Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop Elements 2.0 [Paperback]

Mike Wooldridge (Author)

Book Description

Series: Teach Yourself Visually | Publication Date: December 23, 2002

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something - and skip the long-winded explanations?

If so, then this book is for you. Open it up and you'll find clear, step-by-step screen shots that show you how to tackle scores of Photoshop Elements 2 tasks, from importing digital camera photos and sizing images to repairing photo damage, using filters, and creating a Web photo gallery.

"If I need to learn anything, I just buy one of your books. Wonders! I have even trained my friends to give me Visual books as gifts." —Illona Bergstrom (Aventura, FL)

"You all are creating a wonderful learning environment. Keep it up!" —Percy Khambatta (Bukit Panjang, Singapore)

• "Teach Yourself" sidebars offer practical tips and tricks
• Full-color screen shots demonstrate each task
• Succinct explanations walk you through step by step
• Two-page lessons break big topics into bite-sized modules

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something – and skip the long-winded explanations?

If so, then this book is for you. Open it up and youll find clear, step-by-step screen shots that show you how to tackle scores of Photoshop Elements 2 tasks, from importing digital camera photos and sizing images to repairing photo damage, using filters, and creating a Web photo gallery.

"If I need to learn anything, I just buy one of your books. Wonders! I have even trained my friends to give me Visual books as gifts." —Illona Bergstrom (Aventura, FL)

"You all are creating a wonderful learning environment. Keep it up!" —Percy Khambatta (Bukit Panjang, Singapore)

• "Teach Yourself" sidebars offer practical tips and tricks
• Full-color screen shots demonstrate each task
• Succinct explanations walk you through step by step
• Two-page lessons break big topics into bite-sized modules

About the Author

Mike Wooldridge is a technology writer, Web designer, and educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also the author of several other VISUAL books, including Teach Yourself Visually Illustrator 10, Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop 7, and Master Visually Dreamweaver MX and Flash MX.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Visual; 1st edition (December 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764525158
• ISBN-13: 978-0764525155
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #973,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Wooldridge is a user-interface designer and Web developer. He has authored more than 20 books for Wiley's Visual series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent way to learn Photoshop Elements 2.0, April 21, 2003

By 

extant (NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop Elements 2.0 (Paperback)

I started with the Users Guide that came with the software and couldn't make heads or tails of it- mostly verbal descriptions of visual processes. The "Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop Elements 2.0" made everything clear. It is a wonderful book and learning tool. After you read it (it's a smooth fast read) you can go back to the Users Guide (which is OK once you have a feel for the program) to pick up a few more details, or feel more comfortable with the on-line help or other, less visual, books.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent to start with Photoshop !, September 15, 2004

By 

Guillaume Virantin "Guill" (NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop Elements 2.0 (Paperback)

It is the first time I spend the time writing a review for a book on amazon. I decided to do it for TYV Photoshop Elements because of its excellent quality. I tried a few other Photoshop books before and couldn't go further than page 30 because text is definitely not adequate to teach you how to use a software dedicated to imaging. This book is just perfect for beginners like me who want to understand how the various functionalities of the software can be used to realize what they want. You get a double page per function, very clear and precise, easy to read and to understand. Along with this one, I bought The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2 (that I have not started yet) to get into the hairy details...

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fast, Visual Guide, June 16, 2004

By 

Dr. David A. Shapiro "drifly" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop Elements 2.0 (Paperback)

Photoelements 2 is a powerful, complex program that is far from intuitive to use. Abode's manual lists the functions of the program but provides little advice as to when to use each function - and this is needed.

Mr. Wooldbridge's book attempts, generally successfully, to provide a simple overview of all the key functions in PE2. The book's main asset is, as the title implies, visual - with screenshots of the different steps. For a visual program a visual guide seems logical to me (I have found the lengthy prose-based books less useful).

The downside? Basic steps are covered, but not more complex, cumulative approaches (however, it can be argued that the book doesn't claim to do this). The photographs used to illustrate each lesson are truly awful - they are simple snapshots. Not one is a worthwhile photograph. This may or may not matter to you. The author illustrates, for example, how to change colors by changing a house's driveway into a hideous, garish color. (Arguably, this might be an asset - you might feel proud that many of your photographs are considerably better than those in used in your guidebook!) When looking for a guidebook, I hope to get exposed to worthwhile artistic photographs that will inspire some creativity. You won't find art here - but you will find the basic building blocks to PE2.