Photoshop CS

This book has 14 chapters packed with fun and knowledgeable facts about Photoshop CS2, ranging from basic to advanced techniques. It all starts with getting to know Photoshop CS2 Workspace and Organizing Palettes. Some nice and clean diagrams of the tool box and a good brief rundown of each tool, (ideal if you are an absolute beginner). Intermediate/Advanced users will probably know this. Also a nice section for the beginner is the common color modes and common file types. Through out the book there are Notes, Shortcuts, Tips and cautions which are pretty easy to see, they are in blue type. If you are an Intermediate or/Advanced user and just want to brush up on the new features/tools in Photoshop CS2, this book is for you, they are all in here, Spot Healing brush, Smart Objects, Vanishing Point etc.... There is far too much good information in the book to put it all in this review. The book also involves Image Ready when you take it to the web. At the back of the book there is a section called, "Behind the Scenes" which is a gallery with techniques from some of the pros, it shows what you can do in Photoshop. This book is well put together and very easy to follow. Basic beginners will have no trouble understanding PhotoshopCS2, plenty of clear visual figures. All in all, there is something for everyone in this book. Very handy for the beginner and intermediate, advance users will pick up some good tips and tricks. It may lose a point/star for not having a CD-Rom with the book, but that would be from a beginner's point of view. As an advanced user, I don't feel you need a CD-Rom; the easy to follow style of the book makes it a good choice for everyone. I give it 5 (five) out of 5 (five) Suggested retail $29.99

How to Do Everything with Photoshop CS2 is an excellent resource book for users of all levels ranging from the beginner to the advanced. It covers not only the new features of Photoshop but everything before CS2. If you're new to Photoshop this will be the perfect bible for your learning and if you're an advanced user I guarantee that you will find things that you did not know or have forgotten. The hands on, project oriented approach is engaging and allows the reader to turn out pro level projects of their own. The content is visually appealing, well organized and easy to read. As a web designer/developer and educator, I highly recommend this book.

As a professional graphic designer I know quite a bit about Photoshop - or at least I thought I did. Colin Smith covers it all, from the preferences on up. Everything is explained in a clear, no-nonsense manner. I highly recommend this book to everyone, novice to expert. You're never too old to learn new tricks.

This books serves as an excellent teaching tool and all around great resource for Photoshop users of any level. It's well structured, with easy to understand content. What I like the most is that the book is filled with full color images and screen shots for easy reference. It's very hands on. Excellent value for the price.

I am a kind of collector of Photoshop books, from beginner's level to advanced. I found this book one of the best Photoshop books ever-made, also because the author has succeeded in explaining in simple and clear way advanced topics such as for example channels (p.136) and layer blending modes (p.126). The book (contrarily to many other Photoshop books) is full in color, and I recommend it for beginners and even for advanced users (thanks to the bonus section at the end " Behind the Scenes - a gallery with techniques from the pros"). Suggestion for the next edition: please made the photos showed in the book available on a Web site or on an attached CD !