17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect book for all skill levels, October 2, 2006
This review is from: Photoshop Finishing Touches (Paperback)
First let me start off by saying that I am far from a Photoshop beginner so I am cautious when choosing a book, but this one didn't disappoint. I was introduced to many tricks and tips or "Finishing Touches"... such as (patterns, custom brushes, burned edges, selective blurring and delivery) among others that have recently added that extra "pop" to my photos. I noticed in the other reviews that people are disappointed with the amount of "border effects" but what they are forgetting is Photoshop is a program that produces the best results with experimentation. Dave isn't trying to create clones (not the stamp), but is giving us insight in how the pros create such stunning imagery.
My favorite sections in this book would have to be the following: Burned Edges, Spotlight Effect, B&W Conversion, Slide Mounts and Film Strip. Those last two are really neat because everyone else has static images that almost look pasted on their web site. My images will now stand out from the others thanks to that added presentation step.
The last section is one that other books simply forget, the delivery of your imagery, both in print and on the web. Yet Dave once again thinks of everything and delivery is no exception. You will learn how to build PDF presentations, web galleries and contact sheets to present your work to colleagues and clients.
Don't let me forget the awesome web site that sits along side the book, (www.photoshopfinishingtouches.com). Where the readers can submit their creations achieved from the book, another thing I have yet to see a book offer.
I will be recommending this book to many of my fellow Photoshop users, both beginners and professionals. Five starts because 6 wasn't an option.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Finishing Touches" - Things you do to add something extra-special!, August 22, 2006
This review is from: Photoshop Finishing Touches (Paperback)
If you want to cut through my verbiage, which both expresses my perplexity with why some reviewers here think this book is ill-titled (and why I think it is perfectly titled), coupled with how I came to purchase the book myself, skip down past the first six paragraphs. That'll take you straight to the reason why I love the book and find it worthy of its purchase price. So much so, that I'd spend the money to buy it again immediately if my lovable Springer Spaniel mistook it for his rawhide chewie on a bad hair day. That said, onward!
After receiving this book a few weeks ago and finally going through it pretty thoroughly, I am a little perplexed by some of the reviewers who think it is ill-titled. However, let me point out that before purchase, especially since these computer books tend to be so pricey even at discount, I decided to head over to the book's web site first. I downloaded the PDF file which beautifully renders the colorful Table of Contents exactly as it appears at the outset of the book. If you are contemplating purchase of this excellent book, I suggest you consider doing likewise if you have any doubts about whether it will suit your PhotoShop "finishing touches" needs and/or expectations.
So, I based my purchase loosely on reviews, but mostly on the thorough TOC PDF file, along with (and to a lesser extent), the more in-depth publisher (and Dave's) description at the book's site, which URL is listed here on the book's page on Amazon.
All of the above notwithstanding, I take no issue whatsoever with Dave's choice of titling. "Finishing Touches" means to me something you add for overall enhancement of your photo AFTER you've completed all of your photo editing and related adjustments in PhotoShop. So, in that sense, I do believe Dave has titled his book quite well ... but, then, "finishing touches" can mean a whole host of different things to different folks, I suppose.
I was looking for a book which would give me some ideas, concepts and of course some techniques and general direction about how to achieve it all in PhotoShop. I was looking for some ideas for those photos I want to do something extra-special to - most especially to some of the photos of my super-pricey wood art, where a full color product photo is included on the gallery's "artist statement" certificate which is presented to the buyer with the prototypical dating and artist's [that'd be me] sig/distinctive mark, etc.
In that sense, I found this book to be quite excellent and don't regret my expenditure for it at all. But, then, I already knew from a careful perusal of the actual ToC pretty much exactly what I buying in advance and I was not disappointed when the book arrived.
This book is and isn't, all at the same time, a "cookbook" type tutorial, but first things first: I love its visual Table of Contents with its full color mini-samples of the actual technique[s] being described and pictured. Speaking of which, quality of the cover, binding, paper and photos are all excellent. Once the reader becomes familiar with the various sections, the color-coded page edges are nice for a quick "thumb-to" without having to reference either the TOC or index.
It's a "cookbook" in the sense that Dave presents you with a series of techniques, which are understandably heavy on border treatments since we're talking "finishing touches" here, but there is much more included as well. No matter what your level of PS experience, I'd highly recommend giving the "Key Concepts" section, some 32 pages, a good, thorough reading at the outset.
It isn't your prototypical "cookbook" type tutorial in that Dave doesn't give you fixed settings in the examples. I can't recall how many times I've read book reviewers complaints about cookbook type PhotoShop books which give them specific settings for filters, etc., but offer zero explanation for WHY the author chose those particular settings, etc. Dave doesn't do that, he encourages you to take each "recipe", so to speak, and let loose your own creativity.
If you are someone who is looking for a perfectly measured out recipe of PhotoShop steps in a "step 1, step 2, do this, set 'x' slider to 'X' value" type of recipes to achieve the techniques, this probably isn't the book for you. Dave gives you the basic concepts, but is heavy on encouraging you to use those concepts and specifics as only a "jumping off" point to unleash your own creative instincts. He's giving you concepts and techniques to get you going without binding you to a fixed set of settings and "step 1, step 2..." don't dare deviate type recipes.
This is exactly my kind of book, personally speaking. I don't like fixed steps and settings without understanding WHY what I'm doing works, but that's just me. There are so many ways to achieve the same thing in PS, that I always want to understand WHY what I'm doing works (or, conversely, doesn't work in a given circumstance).
So, if you're looking for some awesome "finishing touches" concepts that you can run with and make uniquely your own, you're going to love this book, methinks. However, if you're more inclined to how to get a specific technique accomplished without regard for why it works - and that's okay, too - this probably isn't the book you're looking for.
Above all, I highly recommend you coast over to the book's web site and download the TOC PDF file to take a look through it so you'll know what's covered and whether it meets your needs/expectations before laying out the purchase price. Because that is available online, I've not gone through a more thorough list of techniques and concepts covered - you can see it all for yourself in the excellent TOC file.
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