Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book

I've enjoyed Scott Kelby's books and other Photoshop books in the past and was looking forward to this book. I made it through the first four lessons without too much problem only because I've been using Photoshop for quite some time.

But Lesson Five makes very little sense to me. I don't get the point.

This is what happens when a group of people write a book. It's a mess. They keep getting the cart before the horse. For example, the first lesson requires making a selection with the Elliptical Marquee Tool. Then, in Lesson three, the reader will find an explanation of how to make a selection with the Elliptical Marquee Tool.

Another example is in lesson three. It requires renaming a layer, but the explanation for how to rename a layer doesn't come until lesson four.

I knew how to use the Elliptical Marquee Tool and I knew how to rename a layer, so no problem for me. But how many more carts are before the horses? I'm afraid this book will only increase my frustration level with Photoshop, not diminish it.

I would not recommend this book to a beginner for certain and not even to someone with Photoshop experience. It was not worth the money paid and I wish I had not bought it.

If you want to learn Photoshop, why not from its authors? This very recent text [2008-9] has lessons showing the many capabilities of CS4. The publisher/author was also careful to include many nice colour prints because after all, that is the point, isn't it?

The book starts from scratch, assuming no prior exposure to Photoshop on your part. It takes you thru the basics. But even in the early chapters, you are exposed to many powerful techniques, like the Sponge tool and the Healing Brush and Patch tools.

The most important chapters deal with layers. Of all the tools and ideas embedded in Photoshop, the concept of layers is perhaps the most powerful. The lessons give you fluency in it, and once you have this, compositing elaborate images becomes very feasible, largely limited only by your imagination.

I ordered this book with my cs4 software knowing that the Photoshop team who put this book together always know how to get accross to even the most struggling student, which refers to me quite well. The book comes with a disc containing the lessons you should use to follow along while learning how to use every tool Photoshop CS4 has to offer. I'm so glad I purchased this book. I take a lesson at a time in the evenings. I find it helpful to repeat a lesson as soon as I finish to make sure the information I learned comes easier as the instructions progress. The instructors made it so you're using previously learned tools and methods in each lesson. This makes it easier to remember what you've learned.

I aquired Photoshop as a hobbyist and this was the third book I bought trying to figure out what I could do with the software. Other books define what each feature does and how to access it, but Classroom in a Book puts the features into context. I learned the software as well as some basic graphic design and photography skills. Before you spend money and time on a class on Photoshop, try this book!

This text was selected by my instructor for a Web Graphics class and this has been a diappointment to both the instructor and the class. The text provides step-by-step instructions on how to complete tasks but without providing the reader an understanding of why the steps are taken or how why settings have been selected for various menus.

As an example, in Chap 5 on Masks and Channels, concepts such as gray-scale channels, quick masks and alpha channels are introduced but without providing a understanding of the concepts and how they are related. Menu settings are offered on menus such as 'Refine Mask,' 'Filters,' 'Refine Edge,' and 'Layer Styles' but without understanding what those settings are and how they affect the image. I found myself screen printing the menus and then going out to the internet to find out what those settings mean.

Finally, it does not outline a workflow on editing and creating images, one of the most basic skills that Photoshop users need to acquire.

I would not recommend this book.