Great book for rookies - "breakthrough" concepts
I've been using Photoshop since 2001 and am pretty much self-taught. At this time I'd consider myself a ?fairly advanced? user of this beastly program.
On various forums I surf, e.g. Adobe, DPReview, Fred Miranda, etc. a question that frequently comes up goes something like, "I'm fairly new at Photoshop... What book do you recommend?" Based on mostly favorable reviews, I purchased this book for a friend who is just getting into PS. I'm very glad I did, as is she.
After thumbing through it I sure wish it had been available when I was just getting started. It would have considerably shortened the steep Photoshop learning curve. It's well suited for one who has poked around with Photoshop and come to the conclusion, "I want to learn more, but I'm not sure where to start."
Why I would recommend it:
* It focuses on basics and fundamentals. If you?re having trouble connecting the dots between things like layers, layer masks, adjustment layers, blend modes, channels, selections, alpha channels, this will help you get there without a lot of frustration and confusion.
* Practical value. Concepts and techniques presented are useful regardless of the type of photography one does (or plans to do), e.g., portrait, fashion, jewelry, scenic, animals, kids, family snapshots, etc.
* Small doses, easy read. For the most part methods are presented step-by-step via multiple screenshots without a whole lot of confusing text. Some books can bury a rookie with pages and pages of gory detail. Not this one.
* Very good detail. Commands and setting details are presented via screenshots and/or clearly written text. No need to ?guess? how a result was achieved.
* Photos used in the book are available for download so one can replicate techniques on your own computer.
* Mac and PC friendly.
What's not to like?
Probably not a great deal of value to one (like me) who has fairly extensive Photoshop background. More appropriate for those with less than 2 years experience.
