Customer Reviews

Photoshop 6 for Windows Bible

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

 

 

Let me start by saying that I never buy one of these books to read it. Let's face it, any of this stuff is pretty dry. I use them for reference. Even though I do professional photography and spend a lot of time in Photoshop, I don't know it all. That would be a tall order.

I do feel though that Deke does a good job of fully explaining many of the most usefull tools in PS6. The more obscure ones, I'm not sure that any book covers to any great extent. One has to get inside this program and look around. No book on PS6 is going to hold your hand through the whole thing. One area in this book that gets a lot of attention because it can be confusing is unsharp mask. There's a lot of detail here on how to use it. It's really the only sharpening tool you'll ever need if it's used correctly. Another area that can be difficult is selections....lots of detail here, too.

A nice thing about this book in my opinion is Deke McClelland's writing style. He does try to liven it up a bit. Not always sucessfully, but it keeps it a bit more interesting.

My bottom line to this book is that I believe it's worth the investment. If you're applying Photoshop solely to Photography, I think that "Adobe Photoshop 6.0 for Photographers" by Martin Evening may be the better way to go.

I prefer to use software books as references. Many of the "Bible" books are really useful this way. But in order for that to be so, the book has to have a decent index. This "Bible" fails miserably on that count. An example: I tried to look up "Acrobat" to see if I could save a file in the PDF format from Photoshop. Adobe Acrobat files are a standard in the publishing industry these days. There is actually a page and a half in the Bible on saving as a PDF, but there is no entry for "Acrobat" or "Adobe Acrobat" in the skimpy index. The last "Photoshop Bible" that I bought was for PS 3. A lot has changed in the program since then. Versions 5, 5.5, and 6 of PS have all been major revisions, but there is relatively little new material in the PS 6 Bible compared to the PS 3 Bible. Save your money.

I've upgraded to Photoshop 6 from version 5 and 5.5. Still as an ACE I think this book is very useful, it reveals issues that might be difficult to understand in this very new version of Photoshop.
I think this book is very useful (both for the novice and for the) experienced user. Deke Mc Clelland is always very well informed, and manages to a great extent describing complicated issues. (Eyes perception of colors, and then how monitor shows them, and how they are on paper.)
The book lacks a bit because most of the images are in b/w. There are also more - humorous - authors on Photoshop out there, but if you want very much information for your money, this is your first choice!

"Bible" is a bit of a misnomer. A better description would be "everything detail you would ever want to know about Photoshop".

The book is incredibly detailed. Each and every menu option are described and cross referenced, no stone left unturned. And yet it is readable (if you can lift it). Adobe has come a long way in making their manuals and help files much much better. That said, if you are looking to become a basic or mid level Photoshop user, this may not be the book for you. If you want to know the pros and cons to using a fade on a custom brush with your pressure sensative tablet (you get the picture)... then this book is required to at least have at hand.

I have dabbled with photoshop for many many years, but never really did use more than 10% of the program functions. So I've bought and checkout many books out of the library so I can improve my reults and save time. I scanned this book cover to cover (well almost) - and probably READ about 1/2 of it. While there was SOME very valuable content, the book was mostly a recap for me.

My biggest complaint is that the book spends precious little space on explaining TECHNIQUE. It is more about explaining functions in complete detail. It would have been better if the few techniques and exercises in the book were somehow highlighted or set apart from the text. There are much better sources for that info anyway.

Adobe Photoshop was a weak area of mine, and as a computer lab consultant who is required at times to answer questions about photoshop it was very fustrating when I couldn't help students with their photoshop questions. After purchasing Photoshop 6 For Windows Bible and spending a weekend with it, I can now handle 99.9999% of all questions regarding photoshop. A must have for anyone who uses Photoshop, much better than any of the material that comes with the Photoshop program and better than any other photoshop book I have picked up in the past.

'You get what you pay for' sometimes, as in this case, does happen. This is a very comprehensive yet straightforward book to work your way through. It's often too chummy and long winded in its delivery; IDG's style, I suppose. I was pleased with all the details Deke McClelland incorporated in the text, even down to the rarely mentioned preference settings for the Export-Clipboard and Backwards Compatibility options, which can save so much hassle and unnecessarily large file sizes. Yes, the Photoshop 6.0 Bible ain't no pocket-book and is fairly expensive. Nevertheless you could quickly spend much more on an assortment of lesser works.

One of the best Photoshop books I have seen (I have browsed a lot and own a few). It can be read cover-to-cover as a tutorial, be used as a reference on specific how-to's or to shed light on particular topics (masking etc). In addition it is quite witty - how often do you laugh out aloud while reading a technical book? You'll do it with this book a good bit. Just the "explanation" for why the highest JPEG quality is labeled "12" instead of 10 or 100 is hilarious. Way to go Deke!

I work as a computer consultant where I am asked questions on software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Photoshop. My weak area was Photoshop until I picked up this book and gave it a weekend of my full attention. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to get the most out of their photoshop program.

All in all, this is a usable book if you take the time to discover essential details that are missing. As you get into more sophisticated topics you find that about 10% of the procedures described in the book do not work. Essential steps, that could have been spelled out in a line of text, are missing and I have to experiment for close to an hour to discover what they are. The book is too verbose and could be condensed to half its size, with no loss of content. The humor is weak and adds nothing to the book; I never got a chuckle (and I like to laugh). There are no examples of creative use of Photoshop, even though this is why we want to learn the darn thing. I have used computers everyday since 1969, so I don't think that my troubles are caused by my ignorance. Unfortunately, I can't recommend a better book, since I stuck with this one and I managed to learn what I need. It is not a bad book to get you started,but you should look at other books before buying this one.

All in all, this is a usable book if you take the time to discover essential details that are missing. As you get into more sophisticated topics you find that about 10% of the procedures described in the book do not work. Essential steps, thate could have been spelled out in a line of text, are missing and I have to experiment for close to an hour to discover what they are. The book is too verbose and could be condensed to half its size, with no loss of content. The humor is weak and adds nothing to the book; I never got a chuckle (and I like to laugh). There are no examples of creative use of Photoshop, even though this is why we want to learn the darn thing. I have used computers everyday since 1969, so I don't think that my troubles are caused by my ignorance. Unfortunately, I can't recommend a better book, since I stuck with this one and I managed to learn what I need. It is not a bad book to get you started,but you should look at other books before buying this one.