Real World Adobe Photoshop CS

Rating:
Summary: Its the Real World, alright.
Review: This isn't just an excellent book, its an excellent piece of work. I've used Photoshop since v.2.5 and while there have obviously been hundreds of enhancements & improvements, Photoshop's complexity has increased dramaticly as well.

Its really not fair to criticize RWPS for being such a brick. You'll learn an important lesson just by picking it up. Photoshop is many things but simple and user-friendly are not among them. And with each new version of Photoshop, Adobe moves things around just to keep you guessing.

So yes, its a bit of a slog (and don't forget the even better Real World Color Management) but in this user-friendly, digital age we just have to get used to thick books.

Rating:
Summary: An awesome journey through an editing studio !
Review: WOW!(this is not a reference to the outstanding Jack Davis PS 7 Wow book)but this guys take you in a world that you had to discover;tremendous what they learn you about the why's and the how to's in PS CS.
In fact after you learn the basics of photoshop(because this isn't a tutorial or a step by step guide like the most of other books I own cfr my reference list)this masterpiece leads you through groundwork covering five chapters"Building a Photoshop system","Essential Photoshop Tips and Tricks","Image Essentials","Colour Essentials " and "Colour Settings"(all the colour management stuff).Whitout these fundamentals it's no possible to be effective in PS CS.In the next five chapters they explore:tonal correction fundamentals,color correction fundamentals ,selection and channels,the digital darkroom and sharpening.They pursue their journey with techniques that reveal you the issues for spot colours and duotones,capturing images and building a workflow.The last three chapters show you the outputting your images in the "Real World"(storing,output,multimedia and web).
Wow again!If you want to become a real pro or if PS CS becomes a passion nor an obsession(!) buy it,buy it!This is the most interesting and well written book about Photoshop editing techniques and the lay-out,the images,the colours and the tips are awesome!Even before buying Adobe's software I'd advise you to read this book so you're sure that your investment in Photoshop's Cs sofware is worth the price;otherwise buy a cheaper program with less possibilities like Photoshop elements,Paint Shop etc...
Best book,Best Buy...for those who want improve their skills in editing!