Bought this for my son, who found it helpful while taking classes for his graphic design classes.

Third photoshop book (slow learner) I have purchased and is as good or better than others. Easy to follow if you follow the precise directions. Video on disc that comes with it really helps as it previews the lessons in the book.

Because I could not get the DVD lessons to work on my computer, I have only read the first lesson, so please keep that in mind while assessing my review.

Despite a major effort, I could not get the primary function of the DVD -- the lessons -- to perform using MS Windows Vista (Home Premium). So, for Vista users, I would give this book 2 stars rather than 3. Because I could not use the entire panoply of teaching media, I can only speculate that I might give it 3 or even 4 stars for an XP (or other OS) user.

The video lectures on the DVD are not very good. They don't hurt anything but they were a waste of time for me. The writer/lecturer spends a lot of time hemming and hawing, and the presentation is generally quite slow and lacking good interactivity or "now do this" interactivity. (Again, there is a chance some of the later videos might be better, but these faults are basic and so I doubt it.)

As a comparison, Adobe has free online videos that move like lightning. (I have only used the CS3 version.) You have to stop the Adobe online videos frequently and watch them a number of times -- they move way faster than I can absorb information -- but at least you don't have to sit through an amateurish talking head rambling on about himself, the video, etc.

In summary, for me, the DVD was a total waste of time and money. In fact, it was a major pain in the neck. You are forced to spend time and brain power just learning how to use the book, installing the software, setting up your computer, etc., just to use it well enough to see if you like it. "How to use this book" is 14 pages long.

The book standing alone is competent and useful, but not great. Because there are so many pictures, large margins, large print, heavy paper, etc., the amount of content is limited. Still, as far as I could tell, it gets a beginner through a lot of the basics. Unlike some other reviewers, I found it satisfactory as a beginner. However, I was already competent in PaintShop Pro, so I may have had a head start.

The only mistakes I found were infrequent and very minor, dealing with changing notation for Windows OS. I suspect the author's primary computer (like many graphic artists) is an Apple Mac, and the commands are translated for Windows. This isn't really a drawback for a Windows user, but it leads me to suspect that the DVD may work more seamlessly on a Mac. (And if you are or want to be a graphic artist, you really might consider using an Apple computer.)

To me, the book is not comprehensive enough within the individual segments, even for a beginner. However, all the basic bases needed to use Photoshop are covered.

Edit: I have watched more lesson videos in the CS3 edition of this book. The later videos are very different from the first one; they get to the point without wasting time. At worst, they don't feel like a waste of time, and at best, they are helpful. (The CS3 edition also abandons auto-installation, which is a big help.)

The lesson files are very helpful to using the book. Especially for the beginner, they allow the reader to follow verbatim instructions to get a specific result, which would be a godsend to someone who was totally confused. So I feel that I would give this book "four stars" for someone who uses Windows XP (assuming that it installs correctly on XP!).

This book I am using with a class I am taking. The instructions take a few chapters to get used to the writers style. The author covers a lot of good things that are very useful in photography as well as graphics. The only thing is the guy just can't take very good photos, but you can fix that, learn the basics from this book and take your'e own photo's! There is a lot to learn in this book to adapt to your own style! Go for it!!!

As a web designer whose strength is in coding and scripting, Photoshop has always seemed to be a cauldron of black magic to me. The knowledgible knew how to coax results from the tempermental pot, but we newbies were most likely to get burned. While Photoshop's unfriendly, counter-intuitive environment is partly to blame, a host of "follow this list of steps to make a button/background/fancy text/whatever without learning why these steps are necessary" tutorials - both on the web and in books - also share some of the responsibility.

Thankfully, McClelland's book more than makes up for the lax presentations of scores of wannabe Photoshop authors.

To get right to the point, One-on-One is an exercise in describing the why of Photoshop. While the book is filled with tutorials (a few per chapter), they all fit into a shared context. McClelland doesn't just tell the reader to slavishly follow his steps, but WHY they're necessary and WHY they work. He teaches the reader how to read a color historgram, why relying on Photoshop's auto image adjustment tools are only the first step in editing an image, even rudimentary color theory. I honestly learned more by reading the first chapter in this book then by struggling through a host of inane tutorials.

In short, One-on-One does it right. It's a must-have for any potential Photoshop user.

After a few unsatisfactory experiences, I was quite ready to admit the art of photography mending is beyond my capacities, and Deke McClelland's "Adobe Photoshop CS2" was in a way some "ultimate try" at the subject. After reading this book, I am aware of the fact I still have a lot to learn, but I am now confident I can reach some satisfactory level in using the powerful software Photoshop is.
In its step-by-step manner, this book is a masterpiece of pedagogy. The teaching, precise as well as relevant, is lavishly accompanied by superior illustrations. Without ever being overwhelmingly patronizing, it goes when necessary into precious details, all the time making sure the reader is able not only of acting the right way, but also of understanding why it is the right way.
If you are in need of learning how to use Photoshop CS2, this is the book for you.

I found the book a good source of step by step learning. It takes you through beginner to full user. You can move at your own pace. I found the book easy to follow, as it is written in conversational style. It most certainly is good value for money. I recommend it.
Guity

If you're looking for a book with painfully drawn out explinations and unispiring pictures, this book is for you; otherwise, head elsewhere. If you need to learn the basics of photoshop for non-photography needs, or want to learn how to add layout and text to your projects, this book would suffice. For photographers who want to learn how to use photoshop to manage, edit and manipulate their SLR captured pictures, this ISN'T the book for you. The projects are drawn out, cumbersome and uninspiring. Topics such as layers and masks aren't covered until 2/3 through the book! I would recommend the How to Wow series over this book - How to Wow is conscience, informative and conveys information quickly vs. the verbose manner which Deke seems to favor.....

I'm taking an online Photoshop class that uses this book and DVD as the main text. I am finding the videos and step-by-step instructions very clear and helpful. One ding is the index, which is terrible, but aside from that, this is an excellent PS reference.

As an amateur photographer and a novice Photoshop user I was looking for a book that would introduce me to this wonderfully obtuse and powerful program. After reading the mostly positive reviews on this site and others, I was confident that I had found the "one". However, my initial assumption was misguided. This book has a couple of serious and some minor flaws that make it impossible for me to recommend it to others making their first foray into PS.

On the positive side, the author effectively demonstrates how to use the program and the follow along exercises allow the student become proficient at the mechanical aspects of the program. The introductory videos are adequate and preview the upcoming chapters successfully. The book is nicely illustrated and well laid out. A good variety of topics are covered and an accompanying exercise is included with each (some of these are quite complex, particularly for a beginner). The language used is straightforward and the overall tone of the book is positive and encouraging.

So what you ask are the negatives. My learning style dictates that I attain some level of understanding of the material being presented to gain even a moderate amount of mastery. To do this, I often need to see the big picture. Demonstrating how all the minutiae fit together is a key. Another factor is my understanding of the underlying processes. The more comfortable I am with these processes the easier it is to apply the learned knowledge. In both areas, the author is not successful. Although the book and videos cover lots of information the author doesn't show how to concisely integrate this information nor does he explain how he achieves a lot of the results seen in the book (which look wonderful). Instead of explanations the reader is told to move this percentage here and that dial there etc. The masking and layers chapters are particularly frustrating as the author assumes the reader has grasped the fundamentals in both areas and presents projects that are aimed more at an intermediate user than a novice. Another gripe, albeit a minor one, is that the book tends to focus primarily on graphic design and minimally on photography .

The author has a more comprehensive training series and I feel that this book is just a watered down version of that. For photographers interested in learning Photoshop CS2 there are much better choices out there that address the above issues. Photoshop CS2 Studio Techniques by Ben Wilmore is one of my favorites.

The top quality of the illustrations in this great book really enhance its usefullness. The author is obviously a professional when it comes to using Photoshop CS2. He is able to share his knowledge in an effective way by utilizing loads of really great and high quality illustrations and photos. Two thumbs up for this book.

This book is not for beginners! He tries to cover too many things in one book. Also, this book is more like for people who take/edit pictures for living, because this book uses words that only people in that business can fully understand.
Sadly, this is also a few only photoshop books out there is printed colored.

This book has two qualities that I very much liked, being new to photoshop:

The fact that it shows you every step of the way, not only what you need to do, but where to find it on the menu, and how the photograph is supposed to have evolved during that step. And because it includes a DVD with that very same original image, you are getting the same results on the screen as the book shows, thus knowing if you are doing it correctly. Furthermore, it not only presents a certain tool, but it also suggests values to use that will improve the image, giving you a better feel for the tool.

And the fact that you can first view a 10 min. video explaining the concept and tool, then you work along with the book on a specific photo, and then you can play with your own photos.

I finally "got it" with Deke's book. I've been fiddling around Photoshop for years without really knowing what I was doing. This book has improved my Photoshopping by orders of magnitude.

There is just the right balance of text and illustration in this book. I found I was able to read the step by step instructions, check that the picture in the book looked like the one on my screen, and proceed rapidly and with the confidence that I was doing it right. Perhaps that's really the key to why this book works so well--you know if you've forgotten a step or misread something.

Now if only Deke would write a similar caliber book for GoLive...

Reading this book for a beginner is like taking Adobe Photoshop CS2 class with a very good teacher and professional. My wife is a second-generation teacher. So I have good understanding what is a difference between a teacher and just a professional. The book is written in such specific and brilliant pedagogical manner when the teacher is always behind your shoulder when needed but not limiting or restricting your study. Feeling of high-level professionalism and confidence in teacher's knowledge you will get from practical discussions. For example there is not only complete description of each tools but also a practical discussion when and how to use each tool, their limitation and advances. This book is like good teacher, who will advice you and provide guidance for a long time after you finish the class.

The good news:

The book is set up along basic activities you need to do (move an object to a different background, fix color and contrast settings, paste a logo on a 3-D object, etc.) rather than a boring software manual ticking of the functions one by one.

The author has a great sense of humor

The book looks fantastic

It comes with lots of prepared practice files on a CD.


The glitches:

The free training DVD is very useful but crashes many times on my PC, even after installing all updates. A shame.

Another IT issues, getting the author's preferred settings installed on my PC took some effort

The author uses a lot of short-cuts for functions, I would have preferred to introduce functions with the proper menus. Readers can move on to short cuts themselves when they have mastered the basics.

All in all an excellent book, which got me from 0 to using Photoshop frequently for my client presentations.

Using this book and CD-ROM depends upon being able to download the customized settings, so that the reader's PhotoShop, for example, behaves the same way as the author's PhotoShop. However, my system repeatedly hung up on that section of the download from the CD-ROM. Furthermore, this author doesn't start at a "dummies" level by defining the terms that he uses throughout the lessons, so I had trouble following along. Overall, this wasn't much help for me in my quest to learn PhotoShop from a baseline of complete ignorance.

I bought this text to help me move from Photoshop Elements to Photoshop CS 2. It's an excellent tool for that purpose, or for someone who's moving up from another "consumer" image editing package. There are a few annoying problems at the beginning, which is the worst place for them to be, so it doesn't get 5 stars.

The included CD is supposed to install 3 sets of files. On my PC (with Windows XP SP2) the 2nd set failed to install. A troubleshooting guide on the CD refers you to a web site, where there's a patch and instructions. (so it's not an uncommon problem.) The instructions don't match what you need to do to install the patch, and the patch doesn't install one group of files for color settings. You can do that manually if you know how. One you get to use them, these tools and the included CD are very useful, and the videos are as good as the author claims. But this is a shoddy way to start an instructional text that begins by bragging how good its CD-based training tools are.

The intro comes across as condescending. The author starts by saying you don't have to be afraid of Photoshop. Well really - I'm not, so get on with it, please! Finally, on page 10, the author does get to work and - surprise! - the instructions are clear and explained logically, the text is augmented with numerous useful illustrations, the color reproductions are accurate and very useful, and you can learn a lot by following the lessons closely. The CD has videos that go along with the lessons in the text and it includes photos for you to modify, so you learn by doing. (You get the most from the book by following the lessons and by using the photos on the included CD. If you just read the book you won't absorb nearly as much practical know-how.)

When each tool is explained, there's a good explanation of the tool's options. So even though you may get only a single lesson with a tool like "Lens Blur", there's enough information for you to figure out how you could adjust the options in your own work. If you take the time to play abit with the options yourself, you'll see how they work on the images used in each lesson. Thus it's an effective package for the basics and a bit beyond, which is about as much as you can expect in a single book.

One concern about content: even allowing for the fact that the book is aimed at someone who's not highly experienced, the explanations of color theory -- channels and the color wheel -- should be earlier in the text, ideally right at the beginning, and perhaps in a bit more depth.

Despite the complaints, it's worth repeating that this is a very solid instructional text. It takes time to go through the lessons, but if you use the included CD you'll get good practice using the most important of CS2's amazingly rich toolset.

This is the best [photoshop book I've read It is a good read; and a handy resourceany one could better wotrk phtshp with Deke's approach! a worthy investment of time &$

I am sure there are other books that might be easier to follow and that might offer more than this one for learning all of what PhotoShop has to offer, but I just have not found them yet. Light to read with easy step by step instructions for the beginner as well as the accomplished image processor.

If PhotoShop can do it One on One will teach you how to do it.

Deke McClelland knows his subject very well and presents it in a clear and orderly way so new learning rests on a solid foundation. The format works: read the lesson, watch the DVD-ROM video lesson, do the exercises, take the quiz at the end of the chapter. Each lesson is designed to be understandable by those without much Photoshop experience and still include a few techniques that even experienced users probably don't know. And he does it all with good humor. Work files and video lessons are all included on the DVD-ROM in the book, which is bound so it lies open and flat on the desk without any hassle.

The DVD-ROM also contains a file to set up Photoshop on your computer with the settings and keyboard shortcuts Deke uses on his computer. It didn't work for me and the error message said my Photoshop wasn't found in the default location ... possibly because I was using a Mac and not a PC.

The first eight lessons are mostly about photography -- organizing photos with the Adobe Bridge file browser, embedding metadata, correcting brightness levels, adjusting color balance, fixing flaws, using masks, sharpening images and many other things a photographer needs to know. It helps set up a work flow and shows how to get the most from digitized images using "camera raw" (optional), layers, masks, blend modes and using the "tools."

The next three lessons are largely about manipulating images, building layered compositions from multiple images, applying text, shapes and special effects -- the kinds of things designers and graphic artists need to know. The final lesson is about preparing images for print, both personal ink jet printing and commercial reproduction printing.

The step by step learning process is clear and easy to follow and includes the "why" as well as the "how." That helps readers retain knowledge and apply the techniques to other images. The "pearl of wisdom" explanations and sidebars with shortcuts and other useful information are also helpful. The many illustrations and screen shots appeal to visual learners and help ensure that the new learning sticks in your head.

One-on-one isn't just a book -- it's 12 training classes with DVD video lessons by a very good teacher; it is also a well illustrated text book and reference book once the lessons are done. It's ideal for beginning and intermediate users of Photoshop, but there is useful material for those who have been at it awhile, too. It's not a book you can absorb all at once but if you work your way through it, just as you would work through a course of Photoshop classes, I dare say you'll get your money's worth.

This was the jumpstart I needed to learning photoshop. This is not so much a tutorial as it is a get-up and start-using photoshop one-on-one session, exactly as the title suggests. So instead of learning the interface in text-book procedural fashion, it's kind of like apprenticing for the author Deke (who also wrote the photoshop bible book). BTW, the author is notably an Master at photoshop, as is apparent when he tells you "nobody uses this command, you can do that function with this new command here". There's a lot to be distracted in photoshop, hundreds and hundreds of different functions, and it turns out that many of these functions are obsolete and only left-in to satisfy old users, so having Deke point these things out is fantastic. Eg, unsharpen mask, obsolete. smart sharpen, da-shizzle.

I found a lot of the steps to be wordy, and it took me a week to go through the book/lessons, but it was well worth it. I'm guessing I retained about 60% of what Deke teaches in the book, but the goal was to familiarize myself with how to USE photoshop and even get into the habit of using the shortcut keys, a specialized (and arguably more intuitive) set of shortcuts is provided by the author on the CD-ROM. This book also goes through steps that will optimize Photoshop, such as reducing and distributing cache files in the settings. Generally speaking, Deke explains what each command does as you're doing it, but it's obvious that you need experience to know that you should apply certain settings to get the pictures to look right. So experience begone, it's good to follow the training and see what a professional *would* do to create the compositions.

People are right about the CD-ROM being a lesson in itself. It's over 2 hours of very high quality video and easy-to-follow instruction. The CD-ROM's show little introductory movies to each chapter, which show the author completing a mini-project that usese the techniques about to be explained. Personally I don't think the videos are totally necessary and I doubt I will go back to them, but they ARE helpful and put things into perspective, and I guess are sort of psychological support so that when you start on a chapter at least you have a very good idea of what you're going to learn...the videos put the book's chapters into perspective. And yeah, better to watch the videos than to not watch them, I have :-)

My goal in all this was to learn photoshop well enough to put the program into perspective, so that I would better understand web tutorials and the more encyclopediadic how-to books on the program (such as deke's photoshop bible or martin evening's nice photoshop reference). I've met that goal in this book, I'd say I'm borderline intermediate now save for a bit more experience with the program.

Also a note to those who judge a book by it's pictures...personally, and this is just me, I thought a lot of the pictures/projects in the book looked tacky, and I almost passed on the book because it looked, well, weird. But the projects have you mess around with layers and filters and in the end, it won't matter that there's a disturbing cartoonish picture of his son with a smushed face in pastel colors, or a football made to look like a mr. potato-head with a fruit bowl as a hat. gees. Actually, I wish the author would also write a one-on-one book like this for Adobe Illustrator.

Although I have not yet gotten into any depth with this book and the accompanying DVD, it appears to be a good way to begin learning about the basics of CS2. The book and the DVD are beautifully illustrated and the step by step procedure seems rational and should be easy to follow.
The reason I did not give it the fith star was that I was hoping that it would demonstrate the technique of increasing dynamic range using blended multiple exposures in CS2. I believe this is called "merge to HDR function" in CS2. Although this may be present in the book, I have not found it yet. As my title indicates this is apparently a book for motivated beginners and as such should serve you well.

A truly excellent and informative book packaged brilliantly with a most informative cd. All topics were well covered.

Yes, this is practically a college class in a book. It's in a text book format complete with section quizzes, but it's not quite boring enough to put you to sleep while reading it.

The DVD has around 2 hours of video tutorials (which unfortunately require QT to run, a program from a certain company that I deeply loathe... it's worth it for the tutorials, though) and some samples with a few images you can play with. You'll never be lost, that's for certain, but it repeats information quite often.

Overall; it's a good book that I'd recommend to anyone just starting out with Photoshop CS2. Texture artists who know their way around photoshop would probably find "3D Game Textures: Create Professional Game Art Using Photoshop" as a reference manual and guide.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 One-On-One (One-On-One) is an innovation in the training field, it is more than a book it is a complete course. In addition, it is suitable for all levels, so you can befit from the course regardless of you knowledge level of Photoshop. The Book (the Course) is full of real live examples, illustrations and live DVD courses. It is really what is called step-by-step education. I think Amazon should do more to market this book.

The book only refers to a few actions you can use in CS2. There are better choices in the market, that allow you to search in CS2 more deeply.

I knew nothing about Photoshop when I purchased this book. I found the DVD-book combo to be quite helpful. The book can be used as a series of lessons done sequentially or you can use it to find techniques to solve particular problems, so it makes both a good coursebook and a good reference book.

The one thing missing in the book for me as a beginner has been commented on by others, and that is the "do this then do this" approach to achieve a result. An example is enhancing photos through levels where you are told to make particular changes. After it is over you are told that you figure out how to make the best changes by moving and nudging levels until the image is optimal. A better approach would be having the reader make the less than ideal changes and having Deke point out what is "wrong" with the result.

For a beginner, one of the challenges of Photoshop is learning not just how to use the program but learning how to see the changes, or learning to develop a "Photoshop eye." This is mostly what is lacking in the book. However, there are places where this issue is addressed, including the section on the burn and dodge tools.

Overall I am very pleased with this book and found it to be well worth the money spent. In addition to getting across the basics, it has made using Photoshop enough fun that I am now experimenting with more artistic rather than utilitarian techniques.

After ordering and receiving the book ,Iwas somewhat displeased with the fact that I had to go out and buy DVD drive in order to use the DVD that was included as part of the study process.
It would seem to me that I should been notified of this before I ordered the book.
I now have the book,the DVD ,and no place to go unless I buy
a DVD drive for from 60-200.00.
I don't think that my comments are unreasonable.Do you?
LarryH

Title: Photoshop CS2 One-On-One Review
Author: Deke McClelland
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596100965
Pages: 475
Reviewer: Michelle LaRock
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Holding an aversion to any type of user manual as indecipherable and confusing, I have found "Adobe Photoshop CS2 One-on-One" by Deke McClelland to be an extremely user friendly and interesting way to learn more about my favorite program Photoshop.

The books is arranged into 12 logically ordered lessons, allowing the more experienced user to skip what it not needed and to hop ahead to new things to learn. I found this a wonderful way of setting the lessons up and I resent working through training books only to find that I could have written the lesson rather than taken the lesson. Consequently, this book is great for users at all skills levels

The easy to use enclosed CD makes the lessons vibrant and interesting. The sidebar, "Pearls of Wisdom" are excellent allowing the reader to pick up those pro tips we all wish we had someone around to explain and teach. Of course, you won't learn all you need to know about Photoshop in this book or any other, but the hands-on experience available in this book is just what I needed to learn. I've never been able to read a manual and figure out a program. Hands-on is the way to go for me so I found this book particularly helpful.

Perhaps those who learn by reading (as some of my colleagues do), will find this book frustrating, but it was just the ticket for me!

I'm new to Photoshop and found this book extremely useful.

Especially for those pre-lesson videos, it is good to know how you will be amazed by the software's abilities after finishing each lesson before you proceed.

I only hope there will be some kind of exercise questions after each lesson where I can truely pratice my new skills with a pratical situation, and not only multiple choices questions.

I purchased this book based on reviews read here as overwhelmingly the reviews were very positive. I have gone through a few chapters - this is my initial feedback... I will post again after going through more of the book.

Firstly, the positives...content and organization with the videos, text and hands-on lessons including the summary at the end of each chapter is very well organized and thought out. This approach addresses different learning styles and provides a good degree of student interaction. The examples, video and picture quality are all first rate. Deke's presentation is very clear and easy to listen to.

My initial concern regards the lack of information when making adjustments to an image (previously stated by another reviewer). In several instances so far Deke instructs you to "change this to 30%" , nudge this up to "4", etc. without telling you why. His examples work beautifully with the image examples but I need to know what will work with my images and how to make the adjustments. The example of entering the different channels in "Levels" produced excellant results but was confusing. I'd prefer Deke taking the time to walk me through the process of why and how-to, not just "put this number in here". This is a major flaw at this point of the book, imo.

After reading the preface I was immediately disappointed to learn that the Actions Palette and Filter Gallery would not be addressed in the book. It bugs me that two such useful resources are not included. I understand that PS is a huge program and cannot be completely covered in one book but I consider not including these two topics to be a major omission.

This is another of Deke McClelland's programs which is instructive, detailed and helpful in getting to know one's way around CS2.

I finally finished reading the "Adobe Photoshop CS2 one-on-one" book by Deke McClelland. 99% of it was very helpful and I will definitely continue to use it as a reference book for home and work. I highly recommend this book for beginners and intermediate designers/photographers - you can never know all of Photoshop, even if you claim to :P

Each chapter has an introductory video you watch before starting the tutorials. it's nice to have a break from reading all the time, and makes it feel more like a classroom in a book.

I especially learned a lot about color correcting, making selections and masks, and using adjustments layers. Basically my whole Photoshop workflow has improved since reading this book.

CS2 One-on-One is delightful. I knew I had the correct book when Deke said that at times Photoshop CS2 is Adobe's idea of the Nine Circles of Hell. Finally someone with my point of view. And Deke descends into the debths of the SW and brings us out the other side. This book is a fun and easy approach to learning the Photoshop CS2 functions.