this site,photoshop gurus', and P.S. books.

[john opitz]

In my opinion, this is one of the better e-groups on P.S. techniques. Even on the photography forums where they have P.S. techniques.

Mr. Schewe is having a P.S. book out soon(this month). I've read some of his articles and know of him from being in the photography industry. Read Dan Margulis,' starting from P.S.5., and I'm on his color theory list. As well as Katrin Eismann. As for Mr. Fraser, I've read his articles. Never bought his book though. How is it, BTW ? Tried downloading a chapter from imaginginsider with no luck. Must have been a limited time on it.
Is their much of a difference between the two books, P.P.S. 6 and Real World Photoshop 6. BTW, I admire both authors. Even though never bought his(Mr. Frasers') book. His articles are very good.
I'm a photographer and retoucher. I do a lot of channel blending, besides color correction. P.P.S.6, even though it's geared for pre-press is helpful for photographers(rgb'ers) as well. A lot of times I'll convert to cmyk to work on images for rgb output(converting back to RGB of course).
Also, I know of Andrew Rodney and Chris Murphy(their into color mangement).

p.s. I have Adobe P.S.6 for photographers. Looking for something beyond that,though.

[Rick Miller]

john opitz.

Both Dan's book and Bruce's book are the top PS books around. I have them both and have them listed as the required books for my advanced PS class. I've learned more from these two books then from any other sources. Buy their books, you'll be very pleased.

Hope this helps!

Rick

[Osakajo]

While we are on the subject of books, I think I have enough time on tuts and have finally developed a familiarity with many of the tools, which books would you recommend as must have? Need to get started somewhere and now with Amazon in town I may be able to pick some up. Thanks.

[Rick Miller]

Osakajo.

You wrote:
which books would you recommend as must have?
This is from a post I did here about three months ago:

As an instructor of Photoshop I try to stay on top of what books offer the most net advantage to my students, and until Greg's book comes out (super-big hint!), here are some books that I've found exceedingly useful. Maybe others would like to share books that they've found helpful and possibly offer some commentary?

Beginning to Intermediate:

1. Classroom in a Book:
Adobe has done a really good job of setting up the lessons in a manner that makes it easy for the student to follow along and build their photoshop self confidence by completing projects. Comes with a CD


Advanced/Specialty areas:

1. Real World Photoshop 6:
If you have any thoughts on becoming an expert in Photoshop, this is the book you'll need. As an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop I was blown away by the amount of information I picked up from this book - the chapter on Color settings alone was almost 100 pages. Real World Photoshop 6 is 787 pages of content, not filler! Now while no CD comes with this book (and I'm a sucker for books with CD's), I'll have to admit - this book is not about that and doesn't need one (did I just say that?).

This book explains the science behind the techniques so you understand WHY you're doing something and HOW Photoshop is calculating that. Author's Bruce Fraser and David Blatner have written one of the best overall Production Techniques book. Doesn't come with a CD


2. Professional Photoshop 6 - The Classic Guide To Color Correction:
Um...what do you say about a Color Correction book written by Dan Margulis, one of the first group of inductees into the Photoshop Hall of Fame other than buy it now? Dan Margulis is the god of Color Correction and Curves.

Now while Dan privileges a CMYK workflow, this book is a must have for anyone serious about color correction - RGB or CMYK. Dan advocates a "By the numbers" approach ("Use the full range of available tones every time, and don't give the viewers any colors that they will know better than to believe" DM) that will ensure that whatever your workflow, your images will be neutralized of objectionable color casts. Additionally, the book contains excellent chapters on the Unsharp Mask, Managing Separation and Color Settings, as well as Plate Blending as Poetry.

Once you've read the book, reading listserv Color Theory discussions/arguments between Dan and other Color gods: Andrew Rodney (digitaldog.net) and Chris Murphy (colorremedies.com), become quite hilarious with both sides making the opposite, yet both quite compelling arguments as to color management and 8bit vs. 16bit workflow. So much fun!
Comes with a CD


3. Adobe Photoshop 6 for Photographers:
If you're a Photographer why don't you already have this book? Even if you're not a photographer, you should have this book. Martin Evening cogently explains the digital imaging process in a style that is both adaptive to the beginner as well as advanced Photoshop user. Don't let the reference to photographers in the title prevent you from buying this book if you don't deal with photography; while the emphasis is on a photographers workflow, the concepts are still the same for digital imagers.

In addition to the lessons on CD that accompany the book, Martin Evening offers a couple of instructional videos on the CD (very cool!).

The book covers topics such as Color Management, Digital Capture, Photo Montage, Coloring Effects, Configuring Photoshop, etc... Comes with a CD


4. Adobe Photoshop Master Class:
Author/Photographer/Fine Artist John Paul Caponigro combines philosophy with Photoshop in a manner not seen before. John Paul Caponigro guides you through Photoshop in a thought provoking manner, exploring the philosophy of art/photoshop and its interaction with the individual. He guides you towards your unique/individual expression of photoshop.

The intro contains the Robert Henri quotation: "Know what the old masters did. Know how they comprised their pictures, but do not fall into the conventions they established. These conventions were right for them, and they are wonderful . They made their language. You make yours. They can help you. All the Past can help you".

This is one of those rare, unique books that allows you to reconceptualize your worldview and its relationship to your creative process. The book is visually stunning, the art and Photography of John Paul Caponigro is beautiful.
Doesn't come with a CD, but then that's not what this book is about.


5. Photoshop 6 Artistry:
Authors Barry Haynes and Wendy Crumpler have put together a book that no advanced Photoshop class should be without. Their well described, step-by-step - hands on sessions are invaluable for one looking to be serious about digital imaging. This book was extremely easy for my students to follow and understand (not just mimic!). While the book is labeled as Intermediate to Advanced, the beginner would have no problem picking up the concepts described as the book is so well written. Photoshop 6 Artistry covers both fundamentals and advanced techniques.
Comes with a CD


6. Any book by Deke McClelland! Serious.


7. Photoshop Restoring and Retouching:
If you want to learn professional restoring and retouching techniques than this is the book you'll need. Forget all the amateur retouching/restoring techniques you've learned, Katrin Eismann shows you what you should be doing in a very easy to follow/understand manner.
Doesn't come with a CD, although you can download the pics used in the lessons from her site.


8. Photoshop 6 Wow! Book:
One word: "Wow". Jack Davis and Linnea Dayton never cease to amaze me. I saw Jack Davis speak at PhotoshopWorld West in Los Angeles, and was picking myself up off the floor after he demonstrated some awesome tips/tricks/techniques. Jack's the man! I couldn't wait until the book was finally released, now that I've got it... Wow!!! I can't say I have a favorite technique as they're all my favorites, it's that good. Buy it now young Jedi Master.


9. Any H.O.T. (Hands On Training) book by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin
Their new photoshop 6/imageReady 3 book should be out by the end of October. Lynda and Bruce specialize in web-centric books.

10. Any Photoshop book by Scott Kelby.


Now this isn't an exhaustive list, just the books that I've encountered and considered good enough to make a recommendation to buy. There are a slew of photoshop books out there, so if others encounter a book they'd like to recommend, please do so. Sharing pertinent information is the way we grow as a community.

Rick

[Osakajo]

Thanks Rick. I guess I'll start at the top and since I already have the Adobe book with CD, so in to number 2.

[Jeff Schewe]

john. . .

Thanks for the kind words regarding my book, but. . .

Amazon has it wrong. My book is not comming out this month. Trying to correct Amazon is a lot like arguing with the IRS ;~(

The book is not yet done and I really can't hazzard a quess to the release date. But, the book is something I do want to get finished!!!

I'll let everybody know when there's any news. . .

[john opitz]

Hello Mr. Schewe,

Yes, I can see where that can be a problem.... Pre-ordering the book. People thinking it's due out in Jan.. Amazon is where I got the info on it. But I can wait.
Anybody else reading this, the book is called "Jeff's Photoshop". Unless,....... Mr. Schewe there's an update on the title.

[Osakajo]

Thanks for the advice Rick. Real World Photoshop just arrived. As you said, lots of useful info so far and I'm only on chapter 2. I was quite surprised to see Greg's name pop up in the first few pages. I guess I've really found myself a gold mine here.

[Rick Miller]

Osakajo.

You wrote:
Thanks for the advice Rick.

No problem, Bruce is an awesome photoshop technician and additionally an awesome communicator of photoshop. I find Bruce Fraser/David Blatner and Dan Margulis' books to be extremely pedagogical. I'm glad my suggestions were helpful; their books were net beneficial to me in that I learned so much that has been useful on a daily basis.

Rick

[Baby Jesus]

Rick miller if you read this you posted a list of reccommended books. I have looked for Bruce Frasers book REAL world photoshop 6 but have trouble getting it. I notice that he also wrote later books on Photoshop 7 and also one on CS in collaboration. Is the photoshop 7 book almost as good as the one he did on 6? If so I will just buy that one.

[BabbleGrabble]

I haven't seen the Real World for version 6, but I have the book for version 7 and recommend it very highly. It is an outstanding resource, particularly for color management, among a world of other things.

[Baby Jesus]

Thanks BabbleGrabble!
No pressure but I've just ordered it on your reccommendation... so it better be good.. :)
I also ordered Photoshop 7 wow book, I noticed there was a Photoshop 7 oneclick wow book by the same Author - guess it was a shorter version withouth a cd or something.

[BabbleGrabble]

Those two books make a great combination; I think of Real World as more of a technical reference, while Wow will give you great hands-on stuff. I only have the Real World book, but I know the Wow series is excellent.

[edgework]

Originally posted by Rick Miller


2. Professional Photoshop 6 - The Classic Guide To Color Correction:
Um...what do you say about a Color Correction book written by Dan Margulis, one of the first group of inductees into the Photoshop Hall of Fame other than buy it now? Dan Margulis is the god of Color Correction and Curves.


Note that the latest version of Dan's book is simply Professional Photoshop. So much of what he teaches isn't really specific to one implementation or other of the program. This edition is considerably updated from PP6, and worth reading many times.