Official Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 5.0 Studio Techniques [Paperback]

Ben Willmore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568304749 | ISBN-13: 978-1568304748 | Publication Date: December 16, 1998

Official Adobe Photoshop 5 Studio Techniques teaches in full color and in a clear, well-organized style that intuitively follows the user through techniques rather than touring the application. The author teaches through the use of analogies and concepts, using a fun and informal--yet authoritative--tone. The book is divided into three sections: Part I: An introduction into the mechanics of the application. Covers the tools and palettes, and explains techniques such as selections and layers in language everyone can understand. Part II: Explores techniques. Rather than listing tools one by one, it demonstrates vital operations, covering each tool as it comes into play. Covers such topics as resolution, line art scanning, and working with grayscale images. Part III: Takes the reader through more advanced techniques. Covers topics such as color correction, compositing, retouching, and other enhancements.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Official Adobe Photoshop 5 Studio Techniques teaches in full color and in a clear, well-organized style that intuitively follows the user through techniques rather than touring the application. The author teaches through the use of analogies and concepts, using a fun and informal--yet authoritative--tone. The book is divided into three sections:Part I: An introduction into the mechanics of the application. Covers the tools and palettes, and explains techniques such as selections and layers in language everyone can understand.Part II: Explores techniques. Rather than listing tools one by one, it demonstrates vital operations, covering each tool as it comes into play. Covers such topics as resolution, line art scanning, and working with grayscale images.Part III: Takes the reader through more advanced techniques. Covers topics such as color correction, compositing, retouching, and other enhancements.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Introduction

Does the World Really Need Another Photoshop Book?

I asked myself that very question when the folks from Adobe Press asked me to write this one. In search of an answer, I took a field trip to Barnes & Noble and stood in front of the computer section. I stood gaping at what looked like a virtual shrine devoted to Photoshop--four shelves jam-packed with every imaginable title. Wow! I had to think about this. What was missing in those shelves? What could I contribute that would really be useful to all those Photoshop users who are reaching out for help?

The answer was easy. What's missing from those bookshelves is a particular kind of perspective that comes from five years of helping people learn how to master the wonderful and terrifying program we call Photoshop. Last year alone I held my seminar (Master Photoshop in 3 Days) in 30 cities and saw more than 2,200 people. I spent 704 hours walking, talking, breathing, and teaching Photoshop.

But I don't just talk. I do a lot of listening, too. I've worked with just about every kind of Photoshop user under the stars: graphic designers, printers, color specialists, production artists, photographers, architects, high-school teachers, medical imaging technicians, and some interesting people from the FBI and the military intelligence community. I've done an enormous amount of hand holding and working in the trenches side-by-side with people just like you, and it's given me one heck of a perspective from the user's point of view.

So, I may not have written a thousand award-winning books, and I'm not a famous graphic designer, but there's one thing you can count on. Hands down, I know what it's like to look at Photoshop from your point of view, and I believe that I can help you get to where you want to go. In a roundabout way I guess you could say that this book was written as much by my students as it was by me; it's the result of all my teaching (and learning) experiences with literally thousands of Photoshop users.

What's In This Book?

Well, first I'll tell you what's not in it. It's not a special effects cookbook that delivers page upon page of bizarre and exotic tricks and effects, nor does it tackle the artistic aesthetics of digital design. There's a truckload of excellent books on those subjects, which will most likely be sitting right next to this one at the bookstore.

My mission is to help you graduate from "I'm just going through the motions," to "At last, I really understand Photoshop." Once you've made that leap, you'll experience an incredible ripple effect. Your efficiency level will skyrocket. Your costs will go down. Your creative genius will come out of the closet like gangbusters, and your clients will be thrilled. Really! I've seen it happen more times than I can remember. And I still get a thrill whenever I see one of my students go through what I've come to think of as "the transformation."

So, I hope you'll pick up this book and join me for the journey. We've got lots of fascinating terrain to cover. As your guide, here's what you can expect from me.

No Technical Mumbo-Jumbo!

First and foremost, I hate technical mumbo-jumbo! If words like gamma, bitmapped, clipping paths, algorithms, dither, posterize, and anti-aliasing drive you crazy, you better believe they drive me even crazier. You'll find that I'm big on stories and metaphors. I'll do whatever it takes to communicate the concept to you without relying on 10-syllable words or terms that sound like they came from the inside of an engineer's head. And for those of you who can't live without the technical terms, you can find all those icky words and their full definitions in "Ben's Techno-Babble Decoder Ring," at the end of most chapters.

Adobe Speaks!

If you're anything like me, when you glance through most books about Photoshop you're probably still left with a mixed bag of unanswered questions. Odds and ends that only Adobe can answer. I'm big on getting answers to absolutely everything, so I compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions that I've received from my students over the years and gave them right to the source: Mark Hamburg, principal architect and scientist of Photoshop. He graciously accepted my huge list of questions and responded to each one with candor and detail. So, for those of you who would like detailed technical explanations from the ultimate Adobe authority, you can go to the "Ask Adobe" section at the end of each chapter. You'll also get the "insider" answers to all sorts of juicy questions like this one:

Q. Why is Adobe called Adobe? I don't see you guys building any little clay huts!

A. Named for the Adobe Creek, which flows behind the houses of the two founders of the company.

And the Beat Goes On...

As I start my seminar tour again, I'll be talking to countless Photoshoppers who are also figuring out interesting ways to squeeze more neat stuff out of Photoshop 5. So, every time I think of a new technique or glean a good one from someone else, I'll post it to my website (www.digitalmastery.com) so you can get it too. That way, the book doesn't have to stop here, and if you check out my website every few months, you'll get a bunch of new goodies.

So, enough blabbing, let's get on with "the transformation." I'll make it as easy on you as I possibly can, but just remember the words of my favorite character, Miracle Max, from the movie "The Princess Bride": You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Adobe Press (December 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568304749
• ISBN-13: 978-1568304748
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,595,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Becoming an expert in Photoshop, June 30, 1999

By 

Chris Sanson ([e-mail]) (Miami,FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Official Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 5.0 Studio Techniques (Paperback)

I have went through three photoshop 5.0 books. The adobe user guide, adobe classroom in a book, and adobe photoshop studio techniques. Out of all these books, the photoshop studio techniques is above all the best. Ben Willmore puts you at ease and provides humor throughout the book. He relates the unusual and hard stuff about photoshop in lamen terms that anybody can understand. I now understand layers, shadows, drop shadows, color correction, RGB, CMYK, GRC, Levels, Curves, Channels, getting rid of color casts, and understanding what the differences between "ppi" and "dpi" are. He provides an excellenct theory behind the things he is going to explain. So you have the best of both worlds. Adobe has done an excellent job in finding someone that can write a book about photoshop 5.0 and relate it to the general public. Do not buy books on photoshop, just buy this one and you will become a master in short of amount of time. It is too bad they cannot do this for Illustrator and GoLive by Adobe.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Photoshop 5.0 by Ben Willmore is a must read book., October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Official Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 5.0 Studio Techniques (Paperback)

After much debate at a local bookstore I finally desided to buy this book, based largely on the chapter dealing with text effects. Soon after reading it while in Photoshop I soon discovered that I was reading a fantastic book. Very presice in its explanations and very to the point without what Ben calls "Techno Mumbo Jumbo". While reading any book I often "tab" important pages, I had to stop doing that with this book, I found myself tabing every page!!!. If you are a novice at Photoshop like I was, buy this book it is worth its weight in GOLD. I just wish Ben would now do a book on version 5.5.

Scott R. Hirschman

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand and really teaches how., September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Official Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 5.0 Studio Techniques (Paperback)

I have purchased several books on Photoshop 5 and never got past any particular chapter. As instructional books most read like the manual that comes with the application.

The Official Adobe Photoshop 5.0 Studio Techniques by Ben Willmore gave more than its promise.I never really understood levels, curves,and color corrections until I read Willmore's book.He writes like he really understands the novice and experience amateur. I've been using Photoshop to do photo imaging, greeting card, enhancing or fixing damaged photos, etc. and thought I knew enough about these subjects.Willmore's book taught me more things that I never really knew or understood and I can now work more efficiently.