Customer Reviews

Photoshop CS Artistry

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

I have been using the "Artistry "series of books since PS 5.5 and they are without question the best books available for photographers to use to grasp some of the more intricate approaches to controlling your images. And Photoshop CS is even better than the previous versions. Not only does it review in depth the new and important features that come with CS but there are also new hands on exercises to help your understand them.

This is a very rigorous book and doing the hands on examples might wear your out a bit but you will know an enormous amount when your are finished. The book could be used by an adventurous beginner but it is ideal for intermediate and advanced users. I teach digital imaging as well as conventional photography at an art school and this is the book that I recommend to my students. The might be other books out there that claim to be directed toward the photographer but none has the high quality information contained in CS Artistry. If you learn everything in this book you will know a lot more than most people about how to effectively and efficiently use Photoshop to edit and print your photographic images.

I have purchased and used 3 previous versions of this book, the material and quality was excellent, but this version was rushed to press and the illustrations are unreadable, I contacted the authors and publisher and there response was that they will correct it in the next edition. I would not purchase this book till the printing is corrected.

1. I'm in the minority here because I think this is a subpar book. Just for some perspective, I've (unfortunately) purchased many many photoshop books over the years and thus this book is not the first one I've come across.

2. The book looks very nice, color pictures etc... You would think a book this heavy, with such small font, with so many pages would be the ultimate photoshop book. Reality--> it appears to be a book with a lot of pages but with little substance. Here is a very simple example: I wanted to get some information on how to really use the gradient tool--> there's like several pages on it, but more from a theoretical poitn of view. There was no clear cut instruction how to actually use it. Ultimately, when I go to a photoshop book, I want to immediately and easily learn how to do something. This book amazingly does not do that. Ultimately, I found my answer via Scott Kelby's book--> very simple, to the point etc...

3. Thus if you want to get a photoshop book to actually learn how to do things, I would recommend that you not get this book. However, if you're an expert in photoshop and want to learn more about the nitty gritty and theoretical aspects, this book may have some pertinent information.

After extensive review of most every Photoshop book available over the past several years to include purchase of several, this is without a doubt the best by far. It is written with the ability for a Photoshop beginner to use yet has all of the complex detail needed for mastering this amazing program. The focus is clear, extremely well organized, and the tutorials provide hands on experience for all practical needs. The enclosed CD has invaluable Photoshop plug in material to make use of the program more efficient and user friendly.

I have owned and used Barry Hayne's "Adobe Photoshop Artistry" book for versions 5 and 6, so this is my third edition. I think that this book is as close to both a Photoshop beginners and master class as you can get!

As a total beginner, I learned Photoshop using the 5.5 version of this book and have bought the corresponding version each time I have upgraded. This book is great for not only intermediate and advanced users but also for beginners who want to understand why and how the program works in depth from the start and don't mind investing the effort to do so.

If you are looking for a quick reference or "Photoshop basics in 3 hours" DON'T buy this book! You will be better served by something else; BUT, if you are looking to really learn the program and willing to invest the time, your efforts will be richly rewarded using this book. I can't say enough for it.

If you look through reviews, you will see either love it or hate it. The ones that love it are looking to learn/understand the program. The ones that hate it are most likely looking for a quick reference book or to learn the bare basics quickly which is totally fine as everyone has different needs but this book simply is not designed for that.

I will say that the screen captures are not as good as previous versions but still acceptable. Hopefully future versions will go back to the previous quality.

Thanks to Haynes and Crumpler for their great work!

I'm currently using this book for a digital imaging and video class. I agree with others, the writing is not good at all!! Its confusing and the instructions are poorly written. Half of it doesn't work. Maybe its because I'm using CS2? Who knows but I dont like this book!

This is the ONLY one of the four of five different books - all supposed to be functional, easy-to-use, and logically organized - that I have bought and tried to use. Others are either: (1) poorly organized; (2) too technical; (3) too "cutsey" ie the Dummy series; or (4) accompanied by a CD that seems out of synch with text. I struggled to "fill-in the gaps" from courses and workshops I have taken. This book has truly helped me. I would recommend it for intermediate or advanced users. For any user under the age of 50 the print font shouldn't be a problem. For those of us over 50, the font size is a real struggle for those of us with either aging eyes or extreme nearsightedness. Nevertheless, it is worth the effort.

A. Schwartz