Adobe Books

In the short time I have had this book I have found it not only to answer my questions but give me clear and concise information.

I had Photoshop Elements for about a year - until this book I was unable to use it effectively. Scott Kelby does a great job walking through the myriad features and functionality! Instructions are clear and easy to follow. Would definitely buy again!

I have found this book easy to understand and follow. Instructions take the material step by step to a conclusion. The subject matter is easy to locate thru its index.

One of the best "how to" books I've ever bought. Every step is detailed, taking the reader to the finest final product.

I bought this manual for my 13 year old daughter, so she can get more out of her new digital camera. She and her friends used the book to manipulate photos they took and they loved it, as they found lots of new and exciting things that can be done with Elements. She found the explanations and the language used very clear and easy. I'm not sure to what 'advanced' level it takes you, but it's definitely great for learning the basics of Photoshop Elements.

This is a terrific book, as good as I've seen for the intermediate user. I'm not a professional but in my opinion, once you've learned the basics, selecting and masking are skills essential for improving your photographs, or whatever type of art you do with Photoshop. This book is a treasure trove of information I've never seen in other books or in tutorials from the web. And I even learned how to use the pen tool, something I've only been frustrated with before.

The author uses a unique combination of tutorials (along with sample files from her website) and descriptions of Photoshop features that will help you easily master every technique.

However, I'll warn you. The pages from my copy were falling out when I first received it from Amazon. If I had been willing to ship it back and wait another couple of weeks, I'm sure they would have replaced it. But it was a frustration. I've managed to keep the book intact with a generous application of glue to the pages, but the binding was unacceptable and I doubt my copy was the only one in that condition.

Ms. Eismann hits all the areas necessary for one to become proficient in masking and compositing. She is recommended by all the current photoshop gurus for a very good reason. This book is an excellent primer and also delves into advanced techniques. It's a great resource book and I've got post-it flags everywhere. You can't go wrong with this book.

Debbie Schmidt
dsh Solutions
http://www.dshsolutions.com

The most comprehensive book on selecting, masking and layers. It was easy to read and follow. Adobe Photoshop CS3Photoshop Masking & Compositing (VOICES)

The cost of any book by Katrin Eismann is returned to the reader in value many, many times over. This book is everything the photoshop user needs to know about the sometimes daunting, but now made easy by Katrin, masking and compositing images. Now you can make those tough cut-outs of thin strands of hair against tough backgrounds that you used to run away from before.

Katrin is one of the best and this book continues that tradition!

It's a great book. It gives you a very wide knowlege of how to make masks,selections and compositions.It's easy written and you can download all pictures of the book from the internet.So you can try it yourself wright away.Katrin is a very inspiring person and she makes you very enthousiastic by telling her way of seeing things and the many ways you can make these things happen with photoshop.You really can't wait to start.I thought I knew photoshop but I learn so much more by reading this book and doing it at the same time.

This book gives refreshing new ideas to use on photos. It is great for beginners and intermediate users. Goes through all the steps of how to get the effects you see on the page. The accompanying CD provides the pictures for you to follow along. Many worthwhile and useful effects to enhance photos. A book worth investing in.

I have been in photography for 35 years, but I would have to classify myself as an "advanced beginner" with Adobe Photoshop. Most of what I have learned, that has been really valuable to me, has been from the NAPP website,...you do have to join, but the information and training videos are well worth the membership fee. I do own a lot of Photoshop books because I wanted to learn as much as I could about it. It is such a powerful program, that it will do just about anything that you can imagine in your mind. "How to Wow" is absolutely THE BEST of all of the Photoshop books that I own. You do have to know your way around Photoshop at least a little, but this is a really good book to anyone that has learned the basic functions of any of the Photoshop programs. I am going to buy three more of these for Christmas gifts. I really do love this book, and you won't regret buying it.

I picked this book up when I was first starting into digital photography hoping to gain a few tidbits of knowledge to help enhance my photos. What I found instead was a treasure trove of step-by-step, easy to follow procedures for doing everyday tasks, like color balance adjustments, to more indepth tasks, like filling in a receeding hairline and photo restoration. Jack Davis approaches the subject with years of experience from teaching workshops and presents each chapter in layman's terms, foregoing technical jargon so many of us find ourselves mired in. Included with the book is a CD of presets for things such as texturing and frames. The presets alone make this book worth the price of admission but people of all skill groups will find the information collected useful and extremely easy to follow.

If you really read the book carefully, you'll find that there are at least a dozen techniques that you will want to refer to in future projects. I set tabs on sections of the book (via post-it notes) on about 15 technigues/effects/etc.
Well organized and with easy-to-follow instructions, it certainly is one of the very best books you'll find on Photoshop.

This book is too easy for an intermediate user, but a bit too advanced for a beginner. For a digital photographer with no Photoshop experience, Scott Kelby's The Photogrshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographer would be an alternative choice.

I've used about six Photoshop book. It's a decent book, but not a must have book. As an intermediate Photoshop user, I didn't pick up any new technique from this book. Therefore, I have exchanged this book for Linnea Dayton's Photoshop CS/CS2 Wow

Ben is that rare teacher who makes his subject clear for anyone, beginner or advanced user. He will not remain on my shelf, but in my travel bag and by the computer. This book will be well used and look it. Don't hesitate. Push the buy now button. You will not regret it. I am not related and have no financial interest in the book!!!!!!! Join the enlightened!!!!

This book is very good. Ben Willmore is an expert of expert. Buy it and it will not make you disappoited.

I'm a photoshop user since version 5, but with the latest developments I feld a little bit lost between all the possible features. Ben shows you how to use them and to develop your own style. It's more then telling how it works, but also how it can work for you. Now I can adjust and create my pictures even better. The book is easy to read, for the novice and even for an expert designer. Lot of tips, tricks and humor makes this book the best add-on for this product.

All of Ben's Studio Techniques books are a must read! There is no better Photoshop book out there! If you only buy one Photoshop book, this is the one to get!

Ben Willmore makes learning easy and appeals to the full range of learners. Great website support and lots of examples to help a person learn what they want. Dive in on any chapter and you will find out what you want to know and walk away with a better understanding of Photoshop as well. I would highly reccommend this book to all but the very newest to Photoshop, for it is jam-packed with knowledge that a lot of books promise but do not deliver.

A classic, if you can find it. If you have one, don't let it out of your sight. A master course on channel theory that is a must have for forensic professionals.

Sell the Nordic Trak on ebay and buy this book.

Jim Hoerricks
http://forensicphotoshop.blogspot.com
Author of Forensic Photoshop - a comprehensive imaging workflow for forensic professionals

I'm a student learning Photoshop and I must say this is one of the best Photoshop books I have ever come across. The authors explain every aspect in a detailed and engaging way. In other books, I may read a chapter and understand how to do something but I often ask why it's done that way. Photoshop Channel Chops gives thorough explanations on many different channel operation methods that makes sense and leaves me wanting to read

Wow! The authors really know their stuff! There is so much information in this book it's scary. This book is a must-read for anyone who takes Photoshop seriously. Sure, it was written years ago when Photoshop was at version 4, and sure the writing gets a bit corny at times, but it is still a "killer app" among Photoshop books.

If you aspire to be a hardcore Photoshop user, this book is probably the one you want above all others. It's not a step-by-step tutorial, a mere reference book, or a book that leads you through the tools and various functions of the software. Instead it discusses the fundamental concepts you need to know to use Photoshop to its fullest. Some statements in the book are outdated, but fortunately, they are usually statements of opinion and occur only in a few places. Most of the book is still applicable since Photoshop today still has channels, alpha channels, paths, layers, and calculations. This book hasn't been updated since it was written in 1998, but it really doesn't need to be. It's not about how to use particular tools and new features. It's about how to think with Photoshop. And it's deep enough to read over and over for reference. I would encourage even beginner Photoshop users to read this book if they are really committed, especially if they want to learn about compositing. By the end of this book, you'll be able to understand how Photoshop does what it does, and why it is such a powerful program.

I hate the books that only talk about particular special effects and how to achieve them, without telling you why it should be done that way. With Photoshop, you want to be in control. This book allows to be in control. It will explain exactly what's going on behind the scenes. After reading this book, I felt like being a Photoshop guru. It was nice.

I received this product pretty quickly and it was in very good condition!
Seller, keep up you good service! you got a 5 star from me!

Clear, methodical approach to training on this difficult application. I highly recommend the book! And--there's some video gems on the DVD too!

This book and media, After Effects Apprentice, was a great introduction to Adobe After Effects CS3. The tutorials were well thought out and taught solid AE skills.

Highly recommended!

A hands on approach to learning Adobe After Effects software. An excellent choice for anyone who wants to jump right into After Effects and for those of us who learn the best by examples and using the software right away.

I wanted to be a step ahead of the rest before I entered into my first class dealing with after effects. This book did it in record time! I even finished the second book in the series before our first project. I learned the ins and outs and beyond, and I didn't know how to do anything with AE before hand. I HIGHLY recommend this book as well as it's counter-part!!!

Reading this book I was reminded that the humor of Scott Kelby leaves me a little cold. I guess being published by SK means the book must provide a sampling of his type of humor. The humor is funny at first reading but the third or fourth time it grows very dim.

That rant over I must say that the book is really good. It provides insight into Adobe Bridge, actions, and other speed tactics that will definitely enhance your work flow. Photographers who shoot a lot of pix will benefit most but there is much for everyone (except, maybe, those just beginning Photoshop who may be a bit bewildered).

Recommended reading. I just wish the print on the screen shots was big enough that I didn't need a loupe to read it.

rps

This is a really good productivity booster and time saver. If you use Photoshop a lot you will find a lot of uses for this book.

As I move around often, many Peachpit Press books I buy on the road usually, once throughly perused, end up in the hotel trashcan. Kloskowski's excellent PDF tutorial on Smart Object in PS, merely underscores my desire for publishers to make available PDF (or similar) versions of their texts so that we itinerants can view them and keep them while on-the-road. (I see that the NY Times has come out with a Reader version of its paper which is terrific). I'm a podcast convert; now make me a Peachpit Press Reader convert.

For those of you who watch Photoshop TV, you'll get the little joke in the title. This book is fantastic, I've been using Photoshop for years, so I'm fairly knowledgeable when it comes to using the program. But this book is great whether you are an intermediate user, or a professional user. Matt does a great job teaching you ways to speed up your daily production in Adobe Photoshop CS2, in addition to some great tips and tricks.

He also touches on working with Adobe Bridge - Adobe's file browser / management / etc., software. Honestly, I'm normally not a "book" person, I usually prefer the video versions of everything. But the Photoshop CS2 Speed Clinic is written in a way that makes reading it easy and fun - I had a hard time putting it down! For the price ... It's a "must buy" for all Photoshop CS2 users!!!

The Photoshop CS2 Speed Clinic is a must-have book for seasoned Photoshop users. The author presents a series of powerful tips and techniques that will work wonders when integrated into your production workflow. The book delves into harnessing the power of Adobe's Bridge software, writing repeatable Actions to automate your workflow, and fine-tuning Photoshop's settings to work well with your hardware setup (Mac or PC). The tips and techniques are easy to follow, with plenty of images to support the text. This is a book that you can easily read through in one sitting, but I guarantee you'll keep coming back to it for reference.

This book is more for intermediate to advanced Photoshop users - focusing on maximizing your productivity with the tool. It's NOT a book for learning how to use Photoshop.

This book is one amazing guide on the inner workings of rendering an image from raw camera files. If you capture raw files AND you use Photoshop CS3 for your image processing, then this book is a must have. Not only will it help you render better images from your raw files, it will help you do so in less time. While always practical in intent, the book gives the reader the opportunity to understand the camera raw plug-in, tab-by-tab and preference-by-preference.

Since I've been working my way through the book, I've also found less need for tweaking much on the file after I have my initial render. The camera raw plug-in has so much capability - it is one of the wonders of the software world. This book helps one tap into all that is available. It's always best to get it right in the camera and this resource allows you to make the most of what you've captured.

This book, along with the video from Luminous Landscape, are an asset to a photographer.

A great book for learning more about the wealth of possibilities using the raw format in photography. Invaluable when learning more about Photoshop CS3 and photo editing.
The layout of the book is very well done and thoughtfully laid out.
The sample photos in color lend a great deal to the book.

Recommended

Reading this book has greatly enhanced my ability to process RAW quickly, easily, and with better results. If you use Photoshop and you shoot RAW, buy this book - period.

Most of us have gotten used to moving an image through Adobe Camera Raw quickly and doing all the real work in Photoshop. In earlier versions, this may have been the right thing to do, but the new ACR is a much better tool than PS, and you can easily back out changes. The only sort of things you must do in PS are the localized changes, and there are all kinds of things you can do in ACR that you just can't do in PS.
Jeff Schewe and the late Bruce Fraser explain ACR's capabilities in a clear easy-to-understand way, using mostly the language of ordinary human beings rather than super geeks. If you are using ACR blind, without the techniques explained in this book, you are missing out on a lot.

It's too bad that versions of software change so fast because this is a great book! I still find myself referring to it even though I've used Acrobat since the dawn of time. Of all the books you can get, this is the one to spend your money on!

I have to concur with the NY reviewer who said this is a manual that all others should aspire to. How to's and examples are often presented in multiple forms to aid in understanding. The illustrations are clean, clear, and exremely helpful. The writing is concise, clear, and actually fun to read! The included CD presents wonderful examples of state-of-the art pdfs. While hardly a geek, I found myself reading the book before bed at night simply because it was so interesting! Kudos to the authors! I highly recommend this book not only to anyone wishing to learn everything worth knowing about Acrobat but also to anyone who aspires to write a similar text. It's a master class in information presentation as well as how to produce pdf's.

I create PDF multimedia presentations and I own every book available on Acrobat 5.0+. Master Class is by far the best reference I own in terms of practical information.

If you're creating complex forms or trying to master Javascript, you'll need Padova and Deubert, too. But if you're looking for ideas on how to create presentations that blow people away, this is the book to buy.

I bought four books on Acrobat 5, and this one is by far the best. It is written conceptually. It appeals to the senses as well as providing an education. Taking vast amounts of information and refining it so that it is presented simply yet thoroughly. I enjoy reading it.
I also bought Classroom in a book by the Adobe Creative Team and it is work. I am sure over time I will derive a lot from it, but Master Class is fun. You would never know that your working because you are too busy seeing all the cool stuff you can do with Adobe 5 and how to do it.
I also bought Real World PDF with Adobe Acrobat 5 by Anita Dennis, Industrial Strength Production Techniques, and that is a book for advanced students. It explains everything clearly, and is a big benefit for explaining the details on how to fit Adobe PDF into your print production overflow.
Adobe PDF is so much more than simply converting your files. It appears simple on the outside, but when you read Adobe 5 Master Class, you will be enthralled with how much more it does. Highly recommended for beginners and advanced students.

It was tough to decide if this is a four-star or a five-star book. Four and a half stars would be my preference.

At any rate, if you can afford only one Adobe Acrobat 5 book, you might be better off buying Acrobat 5 Hands On Training (HOT). I recommend, though, saving up enough money to get every book on Acrobat you can, for it is the wave of the future and a must for anybody wanting to put information-interactively on the web - my term is info-tivity - and the best thing this Hypercard pioneered the process at Apple's MacIntosh.

There probably is not single more valuable software tool for making money than Acrobat and I will be upgrading to version 6 as soon as I return stateside. That's the good news - the bad is that I will likely have to upgrade my library to keep in tune with the changes in this great software.

Back now to the review - if you intend to post any video, animation or audio on the internet you simply are going to have to purchase this book.

Further, if you are going to self-publish any sort of periodical on the web, you will definitely want to download HOW NOT TO START A MAGAZINE. by B. Ann Bell. Then, go read HOW TO START A MAGAZINE, STARTING & RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL NEWSLETTER OR MAGAZINE, PUBLISH YOUR OWN MAGAZINE, GUIDEBOOK, OR WEEKLY NEWSPAPER, and PAPERLESS PUBLISHING and do a google search for the soon-to-be LJs BREAKING FREE$.

Yes, that list is long but each of these is a valuable source of information for anyone trying to make money by publishing on the internet - Bill Anderson (LJ).

I had received PSE 2 from a peripheral purchase (printer or scanner, I can't remember) and was intrigued by what I had heard in general about Photo Shopping pictures. However, the tutorials that came along with the help file weren't all that helpful so I put off learning the program. For some reason a bee got in my bonnet and I decided to look into the program again. I searched Amazon and found this book and after reading the reviews ordered my copy.

I can honestly say I was quite impressed. Usually, How-To books can get you headed in the right direction but for the most part you will only go to the chapters that you are interested in. This book is different. Each session leads into the next building upon what you have already learned. The instructions are fantastic. They are clear and the visuals that accompany them are easy to see and follow. The CD provides all of the photos you work with so there is no guess work. You can stop in a session and come back a few days later without having to reread everything again. At the end of each session there is an excellent review over what you have just learned. The author definitely has a good teaching style.

I can't say enough positive about the book. If you have ever been interested in learning Photo Shop here is your perfect opportunity.

This book has some good practice lessons. One thing I didn't like is that every lesson involves creating a project using sports pictures. I would have liked to seen lessons creating projects other than sports, like portraits or landscapes. Other than that, good basic lessons.

I like the book very much, BUT "DID NOT RECEIVE" THE TRAINING CD THAT WAS TO BE INCLUDED. Is there a chance of getiing, I will even pay for!!!!!!
Thats what prompted me to purchase book.

Thanks much and have a good day. Jerry

Both my wife and I love this book. I received Photoshop Elements 2 with my camera and had trouble figuring out how to use it. My wife read somewhere about how good and easy this book was to use. The key to this book is that it explains step by step how to use all of Photoshop Elements 2s' tools. It is a lot to learn and takes time, but you can redo each leasson to get better and better at it. The key is to use it! It's nice to have this book to fall back on when you forget how to use a certain tool because you haven't had to use it for some time. The lessons are well planned out and the samples and photo work are all excellent. If you only work part time on your photos this book is a must have to make using this program easier.

Probably the most helpful computer book I have ever used. Purchased a second copy for a friend just starting with digital photo printing. As a professional photographer I would encourage anyone interested in digital printing to buy it.