Ive been entertaining Photoshop "how-to" books since the big old "Classroom In a Book" version 3 and can only say that now Im just as excited about Photoshop as when I got that first tutorial book. Ive been through a lot of them since then, and nothing has ever done as much justice to this awesome program as Adobe Photoshop CS One-on-One! Some of the things covered I knew, but the way those famliar things are unveiled are once again motivational. Not to mention the things I didnt know about. Software upgrades happen quite frequently, and at times we need upgrading as well. You owe it to yourself, if you are the least bit serious about this app, to work with it and reap the rewards for doing so. OReiley - (hint-hint) the one-on one series could be a good thing for numerous titles and series, I think. By series, I mean - - (for example) CSS One-on-One (beginner to intermediate), CSS One-on-One (intermediate to advanced), etc. Same thing with Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Flash etc. BUT ONLY IF - they are done with the same care, authority, and visually supportive print work, organization and attention to detail as Adobe Photoshop CS One-on-One! Anyway, thats my review, way to go Deke! Im in love with Photoshop once again!!
Im not sure if I can add much to the positive reviews so far. This is an excellent text - do yourself a favor and read all the reviews. For me, I really appreciated the sidebars and "Pearls of Wisdom" scattered throughout the text. In these, the author gives quick insights like; why one tool works better than another or a keystroke reminder or a technical definition. This book does much more than just tell you how to do something, it also explains why your image changes when using the various tools. In other words, it goes beyond just getting you from A to B. There are a million different ways to get from A to B in Photoshop, so its nice to learn a few new ones to add to my current Photoshop knowledge. I use Photoshop basically for two things. Fixing up photos Ive taken with my digital camera or scanned in from the family archives and creating images for my personal web site. I found the chapters about highlights, midtones, and shadows and color correction invaluable, especially when trying to fix up some old color pictures of the family from 70s. =) Excellent book, visually pleasing, highly recommend.
OReilly has a knack of publishing really excellent computer books, and this knack is continued with Adobe Photoshop CS one-on-one. The book is published with colour examples throughout, and the author, Deke McCelland, also presents an included CD of video tutorials. These complement the book superbly. The author covers the major features in Photoshop, but usefully also explains when you should you a specific feature rather than another one. For example, he usefully suggests that the Brightness/Contrast... option can result in pretty awful results, and explains how to change brightness and contrast in a more satisfactory way. The result is that anyone with this book will quickly move from being an amateur user of Photoshop who just gets by, to being an expert who knows how to get the very best results. The book is very practical, and not a dry run-through of the toolbox. McClelland uses examples - like removing scratches from a scanned image or improving the focus of a photograph - that may well make the reader load up their own pictures half way through a chapter to experiment. The text is very readable, and broken up well with headings. This is quite possibily the best guide to Photoshop on the market. Highly recommended.
