Adobe Photoshop 5.5 for Photographers : A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative Use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC: Amazon.co.uk: Martin Evening: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

The reaction of those working in commercial photography to the changes being brought about by digital imaging vary from unbounded enthusiasm through scepticism, anxiety and outright hostility. Adobe Photoshop 5.5 for Photographers is aimed at anyone, regardless of which of the above categories they occupy, who needs a clear understanding of how digital imaging works and who wants to use that knowledge to produce professional results using Photoshop. Relieved of the need to explain the underlying photographic theory, Evening concentrates on providing clear and concise explanation of the techniques of most value to practising photographers who have swapped a chemical darkroom for a digital one. As he writes in the introduction, "Techniques which show you how to create 3D type effects and illustration graphics have been deliberately scaled down."

Still, the book is much wider in scope than the title suggests, covering digital capture, resolution, colour management, proofing and file formats in addition to hands-on Photoshop techniques. The sections covering Photoshop itself take professional perspective. Chapters are devoted to image adjustment, image repair, montage techniques, black and white effects, colouring effects, layer effects and filter, and are organised into basic and advanced sections. Examples are all illustrated in full colour using commercially shot projects and aim to achieve the kind of quality demanded in a commercial environment. The accompanying CD contains a number of tutorial movies developing techniques, such as montage, solarisation, colour balancing and replicating cross-processing effects that are covered in the text.

For the generation of photographers who trained in the pre-digital era, Focal Press's Manual of Photography was the technical bible. Adobe Photoshop 5.5 for Photographers fulfils that role in the digital age. --Ken McMahon

Review

REVIEWS OF PREVIOUS EDITION ... "Someone has just re-written the bible, the Photoshop bible...Whether you are an expert or a beginner, this is a book that talks your language." Digital PhotoFX ... "You are a photographer and new to digital imaging and Photoshop - this is just the book for you. A teaching CD-ROM of short walkthrough movies enhances the value of the book as a really sound instruction manual - likely to be revisited many times as experience grows" The Photographic Journal ... "A mine of useful information, aimed at not only helping photographers to produce the very best quality images, but also gives techniques for image manipulation. For anyone involved with image processing this is a must have book!" Photo Technique ... "Whether you're a newcomer to Photoshop or a more experienced user seeking some guidance, Evening's easy to follow book is on the only guide aimed specifically at photographers". Amateur Photographer ... "Every instructor of photoshop should have Photoshop for Photographers in their library and use it as a resource" A photoshop student ... "If you're one of those people who hates manuals - this book comes as a breath of fresh air." British Journal of Photography ... "Covers all the most useful features in understandable terms. This book will save you hundreds of hours of heartache." Total Imaging ... "This publication is a must for all photographers, independent of your level of experience with the package, as it's written by a practising professional photographer with you, the photographer in mind" The Association of Photographers ... "Adobe Photoshop 5.0 for Photographers is a great choice for any photographer who has finally been dragged, perhaps a little reluctantly (or perhaps kicking and screaming), into the brave new world of digital imaging." David Herman ... "This is the book I wish I'd had five years ago when I was first learning Photoshop." Russell Williams, Adobe Photoshop engineer. This book was 5th in Amazon.co.uk's 'Choices of 2000' titles in the computer graphics section!

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

4 star

2 star

3.4 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Not enough 'hands-on' content to satisfy most photographers 28 May 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I bought this book on the strength of its good reviews and have to say that I am disappointed.

As a very experienced photographer, but with limited experience of Digital Imaging, I wanted this book for two distinct purposes:

1) To show me how to replicate the effects that I can get through the traditional photography process (especially monochrome effects), and

2) How to use the program to obtain "special effects" applications.

I was disappointed by the paucity of Black & White effects contained in the book. They merited only 14 pages (of a total 384) which I feel seriously under-represents the importance of black & white to most photographers.

Effects were mainly dealt with in chapters 14 through to 16 and I feel that insufficient attention has been given to the practicalities of the subject.

Most photographers considering the purchase of this book are probably considering either reducing or giving up entirely traditional darkroom work, or augmenting their darkroom skills by acquiring Photoshop skills. Sadly this book does not place enough emphasis on the 'hands-on' aspect. Photographers, after all, are 'hands-on' people which I rather feel the author has not acknowledged.

Overall I would only give 3 stars to this book - I feel that the author has slightly missed the point and that the title is somewhat misleading.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Disappointed, it doesn't tell you "how to". 9 Jan 2001

I decided to buy this book based on the very good reviews it had. I must say that I am disappointed. The book might be very good in describing "what can be done with Photoshop" but it hardly tells you "how to do it". The "how to" part tells you only on a very high level what to do. More details is needed to make this book usefull.