Rating: 
Summary: Praise
Review: I have nothing but praise for this densely-packed book. Seek and ye shall find! The information level is as comprehensive as one could wish: Beware though, very few empty words, read carefully! Providing the hidden elements for Photoshop Elements users is an invaluable attribute.Use of these tools brings us into the realm of the full-fledged Photoshop. Thanks, Richard Lynch!
Rating:
Summary: Creative Freedom
Review: I have to say I'm flabergasted over this book!!! Being a professional photographer and having used Photoshop for a long time, I doubted the usefullness of Elements when I bought it. As I worked with it, I found it to be a great "backup" program for me to Photoshop. Mainly because I could accomplish several of the same tasks that I did in Photoshop, only quicker and less labor-intensive.Then along came this book. I hesitated for a long time before buying it...my line of thinking being that I had all these tools in Photoshop and I knew how to use them, so why buy the book. I just decided what the hell, bought it, and couldn't believe it when I tried the tools. I can accomplish all the same things in Elements that I do in Photoshop ver batim. Now if only we could get a plug-in for the healing brush......hey Richard...are ya reading this for when PSE 3 comes out???? I would like to address the Portland, Oregon reviewer's comments. If you're having that much trouble, I suggest you either learn how to operate your computer, learn how to use Elements and the plug-ins, or find something else to do. Richard Lynch did an excellent job of writing this book. There's strength in numbers, and all the reviews except for yours liked the book and the software that came with it and it doesn't appear that anybody else is having trouble running it. In short, Elements is a great program, Hidden Power is an excellent book that opens up the full creativity of Elements. I highly recommend both!!!!
Rating:
Summary: The perfect home solution!
Review: I use Photoshop at work as a graphic artist and just can't afford to buy it for home. I've been an Elements user for a while because of that, and this book is a godsend. I can do all the things I do at work, and all it cost was the upgrade to this book! The 'tools' from the CD (they seem more like time-savers) add in curves, channels, and lots of other stuff that I use at work but couldn't in Elements, till now. They install easily and what I need works like a charm. I am very indebted to the author, who not only saved me time and money, but showed me some great technique that I now use in Photoshop! I'd encourage any home designer to consider this as an option: get Elements and this book instead of Photoshop for use at home. If there are tools Elements is missing now that I have the book, I don't know what they are. It is a ten (or eleven!) star value.
Rating:
Summary: A New "Basic Photo Series"?
Review: I'm an experienced film photographer just now returning to photography after 20 years away from it, learning digital for the first time. I'm very grateful for this book; it really is a great course in digital editing technique. I think it is a worthy successor for Ansel Adams' Basic Photo Series in which he outlined his "Zone System", a tool that made densitometry accessible to working photographers. Like Adams' books, The Negative and The Print, Lynch offers photographers a technical vocabulary and systematic approach which disciplines and liberates visual imagination, not just a list of tricks and special effects. Every time I think of a tool or something to add, I study some more and there it is. The author continues to develop the potential of Photoshop Elements and communicate his insights with his readers through updates and newsletters from his website.
Rating:
Summary: Great addition for Elements users
Review: I've been a user of Photoshop Elements (1.0) for about 6 months. In addition to providing 'hidden' tools within Elements (curves, channels, masks) this book provides good tips and suggestions for general digital photo editing and enhancements. The book is very detailed, but the accompanying cd provides examples from the book (to follow along) and also the hidden tools to update either Elements 1.0 or 2.0. The author is extremely knowledegable and he makes himself available for any questions/suggestions on his web site, and in various forums and discussion groups on the web. I highly recommend this book for Element users who want the power of full blown photoshop without the price.
Rating:
Summary: I love this book and the additional tools
Review: If one really goes through the book step by step or at least reads it fully so one knows where information is contained when the use for same comes up, this book is an absolute must for anyone wishing to get full photoshop applications out of photoshop elements 2. If you should run into problems there is an online discussion group and, in addition, I have contacted Mr. Lynch a couple of times and have always gotten a response. Considering that he must be a very busy man, I was impressed with his desire to accomodate his consumer base.
Pat Heere
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: If you are trying to create professional results to be set to a professional printer but can't afford to purchase Photoshop, then this book may be for you; otherwise, don't waste your money on these complicated Photoshop work-arounds. And don't go to the book's web site to purchase it's "mend tool". I made that mistake, paid my money and have still not received this tool - it's been a month. Look elsewhere for good information about using Elements.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed: Good tools, Poor editing
Review: If you scan through the previous reviews, you will find that those folks who are familiar with the full version of Photoshop are raving about the tools provided and explained in this book. The beginning Photoshop Elements users are having a great deal of trouble. The reason: experienced users are not following along with the examples and the newbies are. Fact is, there are a large number of mistakes remaining in the book, even if you were able to find the errata on the author's book site. For example, the first big project leads you through creating color separations. There are two errors in the step-by-step instructions. One step for each is a +120 hue adjustment and the next should be -120 but the minus sign is missing. Users will find that they repeated the previous step and do not get the desired result. Additionally, the step changing one of the layer blend modes to 'screen' is omitted for each primary. The user will never get the greyscale result. There are numerous other editing problems as well. Stuff listed as appearing in the appendix is actually in the tools, and at least one of the practice files is named incorrectly. There are numerous small linguistic errors, such as using the word 'effect' when the word 'affect' is correct. Clearly this book was rushed into print before many aspects were finalized. That said, the tools are in fact very valuable, and the book goes well beyong simple follow-the-instructions explanation of Photoshop Elements. This sets this book apart from most others; you will know not only 'How' but 'Why'. I would recommend this as a second book to anyone who has some experience with Elements and can recognize why some of the practice instructions are not working correctly. They will also better appreciate the value of the tools. While this book has a special section for color plates that are important for following the instructions, my impression is that a number of publishers are producing comparable yet cheaper books using color throughout. For the first time Photoshop Elements user, I would heartily recommend Scott Kelby's book "The Photoshop Elements Book for Digital Photographers". (New Riders) This book more than covers the basics of photo retouching and enhancement and is extremely fun to read. Every page is a full color page and it's $10 bucks cheaper. You will enjoy the book and will enjoy Elements even more. To Richard Lynch: Your work is a valuable contribution to the Photoshop community. Find a better publisher!
Rating:
Summary: The essential working and learning tool for photoshop
Review: If you're upgrading from one of the ... beginners' image processing programs, and if you're serious about photography you should, "Photoshop 7.0" always comes out on top: the most power, the most sophistication, the best. But few of us can justify a purchase that great for a hobby. So "Photoshop Elements" looks tempting until you try it. Too many of the major tools of the full PS have been stripped out; you can't work with curves, make separations, look at individual color channels, etc., and that hurts. Well, it turns out you can do all that! Richard Lynch's outstanding "Hidden Power" provides a CD with plug-in tools for "Photoshop Elements" that virtually turns the simpler program into the full package -- at about a quarter of the price. If that were all Lynch's book did, I would give it 5 stars. But it isn't the whole story or even most of the story. The fact is that "Hidden Power" is just about the best explanation of what those tools do, how color imaging works, and how to use powerful tools to good advantage that I've ever seen. And I've read a lot in 10+ years of manipulating digital images. Finally, "Hidden Power" includes the most useful tool I've owned for getting past the hardest part: making your printed output look right without spending hundreds of dollars on expensive 'profiling' gear and software. It's a simple file, with the colors recorded in CMYK format, and it's the perfect calibration tool. In one evening it solved completely the difficult problem of getting predictable, neutral-color black and white prints. Kudos to Lynch. If you go for Photoshop Elements, you have to have "Hidden Power" to go along with it. Accept no substitutes. Give the book a sixth star.
Rating:
Summary: Now You Can Use Curves
Review: The best thing about the book and the CD that accompanies it,
is that now you are able to use the CURVES feature with Elements 2. For me, this is the one very handy feature that this photo
software was lacking. Mr. Lynch also explains in great detail how to use this previously missing feature. My pictures have improved greatly. Also, the author responds to emails quite
rapidly with any question that you might have.
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