Photoshop CS Artistry [Paperback]

Barry Haynes (Author), Wendy Crumpler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2004

Artistry is the key word here: When competent doesn't cut it. When what you're going for is museum-quality art prints, high-end advertising effects, and dizzyingly beautiful digitally manipulated images, this is the place to start. Providing a focused approach to the advanced features of Photoshop CS, this beautiful full-color guide tackles complex yet essential topics like color calibration and correction. Along the way, you'll learn how Photoshop's newest features-Photomerge technology (which allows you to create seamless panoramas from multiple images), enhanced Camera Raw support, an improved File Browser, nonsquare pixel support, and more-can aid in your quest for the perfect image. Throughout, the authors emphasize the relationship between Photoshop CS tools and traditional photography to provide essential context for complex tasks. The knowledge is sure to stick as you work your way through the detailed, step-by-step exercises and use the companion CD to view before-and-after images and access masks and tool settings for the book's tutorials.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There's no question that Adobe's Creative Suite includes many new, "must have" features and it's no wonder that Haynes and Crumpler begin this latest addition to the excellent Photoshop Artistry series with an excited testimony to converting to Mac OS X in order to take advantage of these new goodies. Among the new topics covered in this book: the Camera Raw filter (which processes the Raw data from your digital camera, giving greater detail), support for16-bit mode, the new Layer Comp palette, Shadow/Highlight adjustment, and Color Match tool, improved templates for web galleries and contact sheets, and using the Epson print dialog boxes in the OS X environment.

This series is aimed at professionals who work with digital photographs and graphics, especially those with significant experience in both traditional photography and using Photoshop. The book is set up the same as in earlier editions and with some of the same exercises, now updated to reflect the changes in CS. After an opening section on basics like tools, palettes, actions, and layers, the book discusses more advanced topics in digital imaging, like applying the Zone System, made popular by Ansel Adams, to Photoshop and mastering calibration, color spaces, scanning, resolutions, and histograms (using the new dynamic histogram palette). In hands-on tutorials, readers learn how to use layers and adjustment layers; selections, channels, and layers for compositing; histograms, levels, curves, and Hue/Saturation for color correction; advanced techniques for correcting a bad scan; how to turn yellow flowers orange with Color Range, Replace Color, and Selective Color tools or turn a red car green with Color Match; how to work with duotones; techniques in retouching and restoring; how to combine bracketed captures to increase dynamic range; and much more.

Throughout, the book features text-heavy explanations accompanied by lots of illustrations and screenshots. It's the sort of image-laden book where you can learn so much just by reading the sidebars. An extensive index makes it ideal for troubleshooting. The sample photographs included on the CD-ROM are excellent quality and well chosen to match situations that occur in professional jobs. This book is rich in information. If you're a professional photographer or Photoshop power-user, this book and Adobe Photoshop CS are now essential to your studio. --Angelynn Grant

From the Back Cover

Artistry is the key word here: When competent doesn't cut it. When what you're going for is museum-quality art prints, high-end advertising effects, and dizzyingly beautiful digitally manipulated images, this is the place to start. Providing a focused approach to the advanced features of Photoshop CS, this beautiful full-color guide tackles complex yet essential topics like color calibration and correction. Along the way, you'll learn how Photoshop's newest features-Photomerge technology (which allows you to create seamless panoramas from multiple images), enhanced Camera Raw support, an improved File Browser, nonsquare pixel support, and more-can aid in your quest for the perfect image. Throughout, the authors emphasize the relationship between Photoshop CS tools and traditional photography to provide essential context for complex tasks. The knowledge is sure to stick as you work your way through the detailed, step-by-step exercises and use the companion CD to view before-and-after images and access masks and tool settings for the book's tutorials.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press (January 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073571374X
• ISBN-13: 978-0735713741
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great start for Photoshop, February 28, 2004

By 

Darwin's Bulldog (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Photoshop CS Artistry (Paperback)

As a Photoshop newbie this book is a clear winner. The coverage of the software is comprehensive; it makes excellent use of color illustrations (surprisingly many don't) and the exercises are well chosen. First of all this is not a PS cookbook. Cookbooks have their place and can be excellent resources. This book has a nice balance of discussion, what's what in PS and some exercises. There are numerous small examples about how to use Levels, Curves etc, but the serious exercises don't start until chapter 18. As I said... comprehensive and well balanced. Heartily recommended!

Why not 5 stars? The book need some serious editing. There is too much carried along about how things were done in previous versions, what features were added when, etc. Get rid of it. This is a CS book, not a history of PS. Use the extra space for better layout and bigger fonts. The pages are so crowded for space as to be hard to read. Margins are used for the numerous screen shots, but when a page has none, fill the white space. These are editing criticisms and should not deter the reader from buying the book!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wanted: Editor for Photoshop Book, June 15, 2005

By 

Larry J. Clark (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Photoshop CS Artistry (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong...There is a ton of useful information in this book. The included CD has a great collection of images that really make the lessons work.

But this guy is a horrible writer. That's not his fault. The floggings should begin with the editors. (Which begs the question: Were there editors? Some are listed, but what did they do?)

I don't mind dense text, when it knows where it's going. But being verbose on the excuse of being conversational just doesn't make it. Also, there are no conventions used in the text to help you navigate. Remember -- the reader will be splitting his/her attention between screen, book, and maybe some scribbled notes. Text conventions like bold-face for commands, different font for filenames, etc., can go a long way.

I'm using it in a university course right now, and the instructor feels compelled to explain what the book is trying to explain. That just aint right.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing Version, March 11, 2005

By 

G. Graham - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Photoshop CS Artistry (Paperback)

I continue to find myself disappointed with this "Artistry" version. I read Photoshop 6 Artistry cover to cover and found it very good. All the praise of the other reviews was certainly deserved. I upgraded to CS and felt compelled to buy the new version of "Artistry" primarily to learn about the new features, especially since the Adobe documentation is a bit cryptic in places.

I must say, I'm disappointed. It's feels like this version was rushed to press. The new features are mentioned but not explained very well at all. In many cases, the explanations are nothing more than a rehash of the Adobe documentation.

For example, the camera raw section doesn't really give much insight into what you are trying to accomplish through the use of the feature (some, but not much). Nor does it give a very good description of the recommended workflow within the feature or how to incorporate it into your overall workflow. Further, there are no hands-on examples.

The Shadow/Highlight section is similarly lacking. The authors seem to allude to the fact that this may be more of a "simple tool" rather than one for the serious user. But they don't really come right out and say that. If so, tell us. If not, tell us how to incorporate it into the workflow, especially since it isn't available as an adjustment layer.

The section on the color replacement tool is as obscure as Adobe's. I still can't figure this tool out very well. The descriptions for sampling and limits are extremely confusing. This is a case where the book could have cleared up the mysteries that remain after reading the Adobe documentation several times.

I still think this series is very good and I have learned a great deal from it. I would still recommend it to anyone wanting an in depth understanding of Photoshop. I am simply disappointed that the authors appear to have taken shortcuts with the new features in CS and don't seem to have carried through with the same quality of the previous editions.