Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual
by Barbara Brundage
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Book Reviews of Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual
Book Review: Discouraged in PE6
Summary: 2 Stars
I was given Photoshop Elements 6 as a gift to accompany my digital camera. Having virtually no experience with Photoshop, many of the Elements features had me confused. I purchased the book, hoping it would walk me through some of the features I was most excited to use...I still haven't successfully used them...the book would be wonderful for someone with a very strong Photoshop background. The biggest hurdle is not being able to open the book to a specific topic and run with it. The reader is continually refered to a previous topic (see page 296) and is told things like "Just place the markers the same way you do in faces"...so you go to "faces" only to be stymied by what it is you're supposed to take from one chapter to another. I suppose that if you sat and read the book cover to cover, you would be able to edit like a pro. But the average person is purchasing this manual as a reference, and will not read 500+ pages, chapter-by-chapter. As a reference, Someone with Adobe Photoshop experience or a strong background in graphic arts might find this manual useful. The layman should look for a different guide.Book Review: Excellent support to a complicated program!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was well aware that PSE would require some effort to get me up to speed on its efficient use. I also knew I wasn't going to find good written documentation with the program itself. After doing a little research I selected this title by Barbara Brundage, and it was the best choice for me! I've worked my way through the bulk of the book, trying out the different procedures as I go. Every step is very clearly explained, many include screen shots, and there is enough cross-referencing that I am beginning to feel pretty comfortable with the program's myriad capabilities even though I've only had it a few days. Unlike some reviewers, I feel the index, combined with the table of contents, is quite adequate to help re-locate a concept or a procedure when I need to go back and check. In a former life I wrote a number of tips and technique sheets on much less complicated software, so I have some feel for the difficulties of communicating all that a program can do. This author is highly skilled at doing just that, and I HIGHLY recommend this guide...it's worth every penny!Book Review: Weak coverage of organizer
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased Photoshop Elements 6 primarily because I heard that the Organizer feature is very rich and useful. I have several thousand digital images that I want to organize. Unfortunately, the help that comes with the program is very poor. So, I purchased this book because of the rave reviews. The book is generally well-written and covers lots of topics, but the section on the Organizer is next to useless, which really surprised me, since the Organizer is one of the main features of the program. I think the author should have anticipated that many of us would have lots of images to import and organize and should have provided in-depth help, tips and tricks to enable us to do that. I'm hoping that the soon-to-be released Dummies book does a much better job.
In short, if you are looking for help editing digital images with PE6, or if you are just starting out and don't have many images to organize, this book is probably a good resource. If you need to know how to use the Organizer to import and organize lots of images, this book is of no help.
Book Review: A "must-have" for anyone who wants to get started with and explore the possibilities of Photoshop Elements 6.
Summary: 5 Stars
Written by Barbara Brundage, who has been teaching people how to use Photoshop Elements since its creation in 2001, Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual lives up to its title by walking the reader through all he or she needs to know about Photoshop Elements 6 - a software that gives most of the image-manipulation functionality of full-fledged Photoshop at a much more reasonable price. Photoshop Elements 6 is ideal for scrapbookers, photographers, and beginning graphic artists; The Missing Manual covers everything from importing and saving photos to understanding the layers palette to drawing with brushes and other tools, creating projects, creating online galleries, and much more. Full-color screenshots and images throughout illustrate this "user-friendly" guide. A "must-have" for anyone who wants to get started with and explore the possibilities of Photoshop Elements 6.Book Review: Missing manual is missing the mark
Summary: 3 Stars
Even after working with PSE6 for a while, layers, masks, etc. have never been clear. So, based upon good reviews, I bought PSE6 Missing Manual. As a whole, the book is OK, if you have Photoshop experience. In too many places, the author leaves the reader hanging. There are no step-by-step guides. Layers and masks miss the mark. There is no indication of the steps involved in getting from point A to B to C, etc. in creating and using layers and masks. If you were lost before, you will still be lost. The author isn't much better with the new Photomerge/Panorama. She tells you how wonderful this new feature is, but leaves you hanging again.. The old Photomerge in earlier Elements worked a lot easier. As far as I am concerned, Organizer is window-dressing. The meat is the Editor program. As far as tutorials go which the author touts , they are disappointing.