A good reference book for beside the computer while working in Photoshop
Photoshop CS2 in easy steps
By Robert ShuffleBotham
Computer Step, 2005
ISBN: 1 84078 300 1
There are so many books on Photoshop. Most are good. And many people still report getting so far and then being overwhelmed by the complexity of the program. This book sets out to avoid that by proving coverage of Photoshop in easy, bit-sized pieces.
Don’t expect to find a lot of big images in this book. You won’t find them. The layout of the book has one third of each page devoted to tips and trip up points. This puts a premium on space in what is a fairly small book for such a big program. Frankly I do not know if this is an issue or not. Personally I like inspiration with my reading and tend to feel that others do too. However, I know others who prefer not to see too much of other people’s work when they are focused on their own work and development. So, you see, that is why I am not sure.
The book comes to grips with Photoshop though the following chapters:
* Basic Theory
* The Working Environment
* Opening and Saving Files
* Image and Color Basics
* The Painting Tools
* The Editing Tools
* Making Selections
* Layers
* Working with Type
* Paths
* Channels and Masks
* Color Correction Techniques
* Filters
* Web and Multimedia Images
* Working with ImageReady
* Animations and Rollovers
* Slicing and Image Maps
Everything you need as an explanation of Photoshop features is there. There just is not a lot of application or on how or why you would apply it. As such this is a classic software walkthrough book, you will need to find your inspiration elsewhere. That said, this is quite a good book for the Photoshop beginner.
A book for the student who needs a reference by the side of their computer to guide them, the hobbyist progressing from some other software and intimidated by Photoshop or the darkroom worker moving to the digital domain. Be sure to supplement it with inspiration from somewhere else.