Customer Reviews

Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an essential and easy to use book for Photoshop Elements. If you can click, double click, and drag (prerequisites from the author); you can use this book and Photoshop Elements to imrpove your pictures.

My digital photography goes back to when 3MegaPixel cameras were $1000 and computer speeds were measured in MHz. I have over 30,000 digital pictures, and have used every version of Photoshop Elements. This is one of the best books I have ever seen to better use a piece of computer software. It truly is the manual they should have shipped with this software.

The author does start slowly and carefully. She makes sure that everyone knows the basics. She also makes it clear, you won't get to editing with layers in the first week. Read and digest only those topics important to you at that moment, and practice. It's very easy to skip around and work on the particular topic your photograph needs. Red eye correction, something we all do frequently. It's very clear, there's the very simple approach with some tweaks to size things correctly, how to do it automatically, and then a box with Power User suggestions (using the eyedropper tool) when things don't work exactly right.

The author's approach is to present the simple, should work most of the time procedure, then some simple options for improvement, and what to do if that procedure doesn't work. It's chock full of tips and hints all well organized.

This book should speak volumes to the new user, the upgrader from previous versions, and fairly skilled users. Even those basic topics I've taken for granted, (using grids to straighten a photograph), include things I wouldn't have known, (you can change the grid color - black can be very annoying when working with sports pictures). As another reviewer has mentioned, the upgrade from 6 to 7 was pretty minor for the things you need to do every day, edit and improve your pictures, so this book applies reasonably well.

The book is in color, but the printing is not exactly the most fabulous I've ever seen. The color photographs are kind of gray and not terribly high resolution, must have kept printing costs down. The good news, the pictures are available on line to try, so you can see the effects for yourself. The binding also feels like it will fall apart with heavy use, another cost cutting measure.

I did not realize when ording this book that David Pogue is behind this series. That's a fabulous thing. He is an amazing tech writer, and has been in the computer business for a very long time (I remember his Macintosh series when an SE/30 was cutting edge). He knows how to balance fun and technology without excluding people with tech language. This book follows that philosophy to the letter.

Strongly recommend this book for everyone that wants to know how to better use Elements, from the beginning amateur to the advanced photographer. If you are a fairly advanced user and have sought out this book, I think you will be impressed with the depth of coverage at a very reasonable price.

This is one of the best books on Photoshop Elements 7 available. I guarantee that you will need this book if you are new to Photoshop Elements 7. The Photoshop Elements 7 software package only comes with a small introduction booklet. And I have never had success learning to do something via the "Help" files. I am also sure that an experienced user can use this book as a reference. I have been using Photoshop Elements 7 for over a week now. So far, I have found an answer in this book to every problem I have encountered.

The author's writing style is excellent. It is not too light and it is not too dense.

To be honest I was disappointed with this book for what I needed. I wanted a reference type manual that I could readily refer to when editing my pictures as a photographer to improve them using the many filters or techniques used from its 'big brother' Photoshop CS 4. This book did not deliver that perspective, instead it was aimed more to the person creating a digital scrap book or family albums, which is fine but not what I needed. To give you an example of what I am refering to there was only 35 pages set aside to explain 'Filters, effects, layer styles and gradients' compared to 40 pages for 'E mail & the web and online albums & slideshows'! The book does mention the filters, but only in a very basic format, lacking pictures of before and after shots plus key sliders controlling the various applications.
At the time of purchasing this manual, I also purchased a Rick Sammon's book on photographing people [Nothing to do with his digital dark room series of books]and got far more useful and easily understood instructions from this then I did with the missing manual, even though he was refering to Photoshop CS!
This book is good for those who like to create projects, albums, scrap books and the basics of what elements can do, but it does not cover more of the useful tips and techniques employed by professional photographers such as Renaissance lighting or using the blur tool to selectively soften wrinkles on faces. One could say I may be lazzy in not discovering these things for myself over time, however, the bottom line is that the Photoshop series of digital editing is so vast and complex that I purchase manuals to get me jump started straight into the operation.

Overall it depends what you want to use Photoshop Elements for as to how useful you will find this book. If looking for more of the professional photographers technique manual then I suggest looking for a different book.

Another outstanding book in the "Missing Manual" line. Barbara Brundage makes Photoshop Elements 7 not only easy to use, but also a whole lot of fun!!

and now...

IN FULL COLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adobe has many applications that are downright intimidating to many users out there, and it's very refreshing that "Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual" was created. From covering the basics of how to get around the Elements application, the author starts of with the basics of getting your images onto your computer, and the most simple of effects like rotation and cropping. From there, she discusses the all-important topic of layers and basic image retouching so you can take your digital images and make them go from good to GREAT!!! Continuing on with a look at filters and how to get your images printed so they look beautiful and/or posting them to the web or emailing them, this guide is perfect for all new Photoshop Elements users who want to get their feet web on the way to becoming an Elements super user.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. While it's a little bit more expensive than other books in the "Missing Manual" line, the price should NOT be a factor in your decision making. If you are looking for a book that will assist in your knowledge of learning how to use Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 you have come to the right place. If you want to learn more about what is included in the newest release of this outstanding application, look no further. If just want to read an entertaining book and expand your knowledge of how to work with digital imagery so you can make your images look better than ever, again you will NOT be disappointed.

This is the way all books should be written: clearly, simply, and enjoyable.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

Photoshop Elements is one of the few pieces of software that is VERY difficult to learn - and every time I try to use the help files I'm none the wiser.

I recently had the opportunity to flip through 5 different books on Elements 7 at a Chapters book store. This was the best - hands down.

I looked in the index for a couple of problems I've had with Elements recently. This was the only book where I could find the answers listed under the terms that I would search for, and then explained the exact process clearly and thoroughly.

I am a very sequential thinker that moves from specific to general. I like step-by-step instructions that allow me to complete specific tasks and thereby over time gain a general understanding. This book moves from the general to the specific. It presents a series of overviews explaining what the program can do and covers all the options before diving into specifics. Even the specific step-by-step instructions are disjointed and seldom run from start to finish. The reader must jump about the book in order to patch together a complete process.

If you learn by moving sequentially through examples, I think you will prefer a book like Scott Kelby's Photoshop Elements 7 Book.

That probably sounds like a peculiar title for a review, but I have looked for various things in the indices of other Elements books and often had trouble finding what I wanted. Everything I have tried to find, I have been able to in this book. I have used Elements for a few years, but I have learned a lot from this book (only half way through at this time). Really feel like it was money well spent. I would recommend it to anyone - beginner or experienced user.

I have only used the book a few times, but things are easy to find, easy to read, easy to follow. There is a website for your comfort where you can go to get help and more information. Love the Book. I have often bought books for Elements, this one is the best.

Don't you think Adobe should provide you with a no additional charge manual for their new product Photoshop Elements 7?

Before you upgrade to Photoshop Elements 7, may I suggest you read the reviews found about the product.

The "Missing Manual" series manuals are a good supplement for what the software makers should provide in the first place. While it may be understandable that the printing of manuals costs a lot, good companies provide manuals online that you can download and print yourself. Adobe is seeking to be or at least become a loser in customer service, now or in the near future.

If you do purchase PE7, then by all means purchase this Missing Manual or another highly rated manual to help you, because you will need it.

So far, this manual has been helpful, perhaps a bit wordy (needed for some), and way more than what you get from Adobe.

There must be better books around to learn Photoshop Elements. The pictures are HORRIBLE. There's a ton of information, but doesn't make learning the program any easier- ie, "you can fix an amazing array of problems simply by adjusting the level of each color channel".. great, but HOW do I do this? It never really tells you how to do anything. It just drones on and on about how great everything is. I took another book out of the library that told WHY you might want to do certain things, and tried to use the Missing Manual to bring me step by step through the processes to get the saught after result--- no luck. I've read the book cover to cover and I still don't know as much as I need to to really get going with any skill. I think I have to take a class to learn what I want to be able to acheive with Elements, this book stinks.