Photoshop CS6 book - DPChallenge Forums

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

02/04/2013 04:32:37 PM · #1

Hi folks, I'm on the verge of picking up Photoshop CS6. I've never used PS before, so this would be my first real foray outside of the 30-day trial. It's clear from the trial that I don't understand layers and masking and selections all that well.

Just wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a good, user-friendly book to get that covers these in good detail?

I thought Scott Kelby's books for Lightroom were very good, a little simplistic, but made the point well.

Venser

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

02/04/2013 04:38:00 PM · #2

Before picking up CS6, why not use the GIMP first and save a ton of cash? There's a wide gamut of tutorials online and some people here, like myself, are experts with the GIMP.

You'd get familiar with layers and masks, and decide if the functionality CS6 provides is worth the huge cost.

vawendy

Sony Alpha 1

Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS

02/04/2013 04:38:56 PM · #3

I'm actually sitting at barnes and noble this minute, and I pulled two photoshop portrait retouching books at which to look.

Creative photoshop portrait techniques looked interesting. And I just saw the big tag on it -- "fully updated for CS4!"

Back to the shelves...

02/04/2013 04:57:09 PM · #4

Originally posted by vawendy:

Scott Kelby release one called "Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques" that looks really good.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70 f2.8 L IS

02/04/2013 05:10:37 PM · #5

Either of the top two hits in these search results on Amazon are good choices; I have an older version of the first one, I think it was for CS4. I found it very informative.

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

02/04/2013 05:42:23 PM · #6

Thanks Fritz. I've heard that Evening's books are incredibly thorough, to the point of being cumbersome and difficult to get through. Whereas Kelby's books are more about the most efficient way to get something done, not necessarily the 10 different ways of getting the job done.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70 f2.8 L IS

02/04/2013 05:49:47 PM · #7

Originally posted by gcoulson:

I'd disagree on Evening's books. They go into some detail, yes, but they are, IMO, very readable and engaging. If you really want to learn how to use the tools, his books are a good choice.

CEJ

Canon EOS-40D

02/04/2013 06:15:39 PM · #8

I have Adobe Photoshop for Photographers by Evening in front of me now. I just purchased it for CS6. Thorough yes, difficult no. I have gone through so far just the RAW editing and am floored at how much the new version of RAW can do and found everything easy to follow and work. I have skimmed the rest of the book and marked pages/sections in the order I would like to work with them. But so far am very pleased with the purchase.

flaherma

Nikon D800

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

02/04/2013 06:56:15 PM · #9

adobe photoshop layers

This is the one I am currently using. I have CS5, so not sure how different it is from CS6.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

02/04/2013 08:08:38 PM · #10

Originally posted by flaherma:

adobe photoshop layers

This is the one I am currently using. I have CS5, so not sure how different it is from CS6.

I saw a similar one by Matt Kloskowski Layers - The Complete Guide

flaherma

Nikon D800

02/04/2013 08:54:36 PM · #11

Originally posted by gcoulson:

Originally posted by flaherma:
adobe photoshop layers

This is the one I am currently using. I have CS5, so not sure how different it is from CS6.

I saw a similar one by Matt Kloskowski Layers - The Complete Guide

I've watched some photoshop training courses by Matt, I'd rate them very good. If he's been able to transfer his teaching style into a book I would think it would be a good choice. I have some of Scott Kelby's books as well (not photoshop) and I like those a lot too, but not sure if he's got anything on layers.

ttroutman71

Sony DSLR-A350

Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical ED Zoom Lens for Sony Alpha

02/04/2013 09:37:26 PM · #12

I just got done taking a Photoshop class at school and I went in knowing nothing about Photoshop. I asked the professor for a book to look at since there were no requirements for books and it was all "follow my direction", but nothing written down. After using the book as a guide things were so much easier. He also said that the only difference from CS5 to CS6 is they condensed some of the steps. So instead of taking 4 steps to complete something it would only take 3. The book I used was Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-On-One by Deke McClelland.

I am now taking Photography class this spring semester and they had me buy The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book For Digital Photographers. Paging through it, this looks to be a good book for manipulating the colors and exposures and using special effects to your pictures, and things like that.

mrchhas

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

02/05/2013 03:30:00 AM · #13

After reading many many positive reviews I've purchased "Photoshop CS6: The Missing Manual" by Lesa Snider. So far it's good, it helps both with photography and creation. I've got the iPad version and have read about 1/3 so far. I'd definitely suggest it for its readability and thoroughness.

Tiny

Apple iPad mini 4

02/05/2013 06:02:38 AM · #14

I am in favour of the Martin Evening books,they are well worth getting in my opinion.