Customer Reviews

Photoshop CS4 Bible (CourseSmart)

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

 

 

At my local Barnes and Noble there are more than a dozen guides to Photoshop CS4, each claiming to be indispensable. All the books have some reasons for existing and some potential audience. The trick is to know what you need and how you like to approach learning this fabulous software which has a learning curve about a steep as Mount Everest.
The "Bible" is as perfect a resource as I have found. First I should tell you why it does not warrant the full 5 stars:
* While there is an insert with full color pictures, they are meant to demonstrate potential uses for Photoshop and are more illustrative than demonstrative.
* The illustrations and photos included with the text are Black and White. When showing a screen shot of a menu, or adjustment panel, color adds virtually no benefit. When intended to demonstrate work done on a color photo, they are sadly lacking.
* The included CD contains practice photos from several chapters, but the text does not bother to refer to them or mention that a tutorial should be applied.
So why is this book very close to perfect:
+ It is intelligently and logically written and organized.
+ It includes virtually every feature and sub-menu in the software. The first thing I do after I install a new program is to search around and see what seems to be intuitive and what I cannot fathom. The book does a great job of helping out with the latter.
+ The text includes very helpful "Cross-Ref(erences)", "Tips" and "Warnings"
+ It is not purely a technical guide, it offers many specific tips and instructions on how to achieve outstanding,results; and why it is advantageous to use them.
+ Photoshop is an evolutionary product. Like most software that has gone through numerous versions, there are retained and redundant methods of achieving a result. The Bible does a great job of explaining, for example, how a "Curves" adjustment can be used to do the same thing (and more) than a "Contrast" modification. If what I have just written makes no sense to you, you should look elsewhere than the Bible for instruction.
+ It explains technical terms and concepts clearly and succinctly.
WARNING: This is not a book for those who like to follow a recipe of steps to success. I find that my mind cannot retain the sequence, and I am far better off understanding the concepts. The Bible does this perfectly. Nor is this a guide for beginners. I started on Photoshop CS2, skipped CS3, and have a good working knowledge of Photoshop fundamentals and do not need to be lead through procedures. Essentially, the Bible is a reference resource rather than a "how to". I've yet to find anything I wanted to know or do that is not in the book. Used as intended, it a tremendous addition to a photographers arsenal.

I purchased the Photoshop CS4 Bible because it was the only one on the shelf that seemed comprehensive enough (thickest) and I was in a hurry to complete a project that required the new Adobe version of this software. I had used technical manuals labeled "Bible" before and the publisher Wiley had a good reputation with me.

Unfortunately, I found out later that weekend, upon closer read of the text that the book is made up of disjointed submissions by the three authors without regard to each others writing. Throughout the text, there are repeats of basic definitions (like on HTML defined on page 700+) but lacking useful "how it is done" information. And, the authors are either lazy or have no idea what a relatively inexperienced PS user don't understand.

I think writing books that begin with the function of the software rather than what the user is trying to accomplish has its place, but not for the novice.

Look elsewhere.

I purchased the Photoshop CS4 Bible, since I've been overwhelmed by the depth of information offered by the "Bible" series in the past. This new edition for Photoshop CS4 lives up to that wealth of information. So why the 1 star? How about the fact that it isn't even worthy of a bootleg edition! Typographical errors abound (I even spotted 2 on 1 page) and the printing looks like it was done on a copier in the back of a moving van. Doesn't Wiley employ proofreaders or, if they've cut corners that much, how about spellchecking sofware? I always go the legal route, versus copying or downloading someone else's text, but why bother when you get LESS FOR YOUR MONEY. Sure, it comes with a DVD (woopie!), but I could have copied the pages better myself. Was this really printed on a press? The dark title bars are faded (like a 5th generation copy), and except for the "breathtaking color photos" jammed into an insert in the center of the text, the rest is conspicuous for its utter lack of a splash of color anywhere. And I really don't think the sheer number of pages is worth almost 30 bucks. C'mon Wiley, make your books worthwhile, or suffer the exodus of the masses to illicit copies at your peril...

Adobe Photoshop CS4 bible by Cates,Abrams, and Moughamian is a comprehensive reference guide that any Photoshop CS4 user should have as a reference guide. It is extremely through, and does come with a cd with practice images for your use. It is not perfect, however. It could be improved with more images in color within the chapters, or references to the color pages in the center of the book could be referenced in the contents of the particular chapter processes to which they pertain. All in all, I find the book to be a valuable asset, and worth the price.

Usually, books in the "Bible" series are very good. Sadly, this book is not. It suffers from numerous errors that appear to be the result of either slipshod editing or a very rushed rewrite of an earlier edition.

Examples of problems are rampant. Consider, page 34 which discusses the importance of learning the user interface and its components. The referenced Figure (2.1) does not contain the very first item in the interface that the authors discuss. As occurs frequently elsewhere in this book, it appears that the Figure was improperly cropped. Another example of poor editing occurs in the discussion of the close, minimize and maximize buttons found on page 39. This discussion is important for Windows users because the book's illustrations use the Mac version of Photoshop. Unfortunately (for me - a Windows user), the illustration needed for the button discussion (Figure 2.18) was not referenced at all. Figure 2.18 can however be found, all by itself with no explanation, on page 50. Errors such as these make for a very disjointed and inconsistent text. One "feature" of the book are the tags in the margins indicating new Photoshop features and cross-reference information. The introduction to the new 3D feature in Chapter 2 does not bother provide a cross-refernece yet the introduction to the move tool, which has been in Photoshop for years, does get a cross-reference notation. The above are but a few of the issues with just the second Chapter.

Problems continue throughout the book. For example, a section in Chapter 3 explains how to use Bridge to alter, delete and hide a collection of photos. A very nice feature, but the author neglects to provide instructions about how to create such collections. The accompanying illustration is, again, improperly cropped so the menu item needed to use these collections does not appear in the figure (just try to find the "Stacks" menu in Figure 3.5).

Others have commented that the simple black & white, low resolution screenshots used as Figures are difficult to read. I agree. In addition, the illustrations could have been improvemented with annotations such as arrows or markers of some form indicating the relevant part of the figure.

The above are a very limited selection of the problems with this book. If you are new to Photoshop or if you are looking for an accurate reference book, look elsewhere. Does anyone know if Wiley gives refunds?

This is a great resource, with lots of tricks of the trade for photographers and designers. Really, as you'd expect, it's an encyclopedia of everything you'd need to look up when you're using Photoshop CS4. The organization and index make these things easy to find. The bottom of the cover says "The book you need to succeed" ... that sounds a little cheesy, but it is the book you need whenever you want to do something a little more complex than you already know. And there have been a hundred things I didn't even know I needed to know. That's probably true for a lot of these types of books. The only criticism I'd make is that the body font size of the book is a little small. For future editions, would be nice if there were "highlighted" sections with larger type in the book for essentials (bullet lists, scannable sections that get to the meat of the matter, walk-throughs, and the overview of the subject at hand). That would make scanning/digesting a little easier on the eyes. But this isn't a book you read cover to cover, it's one book you'll keep at hand and browse through to try things in Photoshop you haven't played with before (if at first you don't succeed, try, try again).

I was so full of hope when I purchased this book. I was majorly let down.. This book is terrible. There are errors all over the place. The writers must not have collaborated because there are repeats. I only made it through 1/3 of the book before I marked it as "too painful to read".

Having used & loved the Microsoft based 'Wiley Bibles' (Word, PowerPoint, & Excel) I leaped at the chance to buy the Photoshop CS4 Bible. Before you read on, understand that I took a basic course in CS4 and purchased the Bible as a resource to suppliment what I had learned and to help me if I needed more information as I progressed in my skill level. So far, I have not had much sucess in finding & using the information contained therein. The index is not very encompassing unless you know the exact word to use. The verbiage is writtten by someone who is proud of their knowledge and speak at that level. This is not a bad thing, just a warning that it is a bit high level for a beginner like me. The pages look like they were typed on recycled newspaper and the images are often simular to newsprint. So, the information is there but you will have to work for it.

This book is absolutely phenomenal and well laid out. It's definitely nothing like a dummy book and allows the user/reader to just be able to jump from one thing to another without confusion or complication.

I recently upgraded from Photoshop CS to Photoshop CS4. I thought I knew Photoshop well enough but this book, "Photoshop CS4 - Bible" is a 'God-sent'. The various chapters serve as lessons if you so choose. The contents of this book if used progressively will provide a logarithmic learning curve of Photoshop CS4. Borrowing from a phrase, you will find this book to provide 'everything you ever wanted to know about Photoshop but were afraid to ask'. Chapter 14 has wonderful full color examples explaining 'Lightening, Darkening, and Changing Contrast. There is a CD of photos to practice on. Chapter 18 is very comprehensive explaining Retouching and Restoring Digital Images. This is the perfect book to take a person from an amateur Photoshop status to a semi-professional and more. It sure beats buying a monthly Photoshop magazine.