The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2
by Richard Lynch
List Price:
Our Price: $5.00
You Save: $35.00 (88%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.46 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Richard LynchEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-01-21
ISBN: 0782141781
Number of pages: 292
Publisher: Sybex
Book Reviews of The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2
Book Review: The best book I've bought all year
Summary: 5 Stars
The tools were why I bought the book -- having access to Curves and Color Balance alone would have been worth it, but there are a lot more -- masking tools, color separations, -- I am just starting to appreciate how powerful these tools are -- for example, before buying this book I didn't even understand why you even wanted to separate color and luminosity, but now I use that tool on every single image I process.
The book: the book is different from any other Photoshop book I've read. The most obvious difference is that it comes with neat Power Tools. A more subtle difference is that in addition to showing you how to manipulate images using Photoshop Elements (which most Photoshop books do, or should), it also aims to deepen your understanding of your images and controlling those images using manipulation-by-Elements. For example, he walks you through a somewhat complicated procedure of making masks to isolate mid-tone colors in your image-- there's a Power Tool to do it, but if you go through the entire procedure you will learn a lot more about how your image is put together. Not to mention that it was a revelation to me that you could have that much CONTROL!
Because he aims to teach you about images and how to get the best image possible, as well as a good order in which to correct images, the book is sequential. Most Photoshop books I've seen can basically be read in any order, but this builds on things he's taught in previous chapters: for example, learning about tone in the earlier chapters is essential for understanding color manipulation in the later chapters. As part of this flow, there's information not only on digital manipulation but also on printing, which is an essential part of the process, which made me very happy. Just his (elementary?) explanation of the dpi/ppi/lpi needed for various outputs and how well you can print various pixel-size images has been really useful for me to have at my fingerprints, not even to mention the calibration tool noted by another review.
On the negative side: as someone who predominately uses Elements for retouching digital photographs, I didn't find the sections on e.g. animation all that useful. I would have much preferred to see more about calculations, which I thought could definitely have been given more space, being such a complex subject. There are a fair number of typos, though it's usually pretty easy to figure out what the right thing ought to be, and I understand his website has errata. Minor issue: I had a hard time installing the tools, and had to go to the website delineated in the book to troubleshoot. (Turned out it was for some reason having a hard time with my external hard drive; once I unplugged it, it was fine.)
I would strongly recommend NOT expecting this to be your only photoshop elements book (unless you are already an image manipulation guru, maybe). I personally have Photoshop Elements 2 for Dummies from a local book sale as well, and had read the whole thing and understood how everything worked in it before tackling this one-- I would've been lost if I'd tried to do it in the other order. I still refer to Dummies above this book when I want to know quickly how to do something simple or want to know what some random special effect does, neither of which are the purposes of this book.
This book gives back to you what you put into it; the more you try to understand what is really going on, the more you will get out of it. To me, this is the hallmark of a great book; I've reread it twice already and am still learning more. To others, it may not be what you are looking for, particularly if you want quick recipes or quick fixes. If you've read my examples above and you're thinking, "Gosh, that sounds like it might be sort of dense... but worth it to really understand images and controlling images better," this book may be perfect for you, as it was for me. If you're thinking, "Nuts, I just want a couple of auto-buttons to press to get cool effects or quickly fix everything," this book is not for you.
But if you have Elements 2 and are even THINKING of upgrading to full Photoshop (which I was), get this book first!
Summary of The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2
There's a lot more to Photoshop Elements than meets the eye. In The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements, author and Photoshop expert Richard Lynch lifts the hood to reveal how Photoshop Elements can be used to do some serious, advanced image-correction. The book and and tools (included on the CD) help turn Elements into a far more powerful image editor using many tools that are commonly thought not to be included with the program and many techniques thought to be impossible using Elements. Work with Curves, Color Balance, CMYK, Channels, custom shapes, Color Separations, Snapshots, masking, Calculations, Channel Mixing, one-step digital noise reduction, enhanced sharpening, animation, slices, and more! The book is filled with examples and step-by-step procedures, and all example images are included on the CD so you can work along and learn to use the hidden power. Tools included on the CD provide a simple interface to access incredibly powerful tools that will simplify and change the way you work with images-and consistently improve your final results.Equipment Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Equipment Books
Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 Digital Field Guideby Alan Hess
Wiley; Published: 2008-12-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.69
Price in other shops:
Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Studio Photographyby Kirk Tuck
Amherst Media, Inc.; Published: 2009-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.06
Price in other shops:
The Complete Guide to Close Up & Macro Photographyby Paul Harcourt Davies
David & Charles Publishers; Published: 2002-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $176.09
Photographyby Bruce Warren
Delmar Cengage Learning; Published: 2001-08-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $56.75
Price in other shops:
Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) 6.0 Studio Techniquesby Ben Willmore
Adobe Press; Published: 2001-06-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.00
Price in other shops:
Photoshop Studio with Bert Monroy (Voices (New Riders))by Bert Monroy
New Riders Press; Published: 2002-07-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $32.84
Price in other shops:
McKeown's Price Guide to Antique & Classic Cameras 2001-2002 (Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras)by James M. McKeown
Centennial Photo; Published: 2001-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $101.47
Price in other shops:
Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativityby Michelle Bates
Unknown; Focal Press; Published: 2006-10-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.73
Price in other shops:
How to Photograph Your Life: Capturing Everyday Moments with Your Camera and Your Heartby Nick Kelsh
Harry N. Abrams; Published: 2003-04-01; Spiral-bound; Book
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
The Book of Alternative Photographic Processesby Christopher James
Delmar Thomson Learning; Delmar Cengage Learning; Published: 2001-06-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $44.25
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Absolute Beginner's Guide to Photoshop Elements 2by Lisa Lee
Que; Published: 2002-11-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7Adobe; Adobe; Release date: 2008-10-13; Windows Vista; Software
Price in other shops:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 Complete Courseby Jan Kabili
Visual; Published: 2004-01-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.48
Price in other shops:
Photoshop Elements 2 Bibleby Laurie Ulrich Fuller
Wiley; Published: 2004-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops:
Photoshop Elements 2 Hands-On Trainingby Shane Rebenschied
Peachpit Press; Published: 2003-09-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Photoshop Elements 2 Special Effectsby Al Ward
Wiley; Published: 2003-02-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops:
Sams Teach Yourself Photoshop Elements 2 in 24 Hoursby Carla Rose
Sams; Published: 2002-10-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.13
Price in other shops:
Photoshop Elements 2 for Dummiesby Deke McClelland, Galen Fott
Books; For Dummies; Published: 2002-08-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop Elements 2.0by Mike Wooldridge
Visual; Published: 2002-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.75
Price in other shops:
Photoshop Elements 2 Solutions: The Art of Digital Photographyby Mikkel Aaland
Sybex; Published: 2002-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.06
Price in other shops: