Equipment and Software Books

This book is amazing! The tricks and tips are so much fun to try out, and some of the stuff in here is just unbelievably amazing! I absolutely love Photoshop, and it is so much fun learning how to do cool new things to amaze your friends! The projects in here are so creative. And the book also comes with a CD so you can try out the projects described in the book. Excellent book!!!

This product was bought as a gift for a bright 16 year old girl. It was purchased to fuel her interest in PhotoShop without her having to first wade through a ton of dry how to. This book allowed her to see what was possible so that she now seeks out the ways that she can do other more mundane applications of the program. It provided what it was purchase for. A match for a creative fire.

I purchased this book over a year ago, and I'm still using it. You give several examples in your chapters on how to do a certain task, in a down to earth writing style which I find very easy to understand. I've become so much more efficient in Photoshop thanks to your book.
Cheers!

This is a very fun book to work thru. It comes with a CD that has photos to work with. You will install the CD and use the different effects over and over. I find myself going back to the book on many different projects. Most of the effects are ones that you can use in editing any type of photo. I loved the book and recomend it highly. Even beginners will find it easy to follow.

Just got into this book and I love it already. It may help for you to have another book along for tool and palette reference. The accompanying cd-rom is a great help, but i just wish that it had more videos. This book is definitely one of the top PAdobe Photoshop CS2 One-on-One (One-On-One)hotoshop books that I own.

My husband bought this for me when he bought me Photoshop Elements, and it was immensely helpful! I am now very comfortable in Photoshop, thanks to the easy to follow instructions and visuals.

The volume's strong point is its voluminous visual to illustrate every phase of digital photography from equipment to printing paper. It also bridges the gap from optical to digital photography. Technical in presentation ... for the experienced phohtographer ...

A profusely illustrated with more than 1500 full-color photographs, step-by-step 'how to' guide for taking great photographs and then digitally enhancing them using Photoshop, "Digital Photograph" by Michael Wright is very highly recommended both for its comprehensiveness and for being so 'user friendly' in its organization and presentation. Covering Photoshop essentials in general, including Photoshop 7 and Photoshop CS in particular, "Digital Photography" addresses simple and complex retouching techniques, removing 'red eye' from images, cloning, hand tinting, restoring old photographs, photo montages, digital painting, adding text to images, special effects, storing images, creating photo essays, printing, file size, composition, color theory, bracketing, lighting, backgrounding, and so much more. "Digital Photograph" is a single volume instructional guide that is strongly recommended for anyone aspiring to enhance their photography through Photoshop technology.

More pictures, less words, better understanding! This book truly is a step-by-step visual guide for taking pictures, and then whipping them into shape in Photoshop.

This book is not about about how to take better digital photos. It's a book that gives step by step instructions on how to do numerous photo editing. If you're not experienced in PhotoShop, then I highly recommend this book. For a novice, it might be a good refresher for you.

One of the things I love about this book is it actually does give step-by-step visuals on the how tos. It shows you what the photoshop box will look like, tells you were to find the tools you need, etc.

If that's what you're looking for, then this book is ideal for you. As I said, if you're a novice, it's a nice refresher or quick reference book.

Till I saw this book and Bert Monroys website my imagination and creativity for minimally very finite. Its amazing how he shows what can be done using image editors like photoshop. Its just blows you away. My wife thought the pictures in his books are photographs and when I told her bert monroy created them in photoshop, there was no sound from her. She was quite amazed. This book is well recommended. Authors like Bert Monroy truly amazes with their talent and give us additional thoughts and inspiration on how to improve our work.

I found this book very useful, very well illustrated, as Bert Monroy describes his technics. He teaches methods that opened my mind to the power that Photoshop CS has. While he covers many aspects of the program he dos not indulge in the usual rehash of every photoshop feature, focusing on specific projects. His reputation for a graphics artist and teacher are well deserved. Wonderful examples, just enough detail to convey the point without beating you over the head. Included color photos are well laid out, his teaching method couldn't be better. The tone will particular instruct the novice or intermeadiate user, but everyone will find something of use here. If you are looking for blow by blow 'how to' for every feature, look at Photoshop CS Sudio Techniques, or the Adobe Class Room in a Book. I only wish this book had more samples, examples. If you can't buy it, hope your local libray has or will. Do this for its artistic voice.

This book will get your imagination going. Some great tips.

The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that there could have been more content.

Bert Monroy is probably one of the most talented Photoshop users there is. If you've ever seen him on TechTV, you've seen how effortlessly he uses PS.

This book is full of amazing artwork Bert has done with Photoshop, along with a lot of tips and techniques from the master himself. You'll have a hard time believe that this book isn't just a collection of photos. Bert style is so photo-realistic it's jaw-dropping.

Definitely a must-have book for any PS enthusiast. Even if you don't plan to use PS for Photoreal artwork, there are techniques here that are applicable to other uses for PS but the book itself is worth the price just for the awe factor of Monroy's work.

Bert is a great artist and teacher. I took a class from him, and learned so much, but couldn't absorb it all at once. This book allows you to learn his techniques at your own pace, and will give you the confidence to start creating images from scratch in Photoshop, or add painting techniques to your image manipulation. Highly recommended for intermediate to advanced Photoshop users and all artists.

This is not your usual do step 1 do step 2 kind of book, the author goes in to great detail about every feature of photoshop. I'm not a photoshop guru but I'm no newbie either and this book was very helpful. It shows you how to do things in multiple ways which is very helpful. While reading this book, there were plenty of instances when I found out I was actually doing things "The long way." Overall, this book doesn't just instruct, it helps the reader understand Photoshop.

This book helped me learn how to use Curves in a very thorough way. I used to be intimidated with Curves and had preferred to use the Levels command instead.

Mr. Willmore also showed how to find highlights, shadows and gray areas and then adjust the colors by the numbers. You have to average the numbers of the highlights, shadows and the gray from each individual channel within the Curves dialog box.

I practice some images with extreme color casts. I managed to get rid of the color casts to make images more exceptable.

Mr. Willmore took the time to teach people the theory of using Curves.

The rest of the book is great too.

I see a lot of complaints from advanced users saying the books is just a re-write of the previous. Well for one thing, there usually are not that many changes from one version of photoshop to the next, and two, they obviously haven't been to Ben Willmore's website since he constantly adds new techniques and tutorials for the experienced user. If you want the best "how to" book for photoshop then look no further. Instead of telling you how he did some complex picture with techno babble, he explains the purpose, history, and the use of all the tools, and this is the most important part, in plain English. Only after he explains how to use the tools does you give some examples of their use. The only thing he assumes is that you have no clue about any of the features and goes into great detail. Ben Willmore is the equivalent to those teachers we all have had now and then that make the process of learning fun and nearly painless.

If you are already an advanced user you'll find very little that is new to you, but if you are a brand new or intermediate then you are missing out on a great resource if you pass this book by.

This has a very thorough (so far--I haven't finished the book) intro to production work with Photoshop. My design program does not address technology and I've found it a very practical and cheap solution to learning production basics for my own classwork and as I prepare for the job market. So far it has demystified resolution, levels, curves, and I'm reading about color management now. MUCH better than the introductory classroom titles, and a required supplement to the manual if you ever expect to do extensive work with Photoshop.

I am a second year graphic design student at a tech-college and i must say this book has taught me more about Photoshop than any class I've taken or could take. This book has not only given me a priceless understanding of the application, but it has also given me the skills necessary to take my design to a whole new level. The time saving tips as well as the newly discovered tool capabilities has allowed me to get more done on my school projects. I hope you don't buy the book simply because if we ever compete for the same job my skills will prevail. Thanks Ben !!!!!!!!

There was a time when artists bread and butter work was painting true to life pictures: portraits, battle scenes, ships, landscapes. With the advent of photography, art changed to other forms, some of which bore no recognizable appearance of anything known to anyone but the artist.

With the advent of digital photography and the necessary software to manipulate images, digital artists began to move in the way of the painters. Their digital images are formed by the manipulation of multiple images, of changes that can be made down to the bit level if desired.

This book explores digital art. While as of yet this is not well received by the conventional art community, it is a sign of coming times. Specifically in this book the same three specific images have been given to seventeen artists to use to illustrate what they might create. The procedures they followed to create new images coming from these three seed images are documented. The results are wildly different between the resulting pictures.

This is the forefront of digital art.

Joseph Nalven and JD Jarvis' Going Digital: The Practice And Vision Of Digital Artists is written by a cultural anthropologist who developed photography as a tool for working on ethnographic research, and an author who has long worked in TV production and graphic design: the two together offer a survey of the digital process as it applies to creating the art, from photos to finished products. 17 artists were asked to take three seed photos and use the images creatively in their own works of digital art: Going Digital takes these 17 efforts and blends them with discussions and examples of digital art from around the world, considering common challenges, presenting step-by-step processes from digital pioneer efforts, and creating a solid set of practical examples. A must for any aspiring digital artist.

Anything written about the practice of digital art today is doomed to be obsolete shortly. Very little is likely to survive even as being "quaint" in the way of Bill Gates's famous comment that 640 bytes were enough for anyone.
Since we have digital artists in the thousands, however, all eager to learn more technique, to make the most of all that's available, to see what each other is doing, we need resource material to serve them. "Going Digital" does this admirably in an original way. Seventeen artists each take the same three given photographic images and use up-to-the-minute tools to mold their own creations. The results are startlingly different. Most important, each artist has recorded his or her creative process in a sort of running diary, illustrated with dozens of images used or discarded en route to the final one.
The technology will more than likely change drastically as artists and computer scientists continue to interact. What will remain exciting and inspiring in Joe Nalven and JD Jarvis's book is the implicit discussions among editors and contributors about the meaning of art, the value of art, the place of artists, what changes and what abides. Both the many fine prints and the thoughtful questions raised fit into the history and practice of art, as always fascinating every one of us. Every question has more than one answer; rarely are these answers just yes and no. Although the discussion is implicit, the reader knows that he is in the hands of experienced teachers. The authors leave no doubt that their book goes past "now".
You'll want this book on your shelf or in your hand always. I wish that Amazon would let me give it a sixth star.

There is little that I can add to the previous excellent, detailed reviews. But I did want to add my two cents worth:

I received my "Going Digital" from Amazon a few days ago and read it cover to cover in two sittings - loved it! I especially enjoyed the participant's musings on the three seed photos. It was interesting that most all of them liked the image of the figure.

The resulting prints could not have been more different - a very interesting intellectual/artistic exercise indeed. It is a "must have" book for all digital artists - and will undoubtedly be a classic text book on the subject.

(...)

I find that having to create something with images not of your own choosing forces
you to stretch the limits - to step outside of your comfort zone. I have produced images that I NEVER would have done otherwise.

I have been working digitally less than two years, most of that time I have been in
an internet group with weekly challenges. I credit the "seed image" restriction with helping me grow and find my own voice in this digital world.

When I switched to digital everything was so new and unfamiliar. I have not been able to get into a comfortable rut with the ever-changing challenges. They have pushed me in directions I never would have chosen for myself- and that's a good thing!

When I finished the book I looked for a website that had the images available - I was dying to try my hand at it!

Buy the book, then try out the concept of "seed images" for yourself. It is a fantastic learning experience.

Oh wait... while I am here. Harald Johnson's other book "Mastering Digital Printing" (second edition) is another "must have" if you are serious about your digital art.

Carol
(...)

This book is a treasure trove of ideas for aspiring digital artists. Digital art has come of age, and Nalvin and Jarvis offer a comprehensive overview of the revolution that is transpiring before our very eyes. The book features an international group of digital artists working their magic on three simple images, while explaining their techniques and exposing their creative thought process at every step along the way. For the reader, each chapter provides a compelling intimate journey through the creative mind of a digital artist. My favorite was Greg Klamt, whose creativity is boundless. For me, this is digital art its at its very best. As Jarvis has stated in his digital manifesto, in the digital art world ".high cost will no longer signify superior work. Galleries and critics alike will soon have to realize that creativity, vision, diversity and craftsmanship have returned as the benchmarks of "value". Bravo!

This book covers most everything the wanna be Mac tech needs to know to be able to get into their system intelligently, without making expensive mistakes. It's not preachy or over technical from my standpoint, and it makes a great reference for when you need to tackle a problem yourself, rather than spending a lot of money for someone like me to come out and fix your computer.

I like the bredth and depth of the information given so much, that I am going to use it as the class text in my free Mac Troubleshooting class at Santa Ana College

This book is very good. It is one of the few books that is comprehesive of the entire Mac line (from the original mono-MAC to the iMAC). So many Mac books now only focus on the current models forgetting the earlier ones.

It is arranged by topic (memory, hd, input devices, etc.) and very easy to use. It is also suprisingly accurate. Twice I have found the information in the book's spec tables to be accurate where Apple's own ServiceSource specs were incorrect. (If only I had access to where they get their info!) :-)

Want to work on Macs? Get this book!

This book has really help me. It contains information about troubleshoting, installation, upgrade and more. Good graphics, easy to understand tables and easy to follow instructions.

Tremendous Trememndous. This book helped me upgrade my old SE-30 for use as a networked print server in my apartment. It got me set for networking 7 computers together on a LAN, including the fun ways that Macs talk with Windoze boxes and a Read Hat machine. I love this book!

Shortcuts, ways to speed up the machine, preemptive troubleshooting tips and more interesting info than you could ever retain.

If your Mac's out of warranty, you have nothing to lose by trying to fix it yourself. Stauffer's the man when it comes to clear explanations of needed repairs. I replaced the hard drive and CD-ROM drive following his book's advice. The book paid for itself.

This book like all the O'reilly books brings you nothing but quality material as you need it. David Karp covered almost every problem you might encounter using Windows Vista, and of course the Solutions to these problems. This is a large book and it's not like the many other tech books that you read and get bored along the way, no it isn't, David has done a great job of entertaining and yet getting to the point.

This is a must have book for anyone using windows Vista. I highly recommend it.Windows Vista Annoyances: Tips, Secrets, and Hacks

This book made the change EASY!!

Going from XP to Vista was a snap with the help of this book. If you are like me, a very amateur PC user used to XP, this book will make the switch to Vista painless and even fun.

I like the book, having skimmed my way through most of it, but I wish I didn't have to buy it. In other words, I wish I didn't own Vista Home Premium SP1. This piece of Sh_t has BSOD crashed more times in the 6 weeks I've used it than in the 3 years I used XP Pro SP2. The book warned me that Vista doesn't handle USB external HDDs well, & it is true. I rip my CDs to an external HDD. Rips fine. When I try to shut down Windows Media Player 11, I get a BSOD "IRQL_Not_Less_Than_Zero" error (or something like that...), crash then a reboot that never reboots. I have to shut the power off, then go through the whole "Windows did not start correctly" BS. I'm getting an Apple....

This book is written for intermediate users, not beginners, and it is the best. When I purchased a new computer, it came with Windows Vista. So I bought 3 books on Vista, including Microsoft's own "Windows Vista Inside Out". I have found this book consistently more helpful in making the operating system do what I want it to do, rather than what Microsoft thinks it ought to do. It is clear, concise, and humorous; and that makes it easy to read. I just wish it had included a CD of the book, also.

Sometimes, a book in the Annoyances series is one that you can use to fine-tune an application you use often. And then there's this one... Windows Vista Annoyances by David A. Karp. Regardless of whether you hate Vista or think it's the best Windows OS out there, you'll be finding useful and applicable tips on every other page here. Vista is just tailor-made for a book like this, and Karp takes full advantage of the opportunities.

Contents:
Get Started with Windows Vista: Editions of Vista; Install Windows Vista; Migration to Windows Vista
Shell Tweaks: Customize Windows Explorer; Working with Files and Folders
The Registry: The Registry Editor; Structure of the Registry; Registry Tasks and Tools; File Type Associations
Working with Media: Playing Video; Handling Online Video; Sound and Music; Photos, Pictures, Images; Media Center Annoyances; CD and DVD Drives
Performance: Trim the Fat; Make Your Hardware Perform; Hard Disk
Troubleshooting: Crashes and Error Messages; Dealing with Drivers and Other Tales of Hardware Troubleshooting; Preventative Maintenance and Data Recovery
Networking and Internet: Build Your Network; Internet Me; Secure Your Networked PC; Web and Email
Users and Security: Manage User Accounts; Permissions and Security; Logon and Profile Options; Share Files and Printers
Scripting and Automation: Windows Script Host; build a VBScript Script; Object References; Wacky Script Ideas; Command Prompt Scripting; Windows PowerShell
BIOS Settings
TCP/IP Ports
Index

When I bought my new laptop , it came loaded with Vista. Since it was pretty early in the Vista release cycle, I thought it would be good to learn it since adoption would be widespread in a short period of time. Yeah, right. Vista turned into one of the most annoying operating experiences of my life. Slow performance, endless "do you really want to..." dialog boxes, reboot times that took forever... While you can't get rid of the overall pain of Vista (unless you "upgrade" to XP or a Mac), you can use Karp's information to lessen the daily headaches. For instance, he takes you into the Performance Options settings to help you figure out what eye candy you can live without so that you actually get work done. He shows you how to tweak the registry to eliminate the menu opening delay. He also goes into some depth on how to get Vista set up to greatly reduce the start-up time (and that's a MAJOR accomplishment). And that's just a fraction of what you'll find here that will find immediate application in your life with Vista.

It's always a good thing to get a decent reference guide to the major software packages in your life. Vista is no exception. But there's a few packages where you need someone to tell you how to *live* with the less-than-stellar results on your screen. Vista's the poster child for that. Windows Vista Annoyances should be *very* close at hand as you work with the operating system. Assuming you haven't already switched to something else...

This book gives an excellent overview on how to make an animated project. While it is geared to making shorts, it can be applied to feature films and TV episodes. I wholly recommend this book to anyone interested in animated film-making.

This book is everything I hoped it would be and more. In a very clear an readable design it covers all the aspects of a 3d short animation process. This process can be used on any length of 3d animation. It's not a technical book but a must have for everyone who wants to make a solid animation but does not quite know where to begin. The whole inspired series is very useful, but this one is where it all begins. Also comes with a nice dvd with lots of inspiring shorts. Great!

This book has everything you need to know about making a short 3D film. (I'm making one about a box turtle (I love turtles!) and a butterfly using Hexagon and Carrara.) The CD containing 39 short films is icing on the cake. This book makes the best kind of teacher - you don't just learn from it, but are inspired by it!

It's a great book that I would recommend to anyone serious about creating their own Short Animated Film.

More informative than I could have ever imagined. It's everything you will learn at a 20,000 dollar a year university.

The included DVD is also filled with some great examples.

ENJOY and happy film making!

I bought this hoping that it would teach me how to create a short film. The story I already have, it's just the skills and schedule that I need. This book gave me a GENERAL IDEA but it wasn't specific enough. It would say, "then use your compositing softare to put the renders together." Ummm... How?
I know it wasn't meant to be a complete-all-included-only-this-needed kind of book, but even so...
I would say that unless you are a true beginner to this field, look for something else, but if you are a true beginner, it is excellent. It taught me alot and I am very VERY glad I bought this book.

Published in 2004, this book is a bit dated. A few of the software publishers mentioned have been merged, acquired or gone out of business and all the products still published have had multiple new editions released. None of this, however, reduces the utility of this fine introduction to digital scrapbooking.

The authors begin with the absolute basics and move onward from there, which for the beginner to scrapbooking, much less digital scrapbooking, is an excellent route to take.

They begin with a (pretty dated) review of digital photography and move on to the essentials of image editing. Layouts are next followed by using photographs creatively, which is where the book starts getting really interesting. From here they move onto adding and manipulating text elements, how to use filters, plug-ins and effects and more on image processing. More advanced topics include making your own elements to use in your creations, such as backgrounds, buttons, ribbons and fibers.

Overall, this is an excellent and very well done introduction to digital scrapbooking. It may be a bit on the older side (four years!) but is still an excellent way to get into the craft.

Jerry

This is it, the one book you need to learn digital scrapbooking. Sally gives you clear concise step-by-step instructions that will take you from the basics of digital scrapbooking to more advanced techniques.

Chapter by chapter you will build your skills. Then have fun with the CD full of digital scrapbooking supplies. Paint Shop Pro is a great digital scrapbooking program and Sally is definitely a GREAT Paint Shop Pro teacher!!

(Sally's other books are great as well.)

I purchased this book before I committed to a particular software and it was so helpful. I used it to practice with free trial copies of various softwares to help me decide which one I wanted to go with. The examples are great. The text is easy to follow and thorough. I am very satisfied with this book and learned everything I needed to get started and even do some advanced techniques!

I bought this book for a start in digital scrapbooking. It is great for teaching some of the basics, but I have Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 and the latest it includes is 2.0. Quite a few of the operations have changed when trying to do such things at adding shadows and combining layers. Needless to say I had to buy another book for 4.0. This has some great ideas however and some good information on filters.

If you are thinking of making the move to digital scrapbooking you will do well to read this book by Sally Beacham and Lori J. Davis. Assuming that you have not committed to one image editor, the authors use five popular image editors in the examples throughout the book. They demonstrate the similarities and differences between Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Digital Image Pro, Serif Photo Plus and Ulead Photo Impact. But this book is not about imaging software. It is about digital scrapbooking.

The authors begin by discussing the pros and cons of digital scrapbooking and what you will need to get started. Besides showing how to make completely digital scrapbook pages, the authors also show many ways to integrate digital scrapbooking with traditional scrapbooking.

Next, they cover scanning photos into the computer and what can be done to correct and enhance your photos once they are in digital form. They discuss image corrections such as cropping, alignment, noise reduction, red eye removal and color correction.

The authors discuss two popular styles for scrapbook pages. The first style, faux-paper, emulates the textured paper, fibers, tags and other embellishments of traditional scrapbook pages. The second type, graphic design, has a more commercial look which emphasizes enhancement of photos and elaborate word art. They discuss how to use pre-designed layouts and how to design your own pages digitally.

Next, they begin to build a digital layout. They discuss color and how it should relate to and enhance your photos. Once you have chosen a color and texture for the background of your layout, you add your photos.

Text techniques and word art are a natural extension of digital scrapbooking. The authors discuss the importance of fonts and the digital effects that can be applied to the titles and journaling on your scrapbook pages.

There is a large section on plug-in filters and how they greatly expand the creativity of your image editing software. The special effects from these filters can be applied to your photos, digital background papers and embellishments.

The authors discuss how to save your digital page in the various formats for printing, burning to CD, emailing or posting on the web.

The accompanying CD contains several tutorials, clipart, over 100 fonts, trial versions of popular plug-in filters, sample layouts and page kits.

Lori J. Davis is a technical writer and author of many books on Paint Shop Pro. Sally Bracham is an author and teacher of Paint Shop Pro and related subjects.