How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating Stunning Photomontage Images on a Budget [With CDROM]

I own Photoshop Elements 7 and am disappointed at the fact that barely any directions or information is provided in writing to help me learn the program. I find it very hard and frustrating to learn from their help section. I used to own Elements 3 and for six years barely used it as I didn't understand the program or even what was possible to do with the program. After purchasing Elements 7 I vowed to teach myself to make better use of the program and to use it to do what I wanted that I was sure it was capable of doing. I realized to achieve that I'd need a book from a third party to learn from. Before I purchased any book I had the chance to accept a review copy of this book. I consider myself a beginner user of Photoshop Elements 7 and this is the first book I've used to teach myself with. This book works with PS Elements versions 3 through 7. The first thing I was happy to learn in the preface is how Photoshop Elements 7 compares to Photoshop. Full retail price of the Photoshop is ten times the cost of Photoshop Elements. I keep hearing that Photoshop is what everyone should own if only they can afford it. However in the preface it says this "As the `baby brother' to the full Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements has long suffered the stigma of being a cheap, unprofessional product. Cheap it may be: but it contains 90% of the features found in the full Photoshop and, as we've seen from user-created artwork, it's anything but unprofessional. It's true that Elements is rarely used in a graphics studio or publishing company. But this is mainly because it doesn't include the high-end prepress features found in Photoshop; using Elements doesn't mean that you're working with a substandard application." Okay, fantastic, I now knew that PSE7 is not junk! In order to do some techniques that apparently Photoshop does, one has to "cheat" in PSE7. This book teaches those cheats as well as other steps to photomontage processes. A person may say "PSE7 can't do that, you need Photoshop" but according to the authors of this book, that is not true, you can often get the same exact effect and end result by doing processes they teach in the book even if you use different buttons or actions in the process itself. The best thing is that the book is laid out with two page spreads on one topic. All you need to know to do a task is on those two pages. The book is heavy on illustration with stepped out images for each step as well as text to explain it. Introductory paragraphs tell background info before you get started. A `hot tip' is present for every process as well. I feel the stepped out illustrations combined with text and the way the authors get to the point, don't fill the book with extra words is just fine for a beginner to learn from. I had two main questions. First, is this the book that could help me learn to use the program in ways I wanted to use it and second, is this a book for beginners? I do believe that a curious beginner can learn just fine fr

"How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating Stunning Photomontages on a Budget" is my new Best Friend and desktop companion! :) An amazingly easy to follow "cheat" and walk-thru of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Large color photos, clear and detailed instructions, extremely interesting tips and tricks to some pretty amazing photo finishing techniques. "How to Cheat in Photoshop Elements 7: Creating Stunning Photomontages on a Budget" is a lot about learning keyboard shortcut keys (mac or pc) and comes with a handy tear off shortcut key card found on the book cover. :) A real photo-finishing confidence builder, imo. also, see my review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Highly recommended! --Katharena Eiermann, 2009

First and foremost, this is NOT an "intro to photoshop elements 7" book. Don't buy it if you want to learn the fundamentals of PE 7, rather get this book when you want to take your manipulation of digital images past fixing red eyes and brightening up dark shots. This book tells you how to have some real fun and engage in creative applications with your photos by constructing photomontages. The lay-out and organization of the book is logical and improves usage. For instance, the first four chapters lay the foundation. They cover how to select portions of an image, how to work with layers and keys to adjusting images. The authors note: "...many Elements users ...have never learnt how to make layer masks, or picked up the essential keyboard shortcuts...we need to bring everyone up to speed..." That's exactly what those chapters do - they enable the user to become comfortable doing these kinds of digital manipulations. If you do nothing more than work through these four chapters and learn these techniques, the book will have been worth it. Another helpful facet of the organization is that each "topic" is arranged on two facing pages, so the user is able to set the book open in front of the computer monitor and look between that topic and the screen, no flipping of pages necessary. It may seem a small point, but it really works when one is attempting the 'assignment'. On the margin of each right-hand page is further organizational help - small icons that indicate, at a glance, whether this particular topic also is covered in a QuickTime movie on the accompanying CD, whether there is an additional source file for the tutorial on the CD and whether this particular technique is only available with PE 7. Many of these tutorials can be done with earlier editions of PE (so the book is not just for PE 7 users), but when PE 7 is essential, you can tell at a glance without wasting time trying to find features that aren't available in your version. Finally, there is a supplemental web site prominently mentioned on page one of the book. If you get stuck, you can go to the website and submit a query. In the book, they mention a forum, but at the present time, the forum link isn't working. Nevertheless, despite the web site currently being little more than an advertisement for the book itself, the author, David Asch, does have an e-mail listed and you can contact him directly with questions. The book states the following: "...visit the Reader Forum...this is where you can post queries and suggestions...expect other forum members to weigh in..." This is either a classic "which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" problem or a case of high expectations that may or may not be realized. To get the idea out there, it has to be written in the book before this forum actually exists, but then you have to sell enough of the book and get enough of a reader base willing to contribute to a forum...anyway, it hasn't happened yet - time will tell if it

Despite the magician's gloves, wand and top hat on the cover of the book, it's not magic. You can learn to manipulate images to achieve professional looking results, but you must be willing to spend time learning the program. This book assumes you have some knowledge of your software but that you don't know how to accomplish specific tasks. If you're an inexperienced user expect the learning curve to take a lot of time and a lot of patience. It would also make things easier if you're using something like a Bamboo (Small) Pen Tablet with Pen Only for fine manipulation of the cursor, rather than a mouse or a touchpad. This book is quite good at explaining how to accomplish the desired effects. The format is simple and quite nice; techniques are explained and beautifully illustrated, on two facing pages. Commands are color coded for Windows, Mac, or both. Many of these tutorials can be used with Photoshop Elements versions 3 through 7. A sidebar to the right of each tutorial lets you know if the technique can only be used with a specific version of Elements (7 only!), refers you to the accompanying CD if necessary, and offers additional "hot tips". The inside back cover flap gives a quick reference for certain commands, also color coded for your operating system. The CD that comes with the book includes video tutorials, project files, shapes, and best of all layer mask files. A lot of the Photoshop "magic" involves using layer masks, which you can create in Photoshop but not in Elements. However, you can import layer mask templates from the CD and use them in Elements. In the past I've had concepts in mind that I wanted to use on images or website graphics. I knew they could be done but had no idea how. Tutorials are available on line, and you can surf around for hours hoping to find good ones, print them out and come up with an inches thick binder. Many of the whiz bang effects are here, in one place, with the necessary high resolution background images and shapes. It's extremely convenient! While the book can help you "cheat" by cutting hours off your research time, there is no substitute for spending hands on time trying and learning. If you're serious about learning to use Photoshop Elements, you will find yourself spending hours and hours mastering a technique. What you learn to accomplish one effect can translate into what you need to accomplish another effect. Over time it does become easier and your finished projects look better. Recommended for those willing to put in the time.

I would have to agree with the other reviewers that this is not book for beginners, nor is it a book encompassing all the various aspects of Elements. But I certainly disagree that book is worthy of only 1-2 stars. This book has page after page of examples showing different techniques that you would think you could only do in Photoshop. There are so many examples, the authors could have easily spread out the information into more than one book, but instead packed this book with ideas. If you are a graphic designer or photographer who does not have the budget for Photoshop, and need to know how to come up with creative techniques using Elements, this is the book for you.