photoshop

[ifurlong]

I am wondering if there is a "bible" for photoshop, i.e., an all in one tutorial-refrence manual. If not what is your opinion as to the best book to get when I pick up photoshop, thanks, Ian.

[Belmondo]

If you're totally new to the product, I would strongly suggest Adobe's own book, 'Classroom in a Book.' Also, their book, 'Studio Techniques' is very good. After that, there are several publications that more or less specialize in various aspects of Photoshop skills. If you plan on doing a lot of photo manipulation, the book 'Digital Retouching and Compositing: Photographers' Guide' is excellent.

If you have a good book store in your neighborhood, the best thing to do is browse through their Photoshop titles---the typical Barnes & Noble or Borders will usually have several. Find a book that appeals to you stylistically and substantively, but only after you've gotten a good handle on the basice. The Adobe books will give you that.

IMHO

[ifurlong]

thanks, I'll do that, by the way belmondo
how do you like your 400 5.6L, Iam thinking of getting one (or the Sig 50-500) soon

[ssim]

Photoshop can be very challenging. I had bought several books and still wasn't getting the hang of it so I ended up registering for an intro course at the local college. Made the world of difference and gives you a good starting point. Then the books really made more sense to me.

[Belmondo]

ifurlong wrote:
thanks, I'll do that, by the way belmondo
how do you like your 400 5.6L, Iam thinking of getting one (or the Sig 50-500) soon

To borrow one of the more well-used trite phrases in photography circles: It's 'tack sharp.'

It really is a wonderful lens. The enclosed picture was one of the first I ever took with it, and it was handheld. (dumb luck!)

If you had the uncompressed picture, you would be able to read the little red sign of the fireman's door of the locomotive; it says 'Fire Extinguisher Inside.'

I'm completely blown away with the quality of the pictures it takes.

http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/data/500/353111_1175-med.jpg

Good luck.

[ifurlong]

Oh thats yours, I looked through your train pics before, very cool.

[Vegas Poboy]

Another good book for photoshop is: The Photoshop book for digital photographers and the author is Scott Kelby. He is one of the masters of Photoshop and has other books out that will help you work with just photos and not all the other extras that photoshop can handle.

[slejhamer]

I'll second the vote for the Kelby book; it is excellent for both beginners and intermediate-level photshop users. Note that the emphasis is on retouching and enhancing, but not manipulating (although there is a small amount of that too.)

[DAMphyne]

I bought a book, Photoshop 7 Bible, by Deke McClelland,
Wiley Publishing. Same guy that did Photoshop for Dummies. It's sort of "campy", but for a begginer, it really seems easy to understand. He explains a lot of things that other people "assume" you already know.
Good Luck

[Mark Kemp]

sell photoshop, buy paint shop pro 8 and read the manual - its very good.

Ok I am a heretic - but I find PSP8 much easier to understand and use, mostly faster and it does everything you need

- 99% of photoshop for 20% of the price and easier to use.

Use the money you save for a decent lens.

Photoshop is like the borg in star trek - 'you will be assimilated, resistance is futile' but there are alternatives and some are very very good.

[barnold999]

Mark Kemp wrote:
sell photoshop, buy paint shop pro 8 and read the manual - its very good.

Ok I am a heretic - but I find PSP8 much easier to understand and use, mostly faster and it does everything you need

- 99% of photoshop for 20% of the price and easier to use.

Use the money you save for a decent lens.

Photoshop is like the borg in star trek - 'you will be assimilated, resistance is futile' but there are alternatives and some are very very good.

Shh... Photoshop is so much better. well Photoshop is for pros... PSP is for amateurs.

[Mark Kemp]

barnold999 wrote:
[
Shh... Photoshop is so much better. well Photoshop is for pros... PSP is for amateurs.


LIke I said - 'we are Photoshop you will be assimilated - resistance is useless' !!!

PSP and Photoshop are for photographers - like medium formats and compacts and film and digital are all for photographers!

Photoshop has this 'pro' mystique - mostly because it will run on a Mac and PSP won't!

[Derek Smith]

No!, Photoshop has the Pro mistique because it is so bloody comlicated that it takes a great lump of commitment to learn how to use it. Most 'users' of PS stump up a big wodge of cash then only use Levels, Crop and USM. For them PSP would have been a far better purchase.

However, those that have bought PS and are willing to spend as much time learning how to use it as they have taken to learn how to use their photography equipment, are in for a whole new experience.

Me, I'm still on the curve!!

[toddb]

I really liked the Photoshop Wow book. I see there is one for version 7 now. Really interesting ideas. I use it allot to figure out how to do the complicated things in Photoshop.