Photo Retouching with Adobe Photoshop [Paperback]

Gwen Lute (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

This updated manual teaches the specialized techniques needed for correcting photos using the latest version of Adobe Photoshop. With Photoshop, the skilled photographer’s ability to retouch photos has become almost limitless. Included are professional techniques aimed specifically at photographers and photo-imaging enthusiasts. Photographers will learn how to restore damaged photographs, correct blemishes, change backgrounds, and add or subtract people from an image. Important advanced techniques are also covered, including vignettes, important hardware requirements, and managing files. Filled with practical examples, this book teaches everything from input via scanning or digital photography, to image manipulation, to final printed output.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These three attractive, informative books form an excellent basis for a small library on digital photography. In recent years, digital photography has had a tremendous influence, and as equipment costsDnotably for camerasDcontinue to drop, digital imagery will soon completely revolutionize photography. Each of these books will be very helpful for professional and amateur photographers making the transition to digital photography. Illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs, Lute's Photo Retouching with Adobe Photoshop specifically addresses retouching methods. Moreover, the book thoroughly covers equipment, including scanners, and many other aspects of working with digital images. A small-format handbook with many color illustrations, Johnson's The Digital Photography Handbook defines the new technology and offers helpful information on selecting equipment. It emphasizes the making of photographs, referred to as "gathering digital images," and creative computer projects. Ang's Silver Pixels presents digital photography as a new art form along with a useful discussion of equipment and materials. Accompanied by many striking illustrations, the book explains a number of sophisticated creative techniques in digital photography. If you are forced to choose from the three titles, be sure to acquire Photo Retouching because of its clear, straightforward approach to the subject, closely followed by Silver Pixels, which readers will find valuable for its intricate creative projects. However, because these books complement one another so well, all three are highly recommended for public and academic libraries.DRaymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Gwen Lute is a professional photographer and photo retoucher. She lives in Moreno Valley, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc.; Second edition edition (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584280808
• ISBN-13: 978-1584280804
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,802,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better, September 28, 2000

By 

"thesender" (Northeast Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photo Retouching With Adobe Photoshop (Paperback)

I recently gave a 1-star review to this book, but some sort of guilt hit me and I decided to look through the book again to see if I could find some way to up my rating. Well, the author could try putting in a CD with pictures that are included in the book so the buyer could practice the lessons; and a different layout that would be more pleasing to the eyes wouldn't hurt either.

So does this book have some merit? Yes. Is it the best book on Photoshop retouching? No.

This book is going to have trouble competing when so many other books include hands-on tutorials via a CD. The positive behind this book is it's not lengthy, and how I hate buying a book the thickness of the Yellow Pages.

So who would buy this book? Someone who is heavily into using Photoshop and has purchased just about every book there is on Photoshop.

It's not the best, but it's not the worse.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 99% Waste of Time, March 5, 2002

By 

Danny J. Raphael (North Bend, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Photo Retouching With Adobe Photoshop (Paperback)

Before reading Photo Retouching with Adobe Photoshop by Gwen Lute, I had read the following books on the subject:
- 5 stars: Photoshop Restoration & Retouching (Katrin Eismann).
Exceptional book; one of the best PS books I've read on any topic. Check the reviews.
- 3.5 stars: Photoshop Retouching Handbook (Carol Braverman). Pretty good.
- 1.5 stars: Retouching Old Photographs - Photoshop Methods and Solutions (Michael Kiteley). Serious problems. See my review under that title.

In retrospect I should have quit while I was ahead.

Compared with the offerings above, the Lute book is a sham (and a shame). Poorly written, frequently incomplete explanations, very little useful detail, no accompanying CD or web-site for example images, lots of "white border" per page to make it appear "thicker."

I wouldn't recommend it for beginning, intermediate nor advanced PS users. I literally sold this book on the second hand market two days after receiving it.

I noticed there's an updated version of this book on the horizon (projected availablity: 2nd half of 2002). At this point I would not even remotely entertain the thought of acquiring it unless I read many, many stellar reviews proclaiming a complete rewrite.

Most of the other reviews for this book are right on. Don't waste your hard earned $ on this one regardless of your PS skill level.

You may be thinking, "So why didn't YOU pay attention to the other reviews before buying this book?" Fair question...

I'm a PS knowledge junkie... I LOVE to read about and learn new Photoshop techniques. Though I read the not-so-flattering-reviews before taking the plunge (like you are doing right now), I *hoped* they were too harsh. I *hoped* I'd find a few golden nuggets that would be useful to me. Bottom line: It was about the most useless PS book I've ever read (my personal library consists of over 30 PS books).

My advice: If you're interested in this topic, give serious consideration to the first book listed above and some consideration to the second. If you pass on the last one and this offering, you'll be a much happier camper.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for the professional or the beginner, March 31, 2000

By 

Martin Eloury (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photo Retouching With Adobe Photoshop (Paperback)

From the title of the book, you would expect some useful information on what is, a specialized subject. I found this book: 1. Poorly laid out - Printing very large, little or no content on the particular subject under discussion 2. Oversimplified - To the extent that you are told of a function, and asked to press the button and see what effects you can get! 3. Poor quality examples - No colour 4. No CD rom (to follow examples) 5. No advanced techniques covered, in fact no discussion at all about history brushes, adjustment layers, curves, tonal adjustments, very limited on layers, masks, etc.

A very disappointing purchase to the point where I have returned the book and intend to purchase another. Buyer beware!