Photoshop CS4: Essential Skills
English | Pages : 480 | PDF | 2008 | 30MB

Photoshop CS4: Essential Skills (Photography Essential Skills)
By Mark Galer M.Ed., Philip Andrews

* Publisher: Focal Press
* Number Of Pages: 480
* Publication Date: 2008-12-08
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0240521242
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780240521244

Product Description:

This inspirational guide to creative image editing will help you master the essential features and tools of Adobe Photoshop CS4. Broken into three parts to form a structured, self-study guide, Photoshop CS4: Essential Skills covers the foundation skills and more advanced techniques you need to enhance photographs creatively and professionally. Practical, step-by-step imaging projects then give you the chance to practice your skills and see what you can achieve with the right tools and knowledge.

Written by two internationally recognised authors and Adobe Photoshop Ambassadors, this established book and DVD package cuts through the complexities of Photoshop to deliver essential, clear guidance on how to get the best results. Fully updated with the latest CS4 features, it also contains vital information on how to optimize your photography and digital imaging workflow.

Now includes a free DVD, packed with more than 10 hours of detailed video tutorials to accompany the projects in the book, royalty-free hi-resolution images, indispensable RAW files for editing practice and much more.


* Learn to retouch and enhance your photographs, produce sophisticated montages and create special effects with clear instruction and step-by-step practice projects that show the why and the how-to

* Develop an efficient workflow from capture to print, saving time and hassle, and helping you to achieve professional-looking results in Photoshop CS4.

* Watch and learn, with more than 10 hours of movie tutorials on the accompanying DVD to support the practical projects - worth the cover price alone!



Summary: Hybrid approach to Photoshop, but not for everyone
Rating: 4

This book is unique in a sense that half of the book is written in a project-oriented way. In other words, you should know to do this when you want to get this effect. Top down or objective-driven approach. Another half of the book is centered around what each function offers, what CS4 version offers, etc., in other words, bottom up. Photoshop is a big software and both approaches have merit, but there is always a limit to how far each approach can go. However, I feel there are some gaps that aren't filled between the two presentation approaches taken in this book, and this probably frustrates readers of all levels. Nonetheless, I've learned a few new things by flipping this book and reading some sections of it.


Summary: A little bit more of the same +
Rating: 4

The publisher likes to sell books, so they publish a new one with each release eof the product. If you have the book for CS3, there is not a whole lot new in this one. Having said that though, there are some new features, and that, along with the info from previous versions, makes this a great reference book.


Summary: A great reference
Rating: 3

A solid reference for stepping into the world of Photoshop. While I don't have CS4 (I have CS3) it was still easy to follow along and perform the majority of the examples. Great instructions with detailed images of your task.

The internet has so much to offer, a single google search on a particular photoshop question will return you thousands of results and for the most part for free. Given this, a book needs to really stand out and this one does as a great reference and works well for those looking for "at your pace" tutorials.


Summary: Movies, good screenshots, but unremarkable
Rating: 4

Pros:
- colorful images
- The videos are very well done and clear
- A good amount of content (450+ pages)
- Well written

Cons
- Some of the tutorials/chapters are hard to follow, like a step or two, or an explanation of why we're highlighting that portion of the image is missing.

Other information:
- This book like many of its kind, uses a MAC for the screen shots, but the differences between the OS X and Windows versions are not significant to negatively impact the reading if you're using Windows.
- The book name is generic and misleading "CS4 essential skills", as well as quotes used "The one Photoshop CS4 book to own". The book is strictly about photography, and photoshop does a lot more than that. Just wanted to make it clear that it's strictly about editing photos. (I already knew this, but if you picked up the book on a store it's hard to tell)

Overall the book is good, provides a nice overview of the new features of CS4, but is overall fairly unremarkable.


Summary: A book on creative image editing written by two renowned authors expert in Photoshop
Rating: 5

A DVD with over 10 hours of movie support and royalty-free images packs Mark Galer & Philip Andrews's Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills, a book on creative image editing written by two renowned authors expert in Photoshop at a top level. Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills is designed as a self-study guide and offers a structured program covering foundation skills and advanced techniques as well. Learn how to enhance photos using the latest CS4 features with chapters packed with color photo examples throughout. Highly recommended as a basic instructional for any Photoshop CS4 user at any level.