50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques
Book Review

Trixie McGuire Book Review Leave a comment

50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques
Gregory Georges
Wiley.com
ISBN 0-7645-3672-9
368 pps
$34.99 (US), $52.99 (CAN) UK incl. VAT ©25.95

Intended user: Beginning to Advanced

I knew just by thumbing through this book that I was going to enjoy the time I spent reviewing it. And then when I read these words on page two of the introduction – “If I had to make a single recommendation about how to quickly learn to successfully use Photoshop, it would be to learn all about those few features that you need to use to get your work done – and ignore the rest.” – I said where was this book 5+ years ago? Oh sure there has always been instructional books similiar to this, but most are bible length epics and just as cryptic as the bible itself.

The book comes with a CD-ROM that not only includes:

  • 50 sets of “before” and “after” images
  • A Photoshop tryout version: 6.0, but hey – beats having to download.
  • An ebook.pdf of the book that you can keep on your computer.
  • A slide show of all 50 techniques
  • A companion webpage: called
    www.reallyusefulpage.com, and
  • You can even email the author himself – right from the CD.

The first six chapters are set up as a Photoshop bootcamp, to help you become successful with the last 44 techniques. Even if you are an experienced user o f Photoshop, I recommend – as does the author – that you complete all six techniques in Chapter 1 before trying any of the other techniques. Then you will have the required knowledge to try any of the other techniques in any order that you want .

Take a Peek at All the Information Packed In This Book:

Chapter 1 – Photoshop 7 Fundamentals – Techniques 1-6:
Configuring Photoshop, Controlling Image Window, Automamating Tasks, Creative Experimentation, Calibrating Your Monitor, and Configuring Basic Color Management.
Chapter 2 – Correcting, Enhancing, and Restoring Digital Photos -Techniques 7-13:
Quick Image Correction, Advanced Image Correction, Increasing Color Saturation, Restoring an Old Image-(my personal favorite), Removing Noise or Grain, Sharpening Digital Photos, and Adding Information to a Digital Photo.
Chapter 3 – Working In Black and White -Techniques 14-19:
(2)Converting a Photo to B&W, Burning and Dodging with Masks, Using Scaling Masks to Speed Edits, Isolating and Extracting Detail using Values, and Selective Focusing.
Chapter 4 – Creative Experimentation – Techniques 20-25:
Hand-Painting a Black and White Image, Creating a Pseudolsolarization, Adding a Traditional Darkroom Texture Screen Effect, Fixing Images with a Digital Graduated Neutral Density Filter, Simulating an Infrared Film Effect, and Creating a Toned Image.
Chapter 5 – Combining Photos in Montages, Collages, and Composites -Techniques 26-29:
Creating Photo Objects, Making a PhotoMontage, Combining Bracketed Photos, and Using a Mask to Create a Collage
Chapter 6 – Fine Art Techniques – Techniques 30-35:
Total Color Transformation, Using Filters to Create Fine Art Prints, Coloring a Digital Sketch, Creating a Pen Ink Sketch Using a Watercolor Wash, Creating a Digital Painting, Creative Use of Filters and Commands.
Chapter 7 – Using Plug-Ins to Add Impact to Your Photos – Techniques 36-41:
Using Image Correction Plug-Ins, Using Grain Surgery to Remove Digital Noise, Convering Color to B&W Using Convert to B&W Pro, Creating Artwork with Buzz.Pro 2.0, Using a Pen Tablet and Pen Palette 1.0, and Using Special Effects Plug-Ins.
Chapter 8 – Making Photographic Prints – Techniques 42-47:
Using Print Preview (Picture Package and Contact), Increasing Image Size to Make Large Prints, Using an ICC Profile When Printing with an Epson 880/1280 Printer, Getting Fuji Frontier Prints Made, Using Shutterfly’s Online Printing Service, Getting Lightjet 5000 Prints from Calypso Inc.
Chapter 9 – Creating An Online Gallery – Techniques 48-50:
Creating an Online Gallery, Creating Animations Using Digital Photos, and Creating an Image Map.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone from beginners to professionals who work with Photoshop everyday. Not only is it loaded with detailed, reference information – (and CD) – it’s also a steal at $34.99!

MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5

Trixie McGuire

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