So I broke down and bought Photoshop CS....

[LazyPhotographer]

So I broke down and bought Photoshop CS.... and now I need to learn it.

I've been browsing through books online, trying to find a good guidebook, but nothing really caught my eye. If you could recommend 1 good book, which would it be? And before you tell me to do a search ... let me say, I need a book that would be more geared toward digital images of nature.

Most of the books I saw leaned toward people - skin tones, whitening teeth, removing blemishes. All fine & dandy, but do those lessons/tips/tricks cross over to feathers, leaves, and a multitude of colours and textures?

Thanks in advance!

[evilenglishman]

i would have thought the best book to read to learn the basics would be the manual that comes with it

[G3]

i would have thought the best book to read to learn the basics would be the manual that comes with it


:D :D Mwuhaahaahaaha!! That was a good one.

That might be a good book to use as reference if you already know how to use Photoshop. It is practically worthless for learning from the bottom up, though. That's like trying to learn how to fly an airplane with the owner's manual from an F-16.

Lazy,
Do a search on here..there are a bunch of threads on this topic with a lot of book recommendations. Basically, anything by Deke McClelland, Scott Kelby or Dave Cross is going to be good...try a tutorial like Photoshop CS One on One by Deke McClelland.

[Belmondo]

Adobe has their 'Classroom in a Book' series for just about all their products. They are broken down into lessons, each self-contained with practice material provided on CD. I've used them for Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects, and they're an effective way to get up to speed quickly. They're good for getting a quick start, but they don't get into a lot of depth.

[Conk]

My advice is not to get impatient and discouraged. Photoshop is a huge and powerful program. There is a lot to learn and the learning will never end.
When you learn how to do a couple tricks, put the book down and practice those tricks for a while until you feel comfortable to move onto something else. In other words, don't try and learn too much all at once.

[G3]

Adobe has their 'Classroom in a Book' series for just about all their products. They are broken down into lessons, each self-contained with practice material provided on CD. I've used them for Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects, and they're an effective way to get up to speed quickly. They're good for getting a quick start, but they don't get into a lot of depth.


Yes. That's one from Adobe that will get you a start.

[Ken Fong]

When I took a digital photography class at a local community college(which was mostly about how to use Photoshop)...we used the Photoshop Visual Quickstart Guide. It did not go into all the depth you will need later, but it seems to be perfect at explaining things for someone who is just getting started. I thought their way of teaching concepts was fairly easy to follow. About $17 at Amazon...not a bad value.

They have a CS version of it now...
ISBN: 032121353X

For nature (more landscape actually), I enjoyed "Adobe Photoshop Master Class" by John Paul Caponigro. This book is way more advanced than the first recommendation. Caponigro's work is a bit abstract and strange for me, but the techniques are directly applicable to what I like to accomplish. His explanations are high level (not a lot of step-by-step instructions)...but it gives you a great idea of what is possible and has a great explanation of 'curves'. Better to check this at a bookstore first to see if it is right for you.
For more advanced techniques with very good step-by-steps, visit
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/

[LazyPhotographer]

Thanks everyone!

[PhotosGuy]

These may help:

Photoshop - your first steps
Entering the world of Photoshop for the first time, an introduction.
http://www.ephotozine.com/techniques/viewtechnique.cfm?recid=128

Jay Arraich Photoshop Tips
http://www.arraich.com/ps_intro.htm
If your image needs tonal and/or color correction, and you have a hard time judging how much is enough, here is a technique that should help.
http://www.arraich.com/ps6_tips_hhowmm1.htm

I took the pic. What do I do now?
Instant Photoshop - A Fast-Start Introduction to Photoshop For Photographers
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/instant_photoshop.shtml
Understanding DSLR Workflow
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/digital-workflow.shtml
A Digital Workflow Primer
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/techniques/process.shtml
An Image Processing Workflow - Step-by-Step Processing of Photographs using Photoshop
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/workflow1.shtml

Digital tips, P$hop tutorials;
http://www.jtgraphics.net/all_digital.htm

tutorials
http://user.fundy.net

TIEMdesign P$hop tutorials:
http://tiemdesign.com/HowTo/

Eyes on Design P$hop tutorials:
http://www.eyesondesign.net/pshop/tuts.htm

EXCELLENT P$hop resources
http://www.myjanee.com/

P$hop advanced techniques:
http://www.photoworkshop.com/registered/softwarecinema/misc_tutorials.html

Photoshop Curves - - A Command Primer
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/command_primer.shtml

I took the pic. What do I do now?
Instant Photoshop - A Fast-Start Introduction to Photoshop For Photographers
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/instant_photoshop.shtml
Understanding DSLR Workflow
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/digital-workflow.shtml
A Digital Workflow Primer
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/techniques/process.shtml
An Image Processing Workflow - Step-by-Step Processing of Photographs using Photoshop
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/workflow1.shtml

Adobe Studio Exchange is your place for actions, plug-ins, extensions, tutorials, and other helper files that allow you to easily add new features to Adobe products. You can even create your own files, upload them, and share them with the entire Adobe Studio Exchange community.
http://share.studio.adobe.com/

Huge Photoshop tutorial list
http://www.icehousedesigns.com/tutorials/photoshop/huge_photoshop_tutorial_list.php

That should keep you busy for awhile!
;-)

[nosquare2003]

I like Quicktime movies from:

http://www.russellbrown.com/body.html

[LazyPhotographer]

Thanks!

[pradeep1]

i would have thought the best book to read to learn the basics would be the manual that comes with it

The original poster's screen handle is "LazyPhotographer". Don't you get it. :P