This is quite possibility the best photoshop book I have ever read. Does it cover everything in great detail? No, it doesnt, but then again, that is NOT the purpose of this book. The purpose of the book is similar to a cookbook: If you want to accomplish 'A', the do steps 1-12.
After reading this book (twice) I have pitted my skills against a friend that is a professional graphics designer with 4 yrs of Photoshop experience. When it comes to correcting digital or scanned photos, not only do I finish much faster then her, the results are just as good and in some cases better.

When I know what I want to do, but not how to do it, just give me the facts and let me get on with it! That is what this book does...and does superbly. The organization of the book is excellent, the instructional content excellent, and the layout very effective. I have been using Photoshop casually for years, and I learned a ton of new tricks from this book. Most definitely recommended...and oh yeah, I enjoy the author's particular brand of light-hearted humor, too.

This book covers most of the fixes that are needed for digital photography. The fixes are easy to follow and well written.

I keep this book by my PC at all times and refer to it often.

If you use Photoshop to fix your digital photos, this book is a great help.

a serie of examples with easy and fast results, even if not all for "dummies". Do not ask why Photoshop works but just use it!
Very clear explanations step by step (but in some case not so easy).
Of course top results depend also from your creativity and from your feeling with the mouse (and these two are not included in the book).

I have recently begun using Photoshop and at first just tried "feeling" my way through it. That didn't work. Then I tried using articles I found in magazines and off the internet. That was a little better but still didn't get me where I wanted to be. Then I decided to get a book to help me. On more than one photography forum this book was recommended. Now that I have it I see why.

Apart from the excellent information, Scott Kelby is a very humorous, easy-to-read author. This book is so informative and easy to follow that my wife (who knows knothing about computers or digital processing software) has even begun reading it and using Photoshop.

If you are thinking about getting this book...GET IT! I definitely wound recommend this book to anybody.

I have several books on Photoshop, but none that I use daily. The easy to follow directions in this book offer tricks that you will use every day to improve your photos. It has helped me "save" many less than perfect shots.

Ansel Adams pointed out that the printing of a photograph is just as important as taking the image. With the advent of high quality digital images, this is even more true and Adobe's Photoshop has been the industry standard for more than twenty years. Yet trying to learn to use Photoshop from the manual is crazy making. What I find particularly useful with Kelby's book are his step by step instructions for common photo editing tasks. I continue to be amazed what can be overcome quickly and efficiently with even the most imperfect takes. This book has made my dreaded transition from film to digital a positive experience.

I am SO pleased with this book. Scott Kelby shows you step-by-step methods for really improving your digital photos using Photoshop. I'm very experienced with Photoshop, yet being self-taught, I probably missed out on a few things. This book really helps fill in the holes. I refer to it all the time for little hints and tricks.

It's especially useful for portrait photographers. It goes through lots of different adjustments and tweaks that really make your photos pop.

I also like that it goes from soup to nuts. Everything from file management to displaying your shots on the web or to your clients. I do think you need a basic understanding of Photoshop, but this really does help expand your knowledge of the software as well as your overall photographic look.

This is a keeper!

I don't believe in a kinda perfect book no matter what the last is about. When I hear from anybody that I have to buy some edition, just the only one and forget all the questions I had ever asked... well, thanks a lot there is outta my insight. It's too naive to take such a bait.
I can define myself like an advanced Photoshop user and have a strong confidence that if someone going to be familiar with PS, there is no way but to look for different methods to improve your skills. The "Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby is kind the method I have found really usefull for myself. Of course, content of some chapters was well known for me, but that hadn't grieved me because I had bought that book just for the rest chapters with all these tips I didn't know before. And it was worthwhile.
If you still hesitate between pros and cons just read the preface (in a form of conversation between author and Editor) and you'll figure out what you can obtain from this book and what is unidentified after you'll turn over the last page.

This is a very solid and well written introduction to the basics, from managing photos to doing simple color correction and touchups. The book is in full color and the examples are of regular people and average pictures that present the problems we have all come to know, and wish to fix, underexposure, overexposure, too much shadow, too little contrast, etc.

Overall I like the book but there are some rough spots. In particular, the coverage of panoramas could be better. The author admonishes you not to pay for panorama software, which he overshoots on the price, and then lays out a complex set of steps that will result in an average panorama that will likely have perspective problems if you take the shots too close. In addition there was more that could have been said about the RAW format, which is critical to getting the most out of your camera.

Still, even with the downsides, this is a good book for digital photographers.

This is a very good book. In fact it is by far the best I have found to guide me in taking images from camera to use! Comprehensive, but easy to follow and read.

I am not a professional photographer, but I do take a lot of photographs. Some for fun, but many find their way into our company's website, PowerPoint slides, and promotional material (engineering and industrial projects). I also use a lot of photographs for my wife's travel business website and brochures. Mostly slides for years, but am now going "all digital." They all need adjusting, cropping, sharpening, fixing so I find myself using Photoshop more and more.

I started using Photoshop 5.0 almost 6 years ago, about the time I purchased a scanner and started trying to master inserting images in documents for my work. I was no computer amateur, but what a struggle. I fumbled through at least two of the obscure "list everything and every option" manuals Kelby describes-with time consuming, mediocre results. Finally admitted defeat and enrolled in a Photoshop night course at university. Three years, Photoshop 7.1, Win2000, and many thousands of photographs later, I am still learning. I read through parts of this book at a local bookstore three weeks ago and quickly concluded that this was a book I had to have. Just got it today, and have actually read a third already!

Good, solid advice on using Photoshop's browser was the first thing that caught my attention. I was using the limited "Zoom Browser" software that came with my new Canon digital camera and wasn't even aware of the browser capabilities of Photoshop. Also appreciated the advice on sharpening settings, some of which I had already noted from the class I took on Photoshop. I had been investigating sharpening plug-ins for Photoshop, and Kelby's examples are a good introduction to the different sharpening effects. Next will be colour curves and adjustments-which, despite appearances of my photos, I am still making a mess of!

The book is very well laid out. Use of colour and white space is nicely done. Easy to read and follow, and generously illustrated with colour photographs for every step. In fact, this is one of my criteria for an instructional book-if it's not "easy on the eye" it will probably just sit on the shelf. Of course, eye candy can grow old quickly without content. Kelby covers the subject well in an informal and humorous style. His advice is right on, and to the point: I have photos, now I need to use them-even if it's only to e-mail friends and family. He lays out how to do this.

MY QUALIFICATIONS: (ADVANCED NOVICE) I am a professional photographer and videographer. IMAGEWERX is my company. I am a video and photo editor, I photo and video weddings, and design and author custom DVDs. I have used Adobe Photoshop since 1997 and the only training I have had has been hands-on and tips from friends.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP VERSION I USE: Photoshop CS (MAC)

MY OPINION OF THE BOOK: The best how-to book I ever bought. I have learned a lot about Photoshop from this book. It's Easy to read. Easy to follow. Takes me step-by-step through the process. The attempts at humor didn't annoy me. That didn't distract me from the content of the book. I liked it because it made me feel closer to the author and that he was writing to me and not at me.

HOW I USE THIS BOOK: Usually, I don't read this type of book cover to cover. If I need to know how to do something I look it up. However, I have found myself actually reading this book section by section. I have never done that before (I have adult ADD so keeping me focused and interested for more then 10 seconds is a challenge). But this book has so many valuable lessons that take you step-by-step through the process I can't help but read it. I used to do a lot of things the hard way. Now I am saving a lot of time (which means money) by doing them the right way. I now consider my self a Photoshop expert. My photographs are better quality and my processing time has been more than cut in half because of this book.

WILL THIS BOOK WORK FOR YOU? That's up to you. One review I saw here was worthless because it talked about the information being available on the Web. So what does that have to do with the book? Every book I have ever bought has information I could find in other sources. It is how well it is written that matters to me. I have bought several books on the same subject and they all had the same information, but what was important to me was the one that I could follow and understand the best. This book is that to me.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADDED TO THE NEXT ADDITION: More Web site creation information including ImageReady how to steps.

I scanned it in the bookstore and I thought it looked like it had something I could use. It does, but there is a lot of things I take issue with.

The basic philosophy behind this book is that photoshop, and digital photography, is best mastered by getting "tips" and "tricks" that will go "bam!" like something out of Batman's utility belt. You just have to know what button to press on your digital wizard/photogee-gaw/hookah-and-also-makes-juliened-fries answer device and Presto! It's perfect.

Many will find this appealing. And, Scott Kelby has got that appealing juvenile style a la Dave Barry which makes it seem at least like he doesn't take himself too seriously.

However, his description of how to "color-correct any photo - FAST!" is so misleading I really have to take issue with it.

I just wish I hadn't fallen for the glib tone and paid the huge dollars. What was I thinking?

I'm certainly no Photoshop expert. I'm not even really a good photographer. But I've worked with Photoshop for years and I before reading this book I felt like I had a good handle on what could and couldn't be done with Photoshop. Boy, was I wrong.

Kelby's book is truly a godsend for anyone interested in digital photography. Airbrushing techniques, color correction, subject extraction, styling techniques....it's all there. He shows you exactly how to get the results you're looking for.

Note that this is NOT a book on how to use Photoshop. This is a book that tells you how to use Photoshop to get the results you're looking for. This book picks up where all of the other Photoshop books leave off.

Like I mentioned in the title, this is more of a cookbook than it is a textbook. All of the techniques he describes follows a format akin to a step-by-step recipe. Not a lot of theory is presented (none really). However, this format allows you to jump right into the book and find exactly what you need when you need it. And it's fun. It will remain on your desk for a long, long time.

A must have.

I have bought a number of photoshop books, and this is one of my favorites. It basically shows you how to do some specific tasks, such as color correction and other retouching techniques. The book takes you step by step through the process. People looking for books more akin to manuals will not like this book. I picked up a number of tips and am still working to incorporate his suggestions.

Ignore all earlier comments about the book being too basic. These guys don't know what they're talking about. This is the best book on Photoshop I have ever read. It gives you real world settings instead of publishing pages of useless Phd-thesis-type(basic) information on specific features, e.g., USM, WITHOUT recommended settings. These real world settings require a pre-requisite knowledge of the features; WHICH is why the book is considered an intermediate-to-advanced book. Photographers looking for detailed explanations of each and every feature should just read through the HELP document or basic texts published by Adobe.

The moment I leafed through this book I was impressed. I picked up several useful tips in the first few minutes perusing it. This never happens - usually I look through a PS book looking for things that I don't know already.

Scott Kelby doesn't waste time telling you how to take a photograph, but rather gets to the meat and potatoes of digital post processing. This is great for me, as I need to make the most of my time and this book has helped me to do that.

Also, I really enjoy Mr. Kelby's writing style, and am oh-so glad that he came out with this book - it's the best thing to come along for digital photographers like myself, who have a working knowledge of PS but need to squeeze as much as possible out of the program.

My sincere thanks Mr. Kelby! :-) I love this book!

I've been using PHotoshop since 1992, and I certainly didn't find this book too basic. Most photoshop books I own all cover the tools, but never venture to give specific settings for certain tasks. Even though the book covers a lot of basic concepts, I still learned tons of shortcuts and tricks that I didn't know about. I love this book and have read it cover to cover, which I rarely do with a reference book!

When I first opened the book, I quickly thumbed through the pages and found all sorts of neat information. I tried all of it. Then I was so impressed, I read it from cover to cover. I expected elemtary chapters, such as 'file management' to be old hat, but was I wrong. Every page had me saying "Wow, I didn't know you could do that", of "so that's how you do that". I teach photography at the University of Tennessee and recommend this book to every student. Thanks, Scott.

This is a great book for the serious amateur or dark room professional who wants to improve their photos without having to become a Photoshop Guru. This practical guide covers most of the corrections a photographer will need in an easy to understand, how-to style. If you are an art major or a graphic designer you may want a more in-depth book. For me, however, this is a perfect guide to simple yet effective corrections. One suggestion for future editions would be to give more explanations about the "technical why" some of these techniques work. My biggest criticism is that the author's "down-home humor" gets tiring after about 25 pages.

Don't pay attention to the nattering naybobs who say this is an "intro" level book. If you're above the need for this book, you'll know it. For all others, it's a "must buy". Very clear tutorials on how to do almost all of the basic photo editing you'll want to do as a beginning to intermediate hobbyist photographer. It will definitely give you a foundation to build on for Photoshop. After you master what you learn in this book, I'd recommend the Photoshop 7 Visual Quickstart Guide to move into greater depth.

This is a great gift for the digital photographer. It is a high quality classy book by one of the best authors on the subject, Scott Kelby. You can't go wrong with this because it has something for everyone. Well worth the price.

I received this book for my birthday this last October and its been a god send. It has all kinds of tips that one wouldn't think of using.

The main thing I like about this book is that it shows you ways to fix those photos that didn't turn out so good. For instance it shows you how to remove a shadow from someone's face that you've snapped. Someone has acne problems? That's simple.

Although it seems really simple now the best thing I learned was how to get quality prints from the digital photos I took (basically change the DPI!).

Learning these techniques are very easy as each one is done in a step by step fashion. Scott even gives some advanced tips that beginners can do as well (IMHO)

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in digital photography and wants to make their photos look as good as possible.

an excellent photoshop resource--really creative functions on this book

This has been the best book on "How to do" I have ever read. The instructions are so precise and to the point. His sense of humor is fun without getting in the way. I wish this guy would write books on everything else I want to learn about. Maybe he should be a consultant on how to do these types of books.
The only small frustration is in the shift between Mac and PC. Some times this is confusing but I can still figure it out.

The Photoshop Book For Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby (Editor of Photoshop User Magazine) is an excellent how-to guide written for professionals while being thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist general user wanting to learn advance concepts with respect to the art and science of digital photography. Taking the refreshing approach of explicitly showing step-by-step instructions for techniques that professional digital photographers use, The Photoshop Book For Digital Photographers is a handy informational and visual resource packed from cover to cover with examples and full-color photographs that superbly illustrate its sample techniques. Simply put, The Photoshop Book For Digital Photographers is a "must-have" instructional reference for digital photographers regardless of their levels of expertise or experience.

Darkroom photographers learn to analyze a photo. This book takes the analyses you have perfected over the years and tells you how to use Photoshop 7 to perfect your images. The step by step approach focuses on the process, not the myriad of possibilities with every Photoshop tool. From the first image you work with using this book, you will quickly get results, and begin to build your knowledge of Photoshop.

The book sits beside my monitor, and is used several times a week. Wish my kids came with instructions like this...

This book has some good information in it that would be beneficial to Professional photographers, but most of the techniques are aimed at amateurs and graphic designers, not professional photographers. I'm a professional retoucher and digtal imagin expert, and would not say it's on my "must have list". That list would start with Martin Evening's Photoshop for Professional Photographers, and also include the Real World Photoshop and Real World Color Management books.

Like this great book, I will keep it simple - very simple.
BUY IT NOW - I promise you will learn more and much quicker from this book than any other on the subject.

Bought it, read it, liked it, use it, apply it...worth buying it!

This book is pretty. ... that's about it ... pretty. It could be much more helpful in the area of color-correction. Many of the image alterations are corny and have more steps involved than you really need to get the job done. Overall, it has a nice title but has nothing surprising in the realm of color correction, use of layers or effects.

The book title should have been something like "Tips and Tricks". I admit a lot of tips in it are useful but most of the time I feel they are too simple and the arthur did not go into why you are doing something. You can't really learn something unless you understand why you're doing it. The chapter on Sharpening is very good and I wish other areas are as detailed. Overall, this book is not very in depth on a lot of areas and good for beginners only.

This book is NOT about ...
- how do I scan my pictures in
- how do I use photoshop and all the features in it.

This book is about...
- I have some problems with my digital photos
- I need to color correct
- I need to sharpen the image
- I need to reduce red eye
- I need to fix skin tones
- etc

The introduction of the book best summarizes his approach..."He does x number of seminars every year for hundreds of professional photographers, they all ask the same questions on how to fix digital photos for the customer." This book summarizes all the tips and tricks to get the job done.

I couldn't be happier with the book, it has exactly what I want in it.

Scott Kelby's book is a recipe book for certain discrete problems that the Photoshop user may encounter, as well as some little known information about some aspects of Photoshop that you might not otherwise learn. If you find a recipe that fills a need that you have, the book will be a good investment. But if you are looking for an overall approach to using Photoshop this is not the book for you.

Right from the first chapter, with his discussion of ways to use the Photoshop browser, you make pick up another way of dealing with a Photoshop function that you didn't know about. On the other hand, some of the material will be old hat to an experienced Photoshop user.

Some of the techniques, like color correction of digital images, will appeal to almost any Photoshop user. Those who have philosophical questions about what I call montage may not be interested in chapters on removing the wrinkles in an elderly person's portrait or removing the love handles from a slightly overgrown physique. On the other hand, these certainly are bread and butter issues to some photographers.

Kelby's method of holding your attention is by making a number of breezy wise cracks as you go through the book. For example he says in the chapter on masking techniques "If I were elected President, one of my first priorities would be to sign an executive order requiring all registered voters to carry with them a white seamless role at all times" He then goes on to speculate how easy this would make Photoshop selection. That stylistic gadget may make you laugh the first time you encounter it, but after the 50th encounter you want to tell the author to take a break.

The title of this book might lead you to believe that this book would start at the beginning of the photographic process, when an image is being captured in a digital camera. If the book didn't intend to cover this, why say it's for "digital photographers"? After all, every picture manipulated in Photoshop is digital - it has to be to get into Photoshop - but it could have come from a photo-cd or a scanner. But this book starts when the photo is already in the camera.

I got very interested when I saw that there was a section of the book on Photoshop's Camera RAW plug-in. But all Kelby gives you is a rehash of the information that Adobe provides you with the RAW software with a lower level of detail. You get no help on how to use that software to make a better picture.

I occasionally think Kelby takes a more complex approach to a problem than one needs. His section on "Color Correcting Digital Images" advises setting the tonal highlight, shadow and midpoint with the curves function, but most users would probably find it easier to do this with the levels function

There is no magic bullet that will help someone learn the fundamentals of Photoshop. The new user is best served by sitting down with a book of tutorials, either like those provided by Adobe or like Photoshop 7 Artistry by Barry Haynes, and working through the exercises. After that you can come back to this book and get a few tips in using the Photoshop functions that you know.

This is one of two books on Photoshop I've bought by mail-order this year, and I wish I'd looked it over before I paid for it. It looks great, with lots of color pictures on every page, but there's not much of substance here. It's pretty much the same old techniques you can find in dozens of other books, laid out in an interesting and colorful way.

Beginners to Photoshop may find something useful here, but if you're a serious digital photographer or veteran Photoshop user, you'll probably want to look elsewhere.