Photoshop

Anyone will tell you that Photoshop is a monster program. I would consider myself a long time and proficient PSD user and yet I still discover or rediscover features on a regular basis. Fortunately PSD CS4 The Missing Manual will help you tame the beast one tasty treat at a time! This was my first foray into the Missing Manual Series and I was not disappointed. It is a hefty companion at nearly 800 pages but nothing less could begin to tame the beast. However, any would-be dragon slayer need not fear! The Missing Manual is for beginners and seasoned veterans alike. The author starts with the very basics- the user interface and tools and builds mightily from there. No stone is left unturned. For those who are no stranger to PSD there is still plenty to be gleaned from this rich manual. The book is very well organized so you can jump to what interests you most. The author provides plenty of information on shortcuts and little known features to challenge your experience.

I am a beginner to Adobe Photoshop. In fact, my first introduction to Photoshop was on my first DMAG meeting I attended in February 2010. As a beginner I find just opening Photoshop to be intimidating and the few Photoshop books I do have to be an exhausting read that only further detours me from the learning process. That is not the case with this book! This book makes learning fun! The Photoshop Darkroom is an easy and fascinating read with amazing photo illustrations. I found the books layout to be informative, clever, creative and inspirational. The author gives step-by-step explanations, handwritten notes with additional guidance/reference and amazing photo illustrations of the editing process.

This is an inviting, entertaining, well written, well designed and easy to follow book. The authors say they have written this book for professional photographers, commercial illustrators and artists of all levels.  Having a working knowledge of Photoshop and Painter is definitely advisable for working with the exercises. The authors have written the book for Photoshop CS2 thru CS4 users and Painter 9-11 users. 

In the introduction of this book, the author Conrad Chavez, reminds the reader of the old cliché "Work smarter, not harder." This is definitely a truism that all Photoshop users would like to adopt. Photoshop CS2 is a great product. However, sometimes trying to learn all of the features (or at least the ones you use), is like trying to learn how to fly the space shuttle. Can't we just identify the most useful time-saving techniques? Yes, and Chavez has done it in this book.