How to Cheat in Photoshop, Third Edition: The art of creating photorealistic montages - updated for CS2 (Paperback)

~ (Author) "THE TECHNIQUES described in this book assume you have a reasonable working knowledge of Photoshop..." (more)
Key Phrases: photomontage artist, layer mask, clipping mask, Free Transform, Hard Light, Plastic Wrap (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The layout is crystal clear and the information useful and inspiring." -- Katrin Eismann

"The layout is crystal clear and the information useful and inspiring."
Katrin Eismann

'Steve Caplin's book has best-seller written all over it.'
Martin Evening, Professional Photographer and Author

'Steve Caplin's computer skills make a powerful contribution to problem-solving editorial illustration. His creativity can make the unlikely, even the impossible, look credible.'
Tom Reynolds, Design Director, The Sunday Times Magazine

'a superb set of step-by-step how-to guides for achieving photorealistic montages from the master himself. By "cheating", Caplin means quick, easy-to-grasp shortcuts to impressive ends. The book shows you how to create many effects, using a gallery of Caplin's commissioned montages - the finished pictures alone are almost worth buying this book for. A must for all montagers.'
Simon Jary, Editor MacWorld

'Shows you how to exploit features and be more creative in less time, covering just about everything you could want to do in Photoshop. The book's credentials are clear - many of the examples and case studies are taken from real-world commercial projects. There's a goldmine of practical and downright useful tips, tricks and step-by-step workthrough in this book.'
Keith Martin, MacUser, Sept 2002. -- Review --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"...this book is fascinating and Steve is unquestionably the master in his field." - Amateur Photographer

"Brilliant illustrations, step-by-step instructions and packed full of tricks from one of the finest masters of them all." Tom Ang

"An invaluable guide to creating impressive montages from your digital photographs. Composed primarily of step-by-steps, this tome is packed with useful shortcuts and time saving tips." - What Digital Camera

"A must-have for all Photoshoppers" - www.total-image-nation.co.uk

"Covering all the major techniques, author Steve Caplin takes you on an intriguing and insightful journey through the realms of the digital montage." - Advanced Photoshop

"Its 376 pages, plus CD, are crammed with colourful instruction on making your dull, unexciting snaps look altogether different...It should be required reading for anyone using Adobe's image tweaking tool in a semi-pro environment." - MacUser

"You'll find plenty of fun in the author's offbeat lessons and examples which explore the program's hidden powers. What makes CHEAT so unique are the gems that other volumes simply don't cover. The juiciest bits that real artis hunger for are here. So dig in, dig deep, and Shop yourself mad." www.dingbatmag.com

"Not brand new, but the latest edition of a classic. Steve Caplin has the rare gift of being able to make complex techniques seem perfectly straightforward and logical. " Computer Arts Projects, December 2006

On the previous edition:

'...written in a succinct and accessible style. Each chapter is self-contained with every spread taking the reader on a step-by-step guide to one particular technique. The real strength of the book lies in Caplin's use of the 'real world' examples. The Cheat of the title refers to shortcuts. Unlike some other writers, Caplin is aware of the concept of deadlines, as his workman-like approach to the subject shows.'
British Journal of Photography

'a superb set of step-by-step how-to guides for achieving photorealistic montages from the master himself. By "cheating", Caplin means quick, easy-to-grasp shortcuts to impressive ends. The book shows you how to create many effects, using a gallery of Caplin's commissioned montages - the finished pictures alone are almost worth buying this book for. A must for all montagers.'
Simon Jary, Editor MacWorld

'Shows you how to exploit features and be more creative in less time, covering just about everything you could want to do in Photoshop. The book's credentials are clear - many of the examples and case studies are taken from real-world commercial projects. There's a goldmine of practical and downright useful tips, tricks and step-by-step workthrough in this book.'
Keith Martin, MacUser

'A great book - even if just using Photoshop Elements! This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone with Photoshop Elements or the full version. While it is not possible to do everything shown in the book, at least 80% can be done straightaway using Elements and much of the rest can be done with work arounds or a bit of lateral thought. There are some cracking ideas and projects to get busy with, with Caplin's work being recognisable from many Magazines and Newspapers.'
Amazon.co.uk customer

'Well-written, insightful and beautifully illustrated throughout.' Digital Creative Arts

'The book is beautiful in color, very clear in structure and filled with real life examples...I highly recommend this book.'
www.photocrack.com

'A great book to help you add realistic shadows, highlights and perspectives to your creations.'
www.ephotozine.com

"Subtitled 'The Art of Creating Photorealistic Montages,' Steve Caplin produces a worthwhile book and a CD that contains QuickTime video clips showing many of the projects illustrated. Cleverly designed and copiously illustrated, this is a wonderful book that includes a chapter called 'Heads and Bodies' which covers the digital 'guillotine effect' of mixing and matching bodies and heads." -Joe Farace, Shutterbug

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 3 edition (September 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 024051985X
• ISBN-13: 978-0240519852
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 7.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #387,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding the correct edition on Amazon, June 25, 2004

By	Steve Caplin (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Cheat in Photoshop, Second Edition: The art of creating photorealistic montages (Paperback)

Searching for "Cheat", "Photoshop" or any combination here on Amazon often leads to earlier editions of the book. If you're looking for the latest (third) edition and can't find it, try searching for the ISBN number:

0-240-51985-X

Hope this helps!

Steve

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!!!!! But make sure you get the latest edition!!, June 24, 2004

By	Alan E. Cook "Kingsley Press" (Shoals, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How to Cheat in Photoshop: The Art of Creating Photorealistic Montages (Paperback)

Why does Amazon insist on selling an outdated version of this book? My wife bought me this book from Amazon for Father's day, but had to return it and buy the LATEST EDITION from another online retailer.

I'm a graphic designer, working with both print and web, and I am finding this book an absolute treasure! If you're an intermediate Photoshop user, there's no question about it, YOU NEED THIS BOOK! The tricks and tips revealed in this book are simply amazing. I've only owned the book for a few days, and am already using techniques I've learned from these pages. I'm eagerly waiting to devour more of the material.

This is not a book for novices--it assumes that you already know your way around Photoshop. Without that basic knowledge, you'll be out of your depth in many of these lessons.

I love it that each two-page spread is a self-contained unit/lesson which teaches a technique or procedure that will give you the desired results.

I have to say that I don't think I've ever been this excited about a book on Photoshop!!

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why you should buy this book, April 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Cheat in Photoshop: The Art of Creating Photorealistic Montages (Paperback)

This is my 24th PS book. I've been through all the page by page manuals from the CIAB books through the Real World types, the Magic Series, WOW Series, etc. I'm at that stage where Photrealism is a challenge I would like to conquer. I have both books by the photorealistic guru Bert Monroy, and they are both excellent. Steve Caplin's book "How to Cheat in Photoshop" is a joy and can proudly sit right next to Berts books. While Mr. Monroy's books go into step by step detail, Steve Caplins book shows the shortcuts that become invaluable time savers when working in this type of medium. And there are serious plusses here. Beside the standard CD with images to use to work through the lessons, some of the more complicated lessons have video instruction that make what he is trying to convey much easier to follow. But my favorite thing about this book is that it is set up as a reference book. If you need to "match the head to the body", there is a heading and a two page "how to". Sections include: Selecting, Hiding and Showing, Composing the Scene, Light and Shade, Heads and Bodies, Shiny Surfaces, Metal, Wood and Stone, Paper and Fabric, The Third Dimension and Hyper Realism. But again, this book is set up like a reference book. It's not really intended to be started on page one and worked through. It's like Scott Kelby's great "Down and Dirty" books. So who should buy this book? If you are not into Photorealism, stay away. And although the lessions are well written and some even have video instruction, I am not sure if I would recommend this book to PS novices. The book is definitely written with the assumption that you have a certain level of knowledge of PS. But I really am enjoying this book. I can't remember thinking a book was this cool since I read Photoshop Channel Chops! This book is going to get used a lot.