looking to get a good ‘one stop’ photoshop 7 book…have heard good things about, Photoshop 7: Complete Course…is this something worth getting, or is there something better out there? cheers s s.
Depends on your level of expertise and what you want to do with PS. I have always liked the Real World books, but they’re pretty detailed and oriented toward serious work. For eye candy, the WOW books are very good.
That’s a tough call Simon. I only own ONE photoshop book (I hate "how to" books), it’s Photoshop Channel Chops – best bound technical purchase I ever made.
Sounds to me as though you would be ready made for Ben Wilmore’s Photoshop 7, Studio Techniques. He specializes in teaching not only HOW but you will UNDERSTAND it as well. He also removes the "Techno-Babble" of other books, IOW no BS. Widely acclaimed as the best or one of the best PS books. I love it. HTH, Harry
I can’t imagine using just one Photoshop book, but you can go for an effective "first" Photoshop book. I doubt that there is such a thing as a "last" Photoshop book. The wealth of third party books and other support media is one of the serious advantages that Photoshop has over the competition.
My strategy for purchasing a Photoshop book is to write down a list of questions that I have about Photoshop. Then I go into a good full service bookstore (I have used Borders and Barnes & Noble) and browse the bookshelves. I take a few likely candidates to the restaurant area, get a coffee or tea and/or a snack, and sit at a table with the books and take my time looking for my answers in the books.
When a book readily gives up answers to specific questions I consider that a plus factor. If it has tutorials about things I want to do, that is good. A CD-ROM or DVD in the back with support materials is good. Of course, you can get answers here.
I have Channel Chops but I wouldn’t recommend it as a first or "one-and-only" book. It is rather specialized and is actually written for Photoshop 4, so it is a bit "long in the tooth" and I think it is out of print. I have to agree with Ho about the Real World books — they are excellent. McClelland’s Photoshop Bible is also a good reference but be aware that it comes in different editions. And there are several other excellent Photoshop books. That’s why I recommend you spend some time browsing different books to find which one seems best to you. Books with lots of color illustrations cost more.
Just ’cause you got it in June doesn’t mean it’s in print. Actually it has been out of print for some time. A few copies may remain in the "pipeline" and apparently you got one. Check Amazon.com.
I like to know how EVERYTHING works…a to z etc etc
The best place to really start for this is the manual. Do that page by page. THEN start looking into these suggestions that you’re getting. Then you’ll be in a better postion to judge for yourself which direction you want to go as far as furthuring your knowlege in a particualr area. I’d say you could do the whole manual cover to cover in a week if you really wanted to. I’d also say it’s well worth it (I did it) just so you know what’s available, where it’s located in the program and the basics of how it works.
IOW, once you can answer the questions WHAT? and WHERE?, you can go out and get more specific refrences to help you with answering HOW?.
I am completely self-taught as well. I have gotten good use from Deke McClellan’s Photoshop Bible, which is the only PS book I own other than the manual.
Adobe Classroom In A Book has got to be the best if you only could choose one. It runs you through the features and leaves you with useful knowledge that you can apply to jobs you are working on. I like that part best about it. Clear and easy to understand writing that gives you a grip on the ‘how and the why’ as you progress.