Photoshop Restoration and Retouching is a hands-on book for designers, photographers, commercial illustrators, and artists who seek to make the best out of the not perfect. The world is full of imperfections, but professionally-prepared images never show those blemishes, cellulite, poorly reproduced colors, stray hairs or wrinkles. This book will walk readers through all kinds of repair and correction, including:

• Improving contrast and tone
• Correcting color, either from a bad original or a bad scan
• Removing unwanted elements from photographs
• Repairing heirloom originals with problems such as mold spots, cracks, or torn corners
• Improving portraits by removing blemishes, removing distracting elements, or replacing closed eyes
• Tips and tricks for glamour and fashion photographers

The book assumes readers have a working knowledge of Photoshop. It does not go through the basics or cover complex selections or masking, although it does quickly explain essentials like shortcuts, context-sensitive menus, quick image-navigation tricks, the varieties of layers, and smart file management--all issues that expedite workflow and distinguish regular and power users. The book even outlines what it takes to set up shop as a professional retoucher, discussing equipment, studio arrangement, and working with clients and contracts.

The author strongly advises reading the book from start to finish, and she's structured the projects so that they build upon each other. The book is divided into three sections: correcting tone, exposure, and color; restoration, repairing, and rebuilding; and portrait and glamour retouching. Each page is filled with plenty of before-and-after images, along with screen shots of palettes and dialog boxes.

This book makes tackling each of your photo's flaws look easy--it seems like even the worst photo can be saved. Also, by the end, readers will have an appreciation for those who do retouching for a living--it takes planning, a good eye, consistency, and a lot of organization, or you're just flailing away with adjustment layers. You can get a look at a sample tutorial and chapter on the companion Web site, digitalretouch.org, which also includes all project images and other resources. --Angelynn Grant