The Photoshop Elements Book for Digital Photographers
Product Description
Scott Kelby offers full-color, graphically rich, linear, tutorial- and project-based examples of every key step in the digital photography process. From experimenting with camera settings, through capturing and manipulating the image, through editing, output and organization, this book is designed for the digital photographer who knows aesthetics but who wants a concise guide to “grip it and rip it” usage of digital technology. Photoshop Elements is a very po… More >>
The Photoshop Elements Book for Digital Photographers
If you looking for a quick starter, a ‘click-by-click’ approach, this book is for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere. No theory, not referenced well. The author’s constant attempts at comedy are extremely annoying and waste a lot of the reader’s time. All of that paper and ink would have been better spent on useful information. This was my first Photoshop Elements book and after a few chapters, I am already looking for something else.
Rating: 3 / 5
The description that drew me to this book was the one here on Amazon: “If you’re ready for an Elements book that breaks all the rules, this is it”.
It is a lie.
Nice looking book, but living up to nothing I would have expected from the description, and I feel a little rooked. There are no photos from the book on a convenient CD (in fact, no CD), and no real “rule breaking” which suggests an advanced approach. All I got, instead, was a handful of tips and some really bad jokes. I downloaded all there was of the images I could find, and there are not enough to make the ‘lessons’ valuable. I can’t follow the tutorials and I can’t be sure I am learning what is being shown. What is being shown is not at the level I would have expected.
As far as what I see shown, there are some simple procedures and simple examples. While it is good to have simple examples, I was expecting a lot more, especially as stated in another part of the Amazon text: “in this book, you’ll learn some slick workarounds, cheats, and some fairly ingenious ways to replicate many of those Photoshop features from right within Elements.” If they were there I didn’t see them. There were no additional tools like the Hidden Power of Elements book, and nothing even as interesting as a tip book like 50 ways to Create Cool Pictures or 50 fast Digital Photo Techniques – both of which I recommend over this. The focus was right on digital photography, I think, but was not unique, particularly interesting or broad.
To go one step further, I think it is inaccurate. You get settings to use for dialogs like sharpen, but these will seemingly work only with the photos you don’t get with the book. When i don’t get the images and can’t try the settings and then they don’t work on the images I already have, I begin to wonder about the validity of anything here! certainly the less I have to remember the better, but one-size-fits-all settings are not working. Sometimes it isn’t enough to know the settings, I need to know why. There isn’t enough why to tell me how to adjust settings for other images.
I have seen Mr. Kelby speak, and think he is great at that — though perhaps a little slick. The slick presentation of a book doesn’t come across as well as it might in person where his personality can draw you in. In the end I don’t have nearly the ooomph I expected, and am sadly not improving images more than what I had previously learned from newsgoups or the manual. There is a lot, and maybe too much hype (both on amazon and by the publisher and NAPP), and it just didn’t convert for me into value. Mr. Kelby should stick to speaking and training videos where he shines…this is not one I’ll be making a gift or stocking stuffer of.
Rating: 2 / 5
It’s the book I’ve been waiting for. It’s straight to the point and so useful. Now I’m hooked on editing my photos on Photoshop Elements 2.0. It is truly a godsend for digital photographers. Thanks Scott!
Rating: 5 / 5
Mr. Kelby provides numerous step-by-step instructions for correcting, enhancing, and manipulating photographs. His instructions are clear and easy to follow. In addition, he emphasizes the photographic aspects of Photoshop Elements 2.0 and does not try to cover each and every feature of the program; e.g., there is no information on adding text to a photograph. This is an excellent approach. (I believe, as apparently Mr. Kelby does, that most people buy Elements 2.0 to work on their photographs and not to play around with special effects.) This gives him room to lay out his instructions clearly and fully illustrate them. The only criticism I have about this book is that while Mr. Kelby tells you how to do something he seldom tells you why. For example, he tells you to set the default light and dark points at something other than 0 and 255 but does not say why this is a good thing. Similarly, he frequently uses layers but does not explain why he flattens some at the end of his instructions and not others. His instructions always work but some background or explanatory information would be very helpful. This is a fine book that I will refer to again and again.
Rating: 4 / 5
I use the full Photoshop Program (not Elements, although I do have a copy of the old version 2.0 onboard).. Scott Kelby’s approach to his books is generally the same in all cases (Elements AND the full Photoshop program).. if you want, for example, to learn how to do a collage/montage, he has a section in his book to deal with the subject, and step-by-step instructions on how to achieve this effect.
There are plenty of “technical” books out there to explain the “whys and wherefores” of how this works.. the vast majority of us really aren’t into this kind of stuff. I’m not a graphic artist –where this kind of explanation would be necessary.. I’m a digital photographer of basically family and recreational stuff.. and his “straight to the point” type instructions have, nevertheless, taught me how the different techniques work.. you just have to stick with it and work the tutorials. All of it eventually hangs off a neuron or two.. and the feeling of accomplishment is wonderful.
And –contrary to the other digs– I find his humor really helpful during the stressful process of learning the application.
Rating: 5 / 5