Recommendation: Photoshop CS books for...

[jonf]

Hello,

I am looking for some recommendations on Photoshop CS books that cover intermediate/advanced PS topics. I am not looking for a tutorial book (click here and then do this and then click here and watch me show you the next thing....), but a book that explains concepts and covers the more advanced features of photoshop.

If you could tell me what makes the book you recommend strong (and weak) that might be helpful.

Thanks!

[paulr]

Real world Photoshop by Blatner and Fraser.

I used photoshop professionally for 10 years. Then when I started printing my own photography digitally, and decided I REALLY needed to learn photoshop. So I got their book. It's been like a bible ... and a fairly entertaining read, as these things go.

[Ron Marshall]

I've read six PS books, and spent four hours in a local bookstore leafing through every PS book for sale. There are not many that are very good. Most fall into one of two categories. The first type concentrate on special effects, such warping peoples faces, and in general don't have much of value for photographers. The second are the tutorials; most of which just give recipes to use for a given situation, but don't explain why, so when you inevitably encounter a similar but slightly different situation you are lost.

Okay, now for the ones I found useful. PS Studio techniques, by Ben Willmore; Real World PS, Blatner and Fraser. In that order.

There is another that I saw in the bookstore, CS version, that I will buy as soon as it is released in the CS2 version: PS Artistry... by Haynes, Crumpler et al.

[Frank Petronio]

Fraser's Real World books and his related website : http://www.photoshopnews.com/

Most of the rest are recipe books that fail to impart the reason why you do something...

[darr]

Adobe Photoshop CS2 for Photographers, by Martin Evening

[Scott Knowles]

I agree with the responses, that people who use CS2 can't write good books on it. It's not entirely their fault, I'm a hands-on visual learner and resercher reader, so many books on exercises and tutorials don't help me. I've found Martin Evening's 2005 updated book and Adobe's Photoshop CS2 books good for explanations, workflow descriptions, and GUI views help. Those and lots of little postit tabs with notes on this or that. Personally, I'm still looking for a good class for an overview and workflow description. Learning by mistakes isn't productive.

[Brian Ellis]

I agree with Paul, Real World Photoshop CS by Blatner and Frazer is the best book I've found. I don't know whether they've come out with a Real World Photoshop CS2 book or not, I'm sure someone else here will know. But even if they haven't I don't think it makes a huge difference, most of the stuff in the CS book is equally applicable to CS2.

[jonf]

Hey All,

Thanks for the quick responses. There seems to be a lot of you recommending the Real World Photoshop Book, so I will start there and probably grab at least one of the others later.

Thanks.