Want to learn Photoshop.

[jwbryson1]

What's considered the "best book" out there to learn CS6?

The Scott Kelby book? Others?

Thanks.

 

[unpopular]

The only book I ever recommend is published by the only publisher I recommend: Photoshop for Photographers by Martin Evening, published by Focal.

 

[MLeeK]

I wouldn't buy a book. I'd buy a month or two subscription to Kelby On-Line training and sit in front of the computer watching and learning. It's by far the best education I can find out there!
I've recorded sessions of things like this to watch over and over on my computer.

 

[MLeeK]

The only book I ever recommend is published by the only publisher I recommend: Photoshop for Photographers by Martin Evening, published by Focal.

I have the one for CS5 and it's definitely the best book I've ever used for photoshop!

 

[unpopular]

With the CS6 edition at 800 pages though, it doesn't seem as concise as it used to be. Still, if it's from Focal, I'm sure it's excellent. Most photography-related books are total garbage.

 

[unpopular]

Photoshop Channel Chops is an excellent classic book on image processing. It's old, but the techniques are still valid - even if the illustrations aren't.

 

[The_Traveler]

Learning how to use Photoshop is learning the tools.

Learning how to edit your images is another hill to climb.

 

[jwbryson1]

I wouldn't buy a book. I'd buy a month or two subscription to Kelby On-Line training and sit in front of the computer watching and learning. It's by far the best education I can find out there!
I've recorded sessions of things like this to watch over and over on my computer.

I am not familiar with this. Good idea. What's the cost? Can you record lessons directly to your hard drive?

 

[MLeeK]

I wouldn't buy a book. I'd buy a month or two subscription to Kelby On-Line training and sit in front of the computer watching and learning. It's by far the best education I can find out there!
I've recorded sessions of things like this to watch over and over on my computer.

I am not familiar with this. Good idea. What's the cost? Can you record lessons directly to your hard drive?

I downloaded a software to record and save to my hard drive. Might have been cam studio? I am not sure. I use it on the laptop and that's not here right now.
$24.95 a month or $199 a year.
KelbyTraining.com | The Leading Provider of Education for Photography and Creative Professionals Worldwide

 

[sapper6fd]

I wouldn't buy a book. I'd buy a month or two subscription to Kelby On-Line training and sit in front of the computer watching and learning. It's by far the best education I can find out there!
I've recorded sessions of things like this to watch over and over on my computer.

I am not familiar with this. Good idea. What's the cost? Can you record lessons directly to your hard drive?

Not certain myself as I've never taken his training - but I've done other online video courses and most of them dont allow downloading the video so you need to install a screen capture video recording program of your own on your PC to record the video from that. It is usualy against most sites TOS though.

 

[KmH]

The only book I ever recommend is published by the only publisher I recommend: Photoshop for Photographers by Martin Evening, published by Focal.

Me too. Adobe Photoshop CS6 for Photographers: A professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC

Martin Evening covers all the tools, options, features and features CS 6 has, and also serves as a reference book. Scott Kelby's books are collections of tutorials that leave out a lot of tool, feature, and function details.
The Adobe Photoshop CS6 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

Essentially, one needs a small library of complimentary books to come anywhere close to really learning how to use Photoshop, or Lightroom. I've been studying and using Photoshop almost daily for about 14 years and learn new stuff all the time.

Other authors whose Photoshop books are worth having are Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe. Bruce and Jeff wrote the software Camera Raw/Lightroom uses for sharpening and noise reduction. (Martin, Bruce, and Jeff are all part of PixelGenius, LLC.)
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)
Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS5
The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop
Unleashing the Raw Power of Adobe Camera Raw: Master Techniques for Professional Digital Photographers

Join Scott Kelby's National Association of Photoshop Professionals so you can access their member only web site (forums, help desk, tutorials, hardware and software discounts out the whazoo, get Photoshop User magazine regularly and more) - Photoshop User | Learn Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Digital Photography | NAPP