoke
* give your car a re-spray
?if you can imagine it, we can show you how to do it in Photoshop Elements!

Covering the latest tools and features in Elements 7, this book contains cutting-edge projects, tips and techniques as well as activities relevant to previous Elements versions. QuickTime movie tutorials and images for all projects in the book are included on the accompanying CD-ROM, with additional support and an active reader forum on the website for the book: www.howtocheatinphotoshopelements.com.

* Fun and creative, with more than 80 full colour, step-by-step projects, supported by QuickTime movie tutorials and image files
* In-depth coverage of photomontage and image manipulation you won't find in the wealth of Elements books focused on photography post-capture editing
* Part of the successful Focal Press ?How to Cheat in? series, featuring Steve Caplin's best-selling How to Cheat in Photoshop titles

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the previous edition: "How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 6 is an excellent how-to book that will get you up and running in no time flat." -- Rangefinder Magazine "During your school days, did you ever sneak a peak at the teacher's edition of your textbook? It was just like yours, only it had all the answers filled in! Imagine if you took your teacher's book and took out all the boring background stuff, leaving just the questions and answers. That's exactly what How to Cheat in Elements is like: no boring background, just all the answers!" -- Retouchpro.com

About the Author

David Asch is a beta tester for Photoshop Elements. He contributes to Mac Format magazine, and is co-author of Digital Photo Doctor and contributing author to Drop Dead Photography Techniques.

Steve Caplin is a freelance artist and author working in London, England. His satirical photomontage work is commissioned by newspapers and magazines around the world, including The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times Magazine, Radio Times, Readers Digest and L'Internazionale. Steve has worked for advertising agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Lowe Howard Spink, and his work has won two Campaign Poster Awards and a D&AD Pencil award. He has lectured widely in England, Norway, France and Holland, and has taught digital design at the University of Westminster and the University of the Arts London. Steve is the author of ten books: How to Cheat in Photoshop (five editions), How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements (co-authored, three editions), Icon Design, Max Pixel's Adventures in Adobe Photoshop Elements, The Complete Guide to Digital Illustration (co-authored) and Art & Design in Photoshop. He has also co-authored three mainstream books: Dad Stuff, More Dad Stuff, Stuff the Turkey and Complete and Utter Zebu. When he's not at his computer Steve plays the piano well, the accordion moderately and the guitar badly. He spends his spare time making improbable constructions out of wood and other materials. His first commissioned sculpture was for the Bethlem hospital - the original 'bedlam' - in 2010.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240521544
• ISBN-13: 978-0240521541
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful reference book: basic to intermediate., July 13, 2009

By 

TCL (Guilford, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating stunning photomontages on a budget (Paperback)

(What's this?)

While a very basic (very basic: upload pics, open pics, save new version of pics) knowledge of computer use is required, there isn't anything to prevent a Photoshop-newbie from making the most out of this book. This is not an "Intro to Photoshop" book that is quickly outgrown in the first fifteen-minutes, but a task-specific how-to book that will grow with your skills from basic to intermediate.

The book is divided into 12 chapters:
1) Selection Techniques
2) Montage Essentials: Layers
3) Hiding and Showing
4) Image Adjustments
5) Light and Shade
6) Transformation and distortion
7) Materials and Textures
8) Working with text
9) People and Animals
10) Shiny Surfaces
11) The Third Dimension
12) Print and the Internet

Each chapter is also subdivided into specific tasks, for example, heads on bodies (i.e. making bobble heads), photomerge faces (what would your kids look like?), reflections, etc., Each photo-illustrated task is usually not more than 1-spread (2-pages long). Just enough detail but not overwhelming to newbies. How much you achieve depends on how much time and effort is put into each project.

Also included with the book is a CD with the same cheesy stock photos used in the book so you can practice recreating the images in the book with specific skills until you are ready to doctor your brother's bachelor party photos.

Conclusion: a great reference book from basic to intermediate. Advanced users may not find anything new here nor gorgeous pictures. Not for computer never-ever newbies either.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graphic designers - take notice!, May 21, 2009

By 

Wayne Palmer (Williamsport, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating stunning photomontages on a budget (Paperback)

I would have to agree with the other reviewers that this is not book for beginners, nor is it a book encompassing all the various aspects of Elements. But I certainly disagree that book is worthy of only 1-2 stars. This book has page after page of examples showing different techniques that you would think you could only do in Photoshop. There are so many examples, the authors could have easily spread out the information into more than one book, but instead packed this book with ideas.

If you are a graphic designer or photographer who does not have the budget for Photoshop, and need to know how to come up with creative techniques using Elements, this is the book for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars photo-finishing Confidence Builder :), August 18, 2009

By 

Katharena M. Eiermann "Existential Diva -- Pr... (1,000 miles from Nowhere...) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating stunning photomontages on a budget (Paperback)

(What's this?)

"How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating Stunning Photomontages on a Budget" is my new Best Friend and desktop companion! :) An amazingly easy to follow "cheat" and walk-thru of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.

Large color photos, clear and detailed instructions, extremely interesting tips and tricks to some pretty amazing photo finishing techniques. "How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating Stunning Photomontages on a Budget" is a lot about learning keyboard shortcut keys (mac or pc) and comes with a handy tear off shortcut key card found on the book cover. :)

A real photo-finishing confidence builder, imo. also, see my review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Highly recommended! --Katharena Eiermann, 2009