Photoshop how-to books?

[alissasanderson]

I'm looking to improve my Photoshop skills. I currently have Photoshop Elements 5.0 and also Photoshop CS.

I went on Amazon.com and looked for books on Photoshop and was amazed by the amount of them out there. And in reading the reviews, I can't get a clear picture of just how well they'll suit my needs. My public library has no books on Photoshop at all for me to look at, and the local Wal-Mart and K-Mart don't, either. A real bookstore would require a 40-mile one way trip, something I don't have time for currently.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I want to be able to do basic photo editing, mostly on landscapes and children's portraits--cloning out blemishes and brightening, changing contrast, etc... I'd like to really understand and be able to utilize the layers function. And I need to be able to make a custom watermark action to apply to my photographs. Currently, if I fool around long enough with a photo I can be mostly happy with the result, but I can't help but think it would be easier if I actually knew what I was doing.

[mikem12188]

I've got two books that I use all the time. "Elements 5.0 Classroom in a Book" and "The Missing Manual". They're both very good (IMHO) and I think I saw the on Amazon as a package deal. I use them both as references aall the time. Good luck.

[googlit]

I'd recommend The Photoshop Book For Digital Photographers. It goes from beginner to expert with very down-to-earth explanations. Definitely worth a look.

If you really want to dive in head-first (and have a few hundred bucks laying around), check out the Photoshop World conference. It's 4 or 5 days jam-packed with tutorials, classes, round-tables, and general fun. I went to one with a basic understanding of layers and knowing how to make selections and drag. When I came back, I was the go-to girl for Photoshop help. It's amazing how much you'll learn!

[Saralonde]

Alissa, I understand where you're at. I can do limited things in PS, but it's not my strong point.
I recently received 2 Photoshop books (one of which was snatched by my daughter!). Photoshop Finishing Touches by Dave Cross requires a little knowledge of PS and then gives you some well-illustrated ideas for giving an extra touch to your shots (converting to b&w, color tints, lighting effects, frames, etc.). Haven't spent much time with this book yet, but I don't think it offers a lot for beginners as it is not too step-by-step (which he explains in the intro). The other book, Photoshop Channels by Scott Kelby looked promising, but maybe my daughter will post a review .

I have PS Elements 4 by Scott Kelby and it is an easy to follow book (good for me); I assume his Elements 5 would be similar. Kelby seems tobe well-regarded in this area.

I'm sure others have some books they like.

[rpoffenberger]

I'll second the vote for The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers. I borrowed it from the local library, but will probably end up purchasing it for reference.

[smc1377]

I won the Photoshop Finishing Touches book by Dave Cross from this site and I don't care for it much. Just being honest. Not that it isn't useful and well-written. It's just that about half the tutorials dealt with creating frames. Then the others dealt with color effects that I didn't care for too much. Now if someone wanted to make their own frames and do neat color effects, this would be the book for them. I skimmed it cover to cover and really only found a couple techniques useful.

Now I got to get to writing those camera reviews so that I can win another book.

[MadDog31]

I third the Photoshop CS2 for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby...awesome book and has improved my Photoshop skills immensely! It's straight up Photoshop/photographs and none of the fluff about other stuff in PS you would never use.

First post.