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Summary: Russ Walkowich Book Review
Review: Both Ken Milburn and Gene Hirsh have set out to provide the users of Photoshop Elements 2 with the most complete reference guide that can be found. The book is designed for beginners, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements 2 users, and those who are already familiar with image editing. What they have produced is a guide that covers PSE 2 from A to Z, for both the PC and Mac user. They start off the book by covering the installation of PSE 2 onto both computer systems, setting up and calibrating monitors and explaining what PSE 2 does best. They cover all aspects as they continue their journey through Elements; from contact sheets, picture packages, plug-ins and scratch disks, palettes, the File Browser, Tools and the Toolbox, Recipes, Selections and Blending. They deal with Collecting, Cataloging and Managing Images, Correcting Exposures, Contrast and Color Balance, Retouching and Repairing and Filter Effects. As they take you through Elements, they don't just continue paragraph after paragraph. They do an excellent job of providing the reader with NOTE boxes, bringing up points to be remembered and useful suggestions. TIPS buttons also provide the reader with items to be used during the use of Elements. The graphics that are included cover both Windows and Mac views, along with the commands that are used in both systems. The one thing that needs to be understood is that they have covered every command, tool, recipe, filter and item that is part of Elements 2. They cover transferring images from your camera, scanning and card/disk readers. They explain File types, such as PSD, TIFF, JPEG and GIF, the four most universal types that are used. They emphasize saving the original file, saving as, proper file formats, strategies and Interpolation. They provide the reader with images and work their way through to the completed task. They show examples of each filter, special effects, text and shapes. I went through the entire book and tried to find something that they may have missed or overlooked within PSE 2... they didn't miss a thing. Need to prepare your images for publication on the Web, have no fear; it's in the book. Dithering, lighting effects, texture fill, tracing, sketching and brushes; it's all there. The book is a complete reference guide for PSE 2 users. If you want to know about every aspect, tool, filter or use for PSE 2, it's in the book. If you're looking to know everything that there is to know about PSE 2, then run out and get yourself this book. My only complaint about the book was the fact that the color section was very small but the images included in it were so compelling, I wanted more. All in all, The Complete Reference is an outstanding book for users of PSE 2. Highly recommended. Russ Walkowich
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Summary: Great Amazon Service
Review: In addition to being a very good book at an excellent price (good bye Barnes & Noble), Amazon's service is EXCELLENT.
Rating:
Summary: Great Amazon Service
Review: In addition to being a very good book at an excellent price (good bye Barnes & Noble), Amazon's service is EXCELLENT.
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Summary: Excellent -- once you have completed elementary reading
Review: Once you get your feet wet with PSE2 tools and commands [with simpler books such as "50 Digital Photo Techniques", "99 Easy Tips", "PSE2 for Dummies", etc] it's time to take stock where to go next. If those suffice, stop right here. But, if you want to go beyond and really understand the richmess of PSE2 and the great things you can do with your digital images, then this is the bridge between novice and intermediate-to-advanced user. The massive 750-page text certainly isn't for first-timers. But once you get a feel for tools such as Magnetic Lasso, Magic Wand or Clone Stamp, you want to know what all those little 'options" such as threshold and feathering can do to improve (or ruin) your images. Here's the place to go! Just the tips alone are worth the modest price [never knew that TAB toggles between a screen crowded with tools, palettes & bars, and an uncluttered full-sized screen; or that the SHIFT-key will let you move the image while painting or correcting an image]. Not only is every tool and command explained, and color calibration of screen and printer detailed, but the authors then go on with a hands-on workshop on filters, effects and painting, and final sections on the fine points of optimized printing and web publishing. The authors write clearly, precisely, yet with admirable brevity; they maintain a comfortable balance of lightness without resorting to the heavy-handed forced jocularity of certain yellow and black books. The greatest (albeit not fatal) flaws are: a) absence of color illustrations alongside the text -- rather than the two full color page inserts tucked in the center; b) a CD with full resolution color images for hands-on mastering of the techniques described in the various chapters is a virtual necessity, and would add little to nothing to the total production cost. For these reasons, plus the fact that the author's website remains "...currently unavailable" for downloading compressed images, I deducted one star from the 5-stars for the content. Also, the index - although extensive - lacks references to common PSE2 terms such as anchor point, white point, portrait retouching, etc; a reference book certainly should have a near-encyclopedic index, as no one ought to read the book from cover to cover. All told: great intermediate level book that's easy to read and provides all the detail you might ever desire.
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