Editorial Reviews
Product Description:Brimming with beautiful pictures, this successful book guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS3. If you are an aspiring professional, enthusiastic amateur photographer, or a student learning photography, digital imaging, art and design, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve!
New! DVD is included FREE. Additional learning materials include * full-resolution, royalty-free images to download for trying-out your new techniques * over 8 hours of QuickTime movie tutorials to support the practical projects * Presets from layer styles to curves, shapes, and gradients * indispensable RAW files for editing practice
And don't miss the companion website with updates, practice material, and more at www.photoshopessentialskills.com!
"The perfect companion guide for Photoshop users of multiple levels."
Photoshop Creative Magazine
"This book provides excellent coverage of Photoshop as a digital darkroom tool, as well as covering a truly amazing amount of background information. It is very readable and is truly a gem."
Mark Lewis, Director, Mount Saint Mary College, USA
The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.
Each subject includes:
* learning objectives for each section - for class use or self-study
* color images of student and teacher/author work
* activities to check learning outcomes
* assignments to put theories into creative practice
* full glossary of terms
Other titles in the series:
Studio Photography: Essential Skills by John Child, Photographic Lighting: Essential Skills by John Child and Mark Galer and Digital Photography in Available Light by Mark Galer.
*An affordable resource that distills the complexity of Photoshop CS3 to the essentials
* Retouch photographs, create makeovers, produce sophisticated montages, and create special effects with clear, step-by-step projects
* Practice with activities that show the 'why', along with the 'how-to'
* Follow a structured learning approach to gain fundamental skills...and more
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
Avoid This Book!, October 16, 2008
By
B. Voelzke (Wisconsin)
This book is awful. I am in a Photoshop class and 10 out of 10 students find this book not useful in anyway. The book cover says "essential skills" but the information in the book assumes that you know what your doing in photoshop. If you want a book to help you understand essential skills about working with photos in photoshop avoid this book!
I did not wish to put any stars but amazon makes you select one.
Excellent but demanding in places, June 17, 2008
By
Remco D. Van Santen (Scarborough Western Australia)
I wanted a book that would take me from coarse manipulating images in Photoshop to lifting out the richness of detail. This book does it! Unlike many similar books on Photoshop, there is no padding, no overuse of large images to extend without adding value, this book is to the point. I learned many tricks and valuable techniques.
That said, it can be demanding and sometimes it is too tight. It would have helped if the key steps were relegated each to a single line or a single dot point to reduce risk of missing a step buried many words.
Sometimes too the steps are many such as project 1 beginning page 250 and the background or reason for doing it is not spelled out (what is "Apply Image" and why? page 253). It would help if the introduction to the recipe covered key steps and what will happen with cross references.
It is also not empathetic to the reader. For example page 252 it takes steps to duplicate a blue layer and after a levels adjustment it is called "this mask". What "mask" I ask? Then in step 3 (page 253) it refers to a "layer mask". Is this the copied blue layer or the black and white mask? An explanation of the blue layer copied would have helped and if somehow a mask, please say so.
It is however one of the best reference books and goes highly recommended with a decent index and support CD. Well done Galer and Andrews but again, care with the steps more prominent and a little explanation of what some steps actually do (eg what does "Apply Image" actually do as there is nothing in your book about it and oft used).
Lack of Detail, June 8, 2008
By
Rhonda A. Rouse (Zephyrhills, FL)
There were several times where I had to seek alternative sources to have my questions answered about Photoshop. So, I do feel this book could have addressed topics in more detail. If you are a beginner in Photoshop, I don't recommend this book.
A must have for the library., March 8, 2008
By
MA Black-Pyron (Jackson, MS)
I have both the photoshop Essential Skills CS2 and CS3 editions and I used both...although there is some repeat from edition to edition there is always some really good and needed info in each of them. I also like the tutorials on the cd. Mark Galer and Philip Andrews write easy to understand, step by step informative books.
PS Essential Skills, February 13, 2008
By
GindeleGood but this book came a little later than the the other even though I ordered them to be posted together. Otherwise very happy.. Thank You.
