Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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91 of 94 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Most useful reference book for Photoshop Elements 5, February 13, 2007
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 offers all the digital photo editing power most people will ever need (especially when used together with a third-party noise reduction program and RAW converter). The problem is how to make the most effective and efficient use of that power. Kelby's book does a fine job of addressing exactly this problem, which wins it my vote as the most useful PSE 5 reference book currently available. (Its main competitor, Barbara Brundage's "Photoshop Elements 5: The Missing Manual," is too loosely organized and gives too much attention to PSE 5 features that are tangential to actual digital image editing.)
Kelby's book is organized around a basic digital image processing workflow, starting with organizing images and moving through RAW conversion, resizing and cropping, color correction, noise reduction, and so on. Each chapter presents several techniques, usually moving from basic to more advanced, all thoroughly illustrated. His explanations are clear, thorough, and direct -- not a lot of wasted motion here. Though the publisher rates the book for intermediate to advanced users of PSE 5, I think it's accessible to a wider audience. Anyone who knows her/his way around a digital camera (especially an advanced point and shoot or a "prosumer" digital SLR), understands the fundamentals of digital photography, and is comfortable with PSE 5's layout will be able to make good use of Kelby's book.
The tutorials are self-contained, that is, you don't need to read the early chapters to understand techniques presented later in the book. If information presented elsewhere is relevant, it's referenced so the reader can take a look, then come back. Some skills are basic to using PSE 5, like making selections, so it's good to spend time learning them first. The general workflow model guiding the book's organization is another reason for taking the topics in the order Kelby presents them. But if you have some understanding to start with, you can jump around pretty much at will. There's no doubt that anyone who works her/his way through the book will develop a very full understanding of PSE 5.
No one will ever use all the techniques Kelby presents, and everyone is likely to prefer some of them over others. In fact, the number of techniques discussed could be somewhat daunting if you're just looking for a quick fix with a particular image. That's one drawback to the book.
Another drawback is that some topics don't get quite the attention they need. I found that particularly the case with image sharpening, a basic issue in digital photography. Kelby includes numerous recommended settings for the unsharp mask tool, but I would have liked to learn about a wider range of sharpening techniques. (A half star off for this.)
A final drawback is Kelby's repetitive, almost compulsive attempts at humor. A little of it goes a long way, and though it's good to keep the tone light in a book like this, after a while the repeated one-liners at his editors' expense become stale. I found myself muttering, "Just get on it with it, will you?" after about two or three chapters. (Another half star off here.)
Still, the book is well worth the time and money, these drawbacks aside. If you're serious about learning to edit digital images with PSE 5, and maybe also learning to be a better digital photographer along the way, this is the one book to have.
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59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE..., May 4, 2007
Okay...let me start by saying that I can figure out computer software fairly easy. I'm no computer genius but whenever I install a new software program on my computer I simply give the supplied instruction manual a quick glance, toss it aside, then start clicking the mouse and punching the keys. Before long I've got the hang of it and all is well. That is until I installed Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0.
I felt dyslexic trying to figure this program out. I even did the unthinkable and returned to the instruction manual for guidance. Nothing helped. Even the simplest commands had me running in circles. While pulling my hair out I actually stopped for a minute to entertain a frightening thought. "This is just Photoshop Elements...a simpler more toned down version of Adobe Photoshop CS3." Despair quickly set in.
Needing serious help I sought the support of the Internet and it's many avenues for solutions. Needless to say it didn't take long before I was referred to "The Photoshop Elements 5 Book" by Scott Kelby. After reading just a few pages and trying out some of the techniques he mentions I began to build confidence. The book concentrates more on specific procedures and the simple steps to achieve them rather than the clichéd text book-written style of other books. For example, let's say you wanted to erase an unwanted object from a photo. You could simply look up "Cloning Away Unwanted Objects" in the glossary, flip to page 268, and follow the easy steps Mr. Kelby lists.
He cuts right to the problems at hand then tells you plain and simple how to solve them rather than getting into some mundane and long-winded explanations as to how the software works. I've found that by working with Photoshop Elements this way I learn at a much faster pace. By following the steps in this book the reader not only learns how to attain the fixes and effects he or she wants on their photos but acquires the knowledge to run the software as well.
Glossary Listings:
CHAPTER 1
Organized Chaos
Importing Your Photos
Backing Up Your Photos (on Disc or Online)
Creating A Contact Sheet
Dealing With The Welcome Screen
Importing Photos From Your Scanner
Automating The Importing Of Photos By Using Watched Folders
Changing The Size Of Your Photo Thumbnails
Seeing Full-Screen Previews
Sorting Photos By Date
Adding Scanned Photos? Enter The Right Time And Date
Finding Photos Fast By Month And Year
Tagging Your Photo (Tags Are Keywords)
Tagging Multiple Photos
Assigning Multiple Tags To One Photo
Tagging Images Of People (Face Tagging)
Combining (Merging) Tags
Sharing Your Tags (Or Collections) With Others
Collections: It's How You Put Photos In Order One By One
Choosing Your Own Icons For Tags (Or Collections)
Deleting Tags (Or Collections)
Seeing Your Photos Metadata (EXIF Info)
Adding Your Own Info To Photos
Finding Photos
Finding Photos Using The Date View
Seeing An Instant Slide Show
Comparing Photos
Comparing Photos By Zooming And Panning
Reducing Clutter By Stacking Your Photos
Putting Your Photos On The Map
CHAPTER 2
Raw Hide
Editing Your RAW Images in Camera Raw
Noise Reduction In Camera Raw
Sharpening Within Camera Raw
Bracketing With Camera Raw
Saving RAW Files In Adobe's Digital Negative (DNG) Format
Working With 16-Bit Images
Black And White Conversions In Camera Raw
CHAPTER 3
Super Size Me
Cropping Photos
Cropping Using The "Rules Of Thirds"
Auto-Cropping To Standard Sizes
Cropping To An Exact Custom Size
Cropping Into A Shape
Cropping Without The Crop Tool
Using The Crop Tool To Add More Canvas Area
Auto-Cropping Gang-Scanned Photos
Straightening Photos With The Straighten Tool
Straightening Crooked Photos
Resizing Digital Camera Photos
Resizing And How To Reach Those Hidden Free Transform Handles
Making Your Photos Smaller (Downsizing)
Rule-Breaking Resizing For Poster-Sized Prints
Automated Saving And Resizing
CHAPTER 4
Color Me Badd
Before You Color Correct Anything, Do This First!
Photo Quick Fix
Getting A Visual Readout (Histogram) Of Your Corrections
Color Correcting Digital Camera Images
Dave's Amazing Trick For Finding A Neutral Gray
Studio Portrait Correction Made Simple
Drag-And-Drop Instant Color Correction
Adjusting Flesh Tones
Warming Up (Or Cooling Down) A Photo
Color Correcting One Problem Area Fast!
Getting A Better Conversion From Color To Black And White
Correcting Color And Contrast Using Color Curves
CHAPTER 5
The Big Fixx
Fixing Overexposed Images
Removing Digital Noise
Focusing Light With Digital Dodging And Burning
Opening Up Shadow Areas That Are Too Dark
Fixing Areas That Are Too Bright
Fixing Photos Where You Wish You Hadn't Used A Flash
When You Forget To Use Your Fill Flash
Fixing Underexposed Photos
Automatic Red-Eye Removal
Instant Red-Eye Removal
Repairing Keystoning
Fixing Problems Caused By Your Camera's Lens
CHAPTER 6
The Mask
Selecting Square, Rectangular, Or Round Areas
Saving Your Selections
How To Select Things That Aren't Round, Square Or Rectangular
Softening Those Hard Edges
Selecting Areas By Their Color
Making Selections Using A Brush
Selecting Everything On A Layer At Once!
Getting Elements To Help You Make Tricky Selections
Easier Selections With The Magic Selection Tool
Removing Backgrounds
CHAPTER 7
Head Games
Quick Skin Tone Fix
Removing Blemishes
Lessening Freckles Or Facial Acne
Removing Dark Circles Under Eyes
Removing Or Lessening Wrinkles
Whitening The Eyes
Making Eyes That Sparkle
Enhancing Eyebrows Or Eyelashes
Coloring Hair
Whitening Or Brightening Teeth
Digital Nose Job
Transforming A Frown Into A Smile
Glamour Skin Softening
Slimming And Trimming
Removing Love Handles
CHAPTER 8
Take Me Away
Cloning Away Unwanted Objects
Removing Things In A Straight Line
Covering Unwanted Elements
Removing Spots And Other Artifacts
Removing Distracting Objects (Healing Brush)
CHAPTER 9
38 Special
Creating Drama With A Soft Spotlight
Burned-In Edge Effect (Vignetting)
Using Color For Emphasis
Soft Focus Effect
Changing An Object's Color
Replacing The Sky
Neutral Density Gradient Filter
Putting One Photo Inside Another
Simple Depth-Of-Field Effect
Creating Photo Montages
Creating The Classic Vignette Effect
Fake Duotone
Getting The Polaroid Look
Photo To Sketch In 60 Seconds Flat
Automated Pano Stitching With Photomerge
Converting To Black And White
CHAPTER 10
Get Back
Coloring Black And White Photos
Repairing Washed-Out Photos
Removing Spots And Other Little Junk
Removing Lots Of Specks, Dust, And Scratches
Repairing Damaged Or Missing Parts
Repairing Rips Or Tears
CHAPTER 11
Sharp Dressed Man
Basic Sharpening
Creating Extraordinary Sharpening
Luminosity Sharpening
Edge Sharpening Technique
Advanced Sharpening Using Adjust Sharpness
CHAPTER 12
The Show Must Go On
Watermarking And Adding Copyright Info
Creating Your Own Custom Copyright Brush
Poster Presentation
Creating A Digital Frame
Putting Your Photos Up On The Web
Getting One 5x7, Two 2.5x3.5, and Four Wallet-Size Photos On One Print
Using Picture Package Layouts With More Than One Photo
Creating a PDF Presentation For A Client
How To Email Photos
CHAPTER 13
Create (Or Die)
Creating With Your Photos
Making Full-Blown Slide Shows
Creating Postcards of Greeting Cards
Creating Photo Book Pages
Customizing Your Layouts With Just One Click
Creating Calendars
Creating A CD Or DVD Jacket, Or A CD/DVD Label
Creating A Video CD
Crating Your Own Photo Website
Ordering Prints With Just One Click
Creating Real, Usable Postage Stamps
Creating Your Own Custom Flipbook
CHAPTER 14
Anger Management
Configuring Your Camera For The Right Color Space
Configuring Photoshop Elements For Adobe RGB (1998)
Calibrating Your Monitor Using Adobe Gamma
Calibrating Your Monitor The Right Way
Downloading A Custom Profile For Your Printer
Printing (This Is Where It All Comes Together)
My Suggested Elements 5 Workflow
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84 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect!!, December 12, 2006
I stuggled with the Elements Classroom in a Book 4. I upgraded to Elements 5 because of the cool features. . .thinking another Classrooom Book. I read the reviews of this book. . .and liked the author from the Photoshop Elements website and decided to give it a try. It is absolutely the best book I have ever used to teach myself how to use a product. I learn something new--and easier--every page!!
I have never felt competent using layers. The use if this tool is incorporated through out the book. You learn by doing a technique- - -not wondering if you should use a layer. Very powerful.
The combination of the step-by-step narrative with the excellent illustrations make techniques I stuggled with easy.
Just buy it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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by Matt Kloskowski
by Adobe Creative Team
by Scott Kelby
by Scott Kelby
