Last updated 3/27/2006
Adobe Photoshop CS2 Studio Techniques
Adobe Photoshop CS2 Studio Techniques
Authors: Ben Willmore
Publisher: Peachpit Press
572 pages .... $50.00
ISBN 0-321-32189-8
If you want clear understandable explanations of how Adobe Photoshop works and how to use it, you will like Adobe Photoshop CS2 Studio Techniques.
The book includes everything that was in the earlier edition. And, the book tells you up front where in the book to find clear coverage that you can understand of all the new features in Photoshop CS2. But, it has more, it has two whole new chapters. Because of these new chapters, I decided this new book was for me even though I probably will not upgrade from Photoshop CS.
I reviewed Adobe Photoshop CS Studio Techniques
for our Northern Vermont Macintosh User Group because I was impressed by a video presentation on curves that Ben Willmore made at the Peachpit booth at Photoshop World, Boston 2005. After beginning to study CS Studio Techniques, I decided it was what I needed to continue my study of Photoshop CS. I bought the Photoshop CS2 version for the NVMUG library.
But, Peachpit Press and Ben Willmore fooled me. They included everything in the CS edition, added the new information about CS2, and added new chapters on Adjustment Layers and Workflow in the new CS2 release. They were able to do this because they moved four chapters, Line Art Scanning, Channels, Shadows and Type & Background Effects, from the earlier version to the CD that is included in this release. They also put a File Browser Supplement on the CD because Adobe replaced it in Photoshop CS2 with Adobe Bridge as covered in the new book.
The chapter on Adjustment Layers is well written with Ben Willmore's ability to make Photoshop easier to understand in non-technical language. The subject is important enough that it probably should have been in the CS edition.
The chapter on Workflow explains why Ben choose the order he recommends for his processing sequence and refers you to the appropriate chapters for how to do the processing.
When you read in Step 7 Reduce or Remove Noise/Grain, "If there is little or no noticeable noise, then skip this step because noise removal techniques (as described in Chapter 12, "Sharpening") will soften your image." he is telling you that is where to go to learn how to remove noise and grain. I didn't realize that until after I looked up the subject in the index to find it.
The fifteen steps looks like an awful lot, but maybe when you become proficient they do not seem like too much.
So, I changed my plans and am keeping Adobe Photoshop CS2 Studio Techniques
to study myself, and putting the earlier version in the NVMUG library.
There are other good books that teach you how to use Photoshop for particular purposes, but I do not know any better book for learning Photoshop. If you want to learn Adobe Photoshop CS, or CS2, I recommend this book.
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