Question about Elements for Dummies book

IW
Posted By
Ian Woodrow
Dec 10, 2008
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361
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I looked on the alt.graphics.photoshop.elements newsgroup but saw no messages in it at all. Possibly this group is not used ?

Anyway, I’m looking for a snippet of info on a couple of books in the "For Dummies" series. There is one on Elements 6, which is exactly the package I want a manual on. However, there is also one, Elements for Dummies. This is a much thicker book, so
my question here is …… does the thicker book contain everything that the one for Elements 6 has or is it different stuff ? I want to know if, having Elements 6 application, I should get the Elements 6 book …… or will the general Elements one give me all I
need to know about Elements 6 … plus a bit more ?

Cheers,

Woody
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TC
tony cooper
Dec 10, 2008
On Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:07:51 -0000, "Ian Woodrow" wrote:

I looked on the alt.graphics.photoshop.elements newsgroup but saw no messages in it at all. Possibly this group is not used ?
Anyway, I’m looking for a snippet of info on a couple of books in the "For Dummies" series. There is one on Elements 6, which is exactly the package I want a manual on. However, there is also one, Elements for Dummies. This is a much thicker book, so
my question here is …… does the thicker book contain everything that the one for Elements 6 has or is it different stuff ? I want to know if, having Elements 6 application, I should get the Elements 6 book ….. or will the general Elements one give me all I
need to know about Elements 6 … plus a bit more ?

It rather depends on what you are looking for. Just about any book will explain the tools and the palettes and what they are for. Beyond that, the learning process is how to use the tools to accomplish what you want.

I think this is best learned by following online tutorials that take you through specific tasks. Let’s say you have an image of, say, two people sitting on a bench. The basic book tells you how to crop the image, how to clone out that piece of trash in the foreground, and how to create layers so your adjustments don’t change the basic image in case you want to re-do part of it.

Then you decide that the colors should be a bit more vibrant or that the image would look better in black and white. That’s the time to search for tutorials on these specific tasks. You’ll find different ways to do the same thing with only minor changes in the results. There are dozens of ways, for example, to remove red eye.

Tutorials are written for Elements and for the various full versions of Photoshop. Some tutorials written for one program – like CS3 – can be followed in Elements with the same results. Not all tutorials are version-specific since (with some exceptions) all the versions have the same basic functions available.

Learn to Google for tutorials with phrases like "Elements tutorial selections" or "Photoshop tutorial selections". Either will result in tutorials that will teach you how to make selections in Elements.

Rule One, though, is open the original file and then Save As and give it another name. Protect your original in case you screw up the editing process.

—
Tony Cooper – Orlando, Florida
J
Joel
Dec 10, 2008
"Ian Woodrow" wrote:

I looked on the alt.graphics.photoshop.elements newsgroup but saw no messages in it at all. Possibly this group is not used ?
Anyway, I’m looking for a snippet of info on a couple of books in the "For Dummies" series. There is one on Elements 6, which is exactly the package I want a manual on. However, there is also one, Elements for Dummies. This is a much thicker book, so
my question here is …… does the thicker book contain everything that the one for Elements 6 has or is it different stuff ? I want to know if, having Elements 6 application, I should get the Elements 6 book ….. or will the general Elements one give me all I
need to know about Elements 6 … plus a bit more ?

Forget the dea to spend $$$ to read thing you may not understand or going to do. What you really need to do is real learning, or to learn exactly what you working on.

And I would suggest to join some Web Forum with Retouching Forum like www.dpreview.com (it used to be pretty good but been downhill in the past 2 years or so) or similar. There you post the photo you work on, asking member to help to explain their workflow, then you follow their instruction.

IOW,

1. You post the photo you want to learn

2. Other members work on the same photo and post their version. Now you have the chance to compare YOURS with thiers

3. If you see something you want to learn then ask them for their workflow, and they usually more than glad to help you.

Also, I haven’t visited dpreview for little over 2 years to know what has been going on lately.

Cheers,

Woody
IW
Ian Woodrow
Dec 11, 2008
Cheers. In my previous searches I was asking in particular for Elements 6 so getting less chances of hits. I don’t have my equipment at home connected to the network so I’d prefer a book to be able to consult at any time. The great thing about a book is that all you need is light and your eyeballs. I did have a search on Elements tutorials in general though and got a good wad of hits …. the first one looked good but when I clicked the link to see the PDF version it went nowhere except 404 land.
M
Misifus
Dec 16, 2008
Ian Woodrow wrote:
I looked on the alt.graphics.photoshop.elements newsgroup but saw no messages in it at all. Possibly this group is not used ?
Anyway, I’m looking for a snippet of info on a couple of books in the "For Dummies" series. There is one on Elements 6, which is exactly the package I want a manual on. However, there is also one, Elements for Dummies. This is a much thicker book, so
my question here is …… does the thicker book contain everything that the one for Elements 6 has or is it different stuff ? I want to know if, having Elements 6 application, I should get the Elements 6 book ….. or will the general Elements one give me all I
need to know about Elements 6 … plus a bit more ?

Cheers,

Woody

I think you’ll find that the Elements 6 specific book will assume you know something about elements, and concentrate on the new features in the latest version. I would expect the thicker book to be more general on the overall use of Photoshop elements. However, the big question in my mind would be, does the general book include a description of elements 6? In other words, is it up to date?

If you haven’t used any photoshop at all, and it’s up to date, I’d go with the general book. These books are not detailed technical manuals, but they do a good job of getting you started, in a fairly easy to digest manner.

-Raf

—
Misifus-
Rafael Seibert
mailto:
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafiii
home: http://www.rafandsioux.com

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