Adobe Photoshop CS Studio Techniques

Rating:
Summary: This Should Be Your First Photoshop Book
Review: Written in relatively simple language, this book is ideal for serious Photoshop neophytes. Many books for beginners give watered-down techniques to go along with the watered-down language, but this one gives you the straight dope.

I recommend you read this book along with a tutorial book like Deke McClelland's Adobe Photoshop CS One-On-One or Jan Kabili's Photoshop CS Complete Course. After that, you can go on to one of the Photoshop how-I-do-it books like Barry Haynes' Photoshop CS Artistry, or Real World Photoshop CS by David Blatner and Bruce Fraser. And don't forget Scott Kelby's Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers. Skip the Photoshop CS Classroom-in-a-Book, though, unless you're a glutton for punishment. It's written by Adobe bureaucrats and reads like it.

If you can afford it, Total Training's Adobe Photoshop CS video training with Deke McClelland is also excellent. See the Total Training website. After you've mastered all these materials, you won't need my advice anymore.