As a former Elements user, I can recommend "Adobe Photoshop CS4 For Photographers" by Martin Evening as a good reference. It doesn't answer EVERY question you might have, but probably no book could. One minor issue, the included CD apparently has a problem with a corrupted installer (for the Mac at least), but the publisher was not supplying replacements when I inquired. As it turned out I didn't find it necessary to refer to the material on the CD anyway so no big loss.
I'd highly recommend the Photoshop CS4 for Nature Photographers by Ellen Anon. I bought the original CS version, then the CS3 version and they were/are super. I can see no reason why the CS4 version would not be also. I don't know Ellen from Adam's cat so there is no kickback here. This is an honest, unbiased opinion.
J.Reed
Backing up John's comment - I have the CS4 version of Ellen Anon's book, and I can recommend it. Lots of material - one I find I keep dipping back into.
Kent...
For on-line tutorials you might try Adobe at
http://tv.adobe.com/#
Don
Posted by Paul DeCesare on July 16, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Yep, I agree about Ellen Anon's book. Some content was written by her son Josh who is also quite good (he's also a tech lead in the graphics department at Pixar).
Two others I highly suggest looking into are:
* Tim Grey's CS4 Workflow book (with Tim Grey you will get very good info on sharpening and printing which is probably his best skill), and
*This On Demand book which I'm finding to be a very good "go back to" guide.
There are several more, you could spend as much as Photoshop just on books! People speak highly of the Digital Classroom series and Deke McClelland's One-on-One book, but be forewarned: Deke is Mr. Thorough, sometimes it's too much.
Lastly, for $25 a month you can get access to Lynda.com's online video library. The library is HUGE and the videos are good. To me, $25 a month is a steal, and you have access to it ALL, everything Adobe makes. Go there and check it out, because most video series have the first few chapters' links turned on so you can see what it's like. The amount of Photoshop training on there is pretty wild. Check out Chris Orwig's videos... if you want the most in the least amount of time, WOW, he is the fastest teacher on the planet. It's like drinking from a Photoshop firehose. But he's passionate about photography and how to use PS to get the most out of it.
Kent: I'll "pile on" on Ellen Anon's Book. It really boils things down to the things you need to know. I have a 3 - foot bookshelf full of photo books, many of them on photoshop and digital techniques. I would put the Anon book among the 2 or 3 I would keep. Another book which is good for post-processing "techniques" is Scott Kelby's CS book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter Publishing). I have the CS3 version. Couldn't find a CS4 version on Amazon, but I would assume it will be forthcoming. Good, quick discussions on various techniques for masking, etc.
Posted by Kent Staubus on July 28, 2009 at 10:34 PM
I ended up with the Martin Evening book. It's heavy slogging, but I'm getting through it. I might pick up one of the DVD guides too. I think I could use both, LOL!
Discussion
7 repliesKent in SD
J.Reed
Mark
For on-line tutorials you might try Adobe at
http://tv.adobe.com/#
Don
Two others I highly suggest looking into are:
* Tim Grey's CS4 Workflow book (with Tim Grey you will get very good info on sharpening and printing which is probably his best skill), and
*This On Demand book which I'm finding to be a very good "go back to" guide.
There are several more, you could spend as much as Photoshop just on books! People speak highly of the Digital Classroom series and Deke McClelland's One-on-One book, but be forewarned: Deke is Mr. Thorough, sometimes it's too much.
Lastly, for $25 a month you can get access to Lynda.com's online video library. The library is HUGE and the videos are good. To me, $25 a month is a steal, and you have access to it ALL, everything Adobe makes. Go there and check it out, because most video series have the first few chapters' links turned on so you can see what it's like. The amount of Photoshop training on there is pretty wild. Check out Chris Orwig's videos... if you want the most in the least amount of time, WOW, he is the fastest teacher on the planet. It's like drinking from a Photoshop firehose.
Have fun!
Kent in SD