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The prose is almost conversational, as though the reader was sitting in a workshop and the book was doing the talking. A small nit: while all tools and capabilities seem to be represented in the index, some corresponding techniques are not. At other times, sidebars are politely placed between logical discussions and their pages referenced in the text. In typical DekeMcClelland style, the step-by-step descriptions are detailed, understandable, and precise. After encountering a number of distractingly placed sidebars, I found myself wishing that they'd been appended to the chapters and referenced appropriately.As a long-time, "somewhere between beginner and intermediate" Photoshop user, I'd readily recommend this book to people new to image editing and to new PSCS4 users, even if you've used earlier versions of Photoshop. I appreciated the clear descriptions of how tools worked and why the author chose particular sequences and ways of doing things. The book is written with a friendly, informative, and accessible style and the content should appeal to many beginning and intermediate Photoshop users.
These are very well done and complement the book beautifully. I found this placement distracting. Too often a sidebar will be placed between two pages of a detailed procedure or other discussion. These are real, detailed tutorials and not snippets: you'll learn from them. The problem isn't the content, which is invariably very useful: the problem is where the sidebars fall.
This is not your typical Photoshop manual: it really reads like a well thought-out tutorial on how to use Photoshop CS4 capabilities in the context of a logical image correcting workflow. For example, "free transform" is there, but "transform" is not.I found many of the "Sidebar" comments--which are often 1-2 pages long--distracting. The discussions on masks and the uses of layers were terrific.One-on-One is more of a series of detailed lessons than a reference book. I think the procedures described and their order (Deke's prescribed PSCS4 workflow) is excellent.The book comes with an excellent disc containing several hours of video tutorials from Lydia.com. Between the tutorials and the lessons in the book, I really felt like I'd gotten a "one-on-one" course in Photoshop, and my ability to edit photos was definitely improved.
Who better to learn from than someone who makes a good living doing what he loves to do. The book, the accompanying DVD and the organization of the lessons, exercises and projects make these books an excellent value for learning CS4. First of all, I'm no expert at CS4, but I am far from being a novice when it comes to image editing. I did the first two chapters of this book and decided not to wait to purchase the second volume: Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks One-on-One.
Also, U must open a web browser in background, THEN open C/D & lessons. The short cut plug ins for CS4 ONLY. If done wrong, it can B a nightmare and mess up your PS settings. There REALLY is a right way & a wrong way.
Not a computer person. Have fun. It's 4 CS4 ONLY. This book is an easey & comprehensive, step by step guide.
Don't just download it anywhere. It's one of my favs.(I typed like this bcuz I didn't have enuff room 4 all the letters) You MUST read ALL instructions B4 U start. U MUST follow instructions EXACTLY.
If you're familiar with Photoshop or you want more of a reference manual this may not be the book for you, but if you're just getting started this book is great. Photoshop one-on-one is a great place for newcomers to learn Photoshop. It has easy to follow exercises and good explanatory videos all with Deke McClelland's unique sense of humor, which makes things more fun.
Adobe photoshop is a lot like other computer applications (at least to me) as the only real way to learn is by memorizing. As I said in the title, the book is easier to understand than the textbook. This book makes the transition much smoother.Thanks, I think that this book is fantastic. I wish I had it before I dropped out of the class.
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