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 Customer Reviews
Yes the humour is bad... , 01 Dec 2008
After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I would buy this book as surely some of the comments about the humour being awful must've been exaggerated!? Well, sadly not - the humour is truly awful. But don't let this put you off - the book in itself is amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and had to get up to try all the techniques, despite it being way past my bedtime. I find the book easy to follow, the techniques are brilliant and will have anyone making the most of CS3 in no time! Highly recommended. (although I would agree that while the book tells you "how", it will not give you understanding of "why")
Good for Photographers, 07 Sep 2008
Firstly don't let the humour comments put you off - it' not that bad. What the book does for digital photographers is tell you how to post process for great results and how to do some neat effects; what it doesn't do is explain why or what some of the steps are for. If you are creative or want to understand the workings of CS3 then look elsewhere. I got the CS3 Bible as well (which does the opposite - give the how and why but not much about what you can achieve) and between the two I got what I needed.
The book is nicely illustrated and all the steps to get the effects are clear and easy to follow.
Buy it and start USING Photoshop, 06 Sep 2008
If you have Photoshop, this book will simply help you understand it and start making it work for you.
Forget all the comments about Scott Kelby's humour, its an easy to read book that explains things well.
I also bought the Dummies book for CS3, it really isn't a patch on this one and just doesn't explain anything clearly.
Buy this book and you will be a Kelby fan for life (even if he is an American!)
Fighting through Photoshop CS3, 13 Aug 2008
I have been amateur photographer for years and have long since left my darkroom behind.
In recent times my interest has been revived by the new high quality digital pocket camera. In my case a Panasonic TZ3
Having played about with Photoshop I soon found I was getting nowhere fast until that is I purchased Scott Kebly's The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book.
I truly love this book; its step by step guide is a dream to use. Full of colour photos to accompany the instruction is great.
I used my own photos whilst going following the instructions which truly change the quality of the finished image.
I agree with other reviewers that Scott's humour is very American but don't let this put you off buying a truly great book. I would say the book is for the beginner to intermediate Photoshop user but has something for everyone.
The only down side is that I have hundreds of digital photos waiting for some Photoshop treatment.
Good luck any enjoy your copy.
Dissapointed, 26 Jul 2008
In a moment of extravagance I bought both Scott Kelby's and Martin Evening's books on Photoshop CS3. I have since sold the Scott Kelby book after giving up halfway through ! If you want to make friends with a needy, middle aged man, then this is the book for you. I just got sick of the corny jokes and the lack of focus. On too many occasions I found myself skipping pages and paragraphs of irrelevant "chat". In contrast Martin Evening's book is up to his usual high standard. It,s beautifully organised and has a clear focus on each aspect of the program in turn. guess which "Lightroom" book I bought?
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Customer Reviews
Yes the humour is bad... , 01 Dec 2008
After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I would buy this book as surely some of the comments about the humour being awful must've been exaggerated!? Well, sadly not - the humour is truly awful. But don't let this put you off - the book in itself is amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and had to get up to try all the techniques, despite it being way past my bedtime. I find the book easy to follow, the techniques are brilliant and will have anyone making the most of CS3 in no time! Highly recommended. (although I would agree that while the book tells you "how", it will not give you understanding of "why")
Good for Photographers, 07 Sep 2008
Firstly don't let the humour comments put you off - it' not that bad. What the book does for digital photographers is tell you how to post process for great results and how to do some neat effects; what it doesn't do is explain why or what some of the steps are for. If you are creative or want to understand the workings of CS3 then look elsewhere. I got the CS3 Bible as well (which does the opposite - give the how and why but not much about what you can achieve) and between the two I got what I needed.
The book is nicely illustrated and all the steps to get the effects are clear and easy to follow.
Buy it and start USING Photoshop, 06 Sep 2008
If you have Photoshop, this book will simply help you understand it and start making it work for you.
Forget all the comments about Scott Kelby's humour, its an easy to read book that explains things well.
I also bought the Dummies book for CS3, it really isn't a patch on this one and just doesn't explain anything clearly.
Buy this book and you will be a Kelby fan for life (even if he is an American!)
Fighting through Photoshop CS3, 13 Aug 2008
I have been amateur photographer for years and have long since left my darkroom behind.
In recent times my interest has been revived by the new high quality digital pocket camera. In my case a Panasonic TZ3
Having played about with Photoshop I soon found I was getting nowhere fast until that is I purchased Scott Kebly's The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book.
I truly love this book; its step by step guide is a dream to use. Full of colour photos to accompany the instruction is great.
I used my own photos whilst going following the instructions which truly change the quality of the finished image.
I agree with other reviewers that Scott's humour is very American but don't let this put you off buying a truly great book. I would say the book is for the beginner to intermediate Photoshop user but has something for everyone.
The only down side is that I have hundreds of digital photos waiting for some Photoshop treatment.
Good luck any enjoy your copy.
Dissapointed, 26 Jul 2008
In a moment of extravagance I bought both Scott Kelby's and Martin Evening's books on Photoshop CS3. I have since sold the Scott Kelby book after giving up halfway through ! If you want to make friends with a needy, middle aged man, then this is the book for you. I just got sick of the corny jokes and the lack of focus. On too many occasions I found myself skipping pages and paragraphs of irrelevant "chat". In contrast Martin Evening's book is up to his usual high standard. It,s beautifully organised and has a clear focus on each aspect of the program in turn. guess which "Lightroom" book I bought?
Buyer Beware., 28 Mar 2008
I recently attended a two-day course on Adobe Photoshop CS3 as part of my conversion to digital photography and digital imaging. At the end of that course the students were all given a copy of this book which contains a training CD Rom. As I was already booked onto the "advanced course" in 14 days time, I eagerly put the CD into my computer to practise what I had learned. Only then did I discover the CD would not work without my having first purchased and installed the full Adobe Photoshop CS3 software.
In my case, I had already ordered that software so it was only a matter of a few days delay before I could get started. Just be warned that you cannot use this product without having first installed the full software package - and that is a separate purchase altogether.
Once that's done, it's actually great. Anyone who starts at page one - with no previous experience and no knowledge of the difference between a tool bar and a menu bar, will find it all fit slowly into place as the book teaches one step at a time and then builds on each step until you find yourself automatically going back to something already learned as though you have been doing it for years.
My only criticism of the book is some pretty silly typing errors. In one example you are referred back to a previous page only to find they got the page number wrong. In another, a list of tools is incorrect.
I did find such basic errors to be quite surprising (and very annoying at the time) from a team of people who are otherwise so technically competent.
NM
Maybe the Definitive Book, 27 Mar 2008
This is the official book for the programme written by Adobe. It takes you through a series of structured lessons with the images from the enclosed CD.
Shows quiet a few tips and shortcuts. In full colour now (about time! this is a manual about colour after all!).
Visual Quickstart Guide is an alternative you might consider, also good, that comes with images but you have to download then from their website. Think the Adobe book has the edge.
It's useful to remember that no book can cover everything and a different way of explaining things might suit you better, so buy two or three.
The very best book for beginners, 02 Mar 2008
Being new to Photoshop CS3, having just converted from many years use of Paint Shop Pro, I made the mistake of starting with Martin Evening's book (- although excellent, it is not for beginners). This Classroom in a Book certainly meets the needs of a beginner and is a real pleasure to work through. I would recommend it, without reservation, to anyone starting out on Photoshop CS3.
Two brief comments on the earlier 3-star review. First, although I am not in a position to know what it is like moving up to CS3 from CS2, a better solution might be Ben Willmore's "CS3 Up to Speed", which I have also bought from Amazon UK, as it is "... focused exclusively on the new features in Photoshop CS3". Secondly, although I did have a terrible experience with Adobe's "GoLive Classroom in a Book" about 5 years ago, where there were several errors per page, this CS3 book has relatively few errors - at a rough count, only about one per 10 pages and none too serious to downrate the 5 stars I am giving for an otherwise top rate book.
Plenty of better books out there, 16 Jul 2007
I bought classroom in a book for CS2 and managed to look through this one at a library - many of the exercises were lifted in their entirety from the last edition including the exercises on basics, layers, filters etc - so if you bought classroom in a book CS2 you'll be very upset with this. Though I did not work through the whole book, I did with the last edition and there were plenty of mistakes, things that if done exactly as instructed would simply not work. The relatively small size of the book and high price are certainly not things that would encourage me to go for it.
There's always a slew of books accompanying adobe's latest so its difficult to know what to go with. Though amazon at the moment is not offering a very good discount on it, Martin Evening's latest book 'CS3 for photographers' stands head and shoulders above the rest. If you can get hold of both books before you make your choice you'll find its no choice at all.
Great book for both beginners and experienced users, 19 Jun 2007
The last book from the 'Classroom in a Book' series I purchased was a German Edition of Classroom in A Book for Photoshop 6. Because I've found that one quite useful and understandable a few years ago, I decided to buy the current book of that series to get a little fresh information and update my knowledge. Furthermore I wanted a book in English because I'm working with the English version of Photoshop.
Unfortunately this book was not yet available at Amazon Germany (I'm talking about the original language, not the translated version!), so I ordered it from UK and did not regret this decision.
This book covers the following subjects:
Getting to Know the Work Area
Basic Photo Corrections
Retouching and Repairing
Working with Selections
Layer Basics
Masks and Channels
Correcting and Enhancing Digital Photographs
Typographic Design
Vector Drawing Techniques
Advanced Layering
Advanced Compositing
Preparing Files for the Web
Working with Scientific Images
Producing and Printing Consistent Color
The book is completely printed in color, the example projects help very good in practising the topics described in the book. You get both basic information and tips for experienced users. If you want to learn about new CS3 features such as Smart Filters, the Zoomify tool or the Quick Selection Tool you also won't be disappointed.
The attached CD includes the training files which you need for the lessons and also 16 interesting movie tutorials.
In my opinion you get here an interesting Photoshop book for a fair price.
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Customer Reviews
Yes the humour is bad... , 01 Dec 2008
After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I would buy this book as surely some of the comments about the humour being awful must've been exaggerated!? Well, sadly not - the humour is truly awful. But don't let this put you off - the book in itself is amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and had to get up to try all the techniques, despite it being way past my bedtime. I find the book easy to follow, the techniques are brilliant and will have anyone making the most of CS3 in no time! Highly recommended. (although I would agree that while the book tells you "how", it will not give you understanding of "why")
Good for Photographers, 07 Sep 2008
Firstly don't let the humour comments put you off - it' not that bad. What the book does for digital photographers is tell you how to post process for great results and how to do some neat effects; what it doesn't do is explain why or what some of the steps are for. If you are creative or want to understand the workings of CS3 then look elsewhere. I got the CS3 Bible as well (which does the opposite - give the how and why but not much about what you can achieve) and between the two I got what I needed.
The book is nicely illustrated and all the steps to get the effects are clear and easy to follow.
Buy it and start USING Photoshop, 06 Sep 2008
If you have Photoshop, this book will simply help you understand it and start making it work for you.
Forget all the comments about Scott Kelby's humour, its an easy to read book that explains things well.
I also bought the Dummies book for CS3, it really isn't a patch on this one and just doesn't explain anything clearly.
Buy this book and you will be a Kelby fan for life (even if he is an American!)
Fighting through Photoshop CS3, 13 Aug 2008
I have been amateur photographer for years and have long since left my darkroom behind.
In recent times my interest has been revived by the new high quality digital pocket camera. In my case a Panasonic TZ3
Having played about with Photoshop I soon found I was getting nowhere fast until that is I purchased Scott Kebly's The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book.
I truly love this book; its step by step guide is a dream to use. Full of colour photos to accompany the instruction is great.
I used my own photos whilst going following the instructions which truly change the quality of the finished image.
I agree with other reviewers that Scott's humour is very American but don't let this put you off buying a truly great book. I would say the book is for the beginner to intermediate Photoshop user but has something for everyone.
The only down side is that I have hundreds of digital photos waiting for some Photoshop treatment.
Good luck any enjoy your copy.
Dissapointed, 26 Jul 2008
In a moment of extravagance I bought both Scott Kelby's and Martin Evening's books on Photoshop CS3. I have since sold the Scott Kelby book after giving up halfway through ! If you want to make friends with a needy, middle aged man, then this is the book for you. I just got sick of the corny jokes and the lack of focus. On too many occasions I found myself skipping pages and paragraphs of irrelevant "chat". In contrast Martin Evening's book is up to his usual high standard. It,s beautifully organised and has a clear focus on each aspect of the program in turn. guess which "Lightroom" book I bought?
Buyer Beware., 28 Mar 2008
I recently attended a two-day course on Adobe Photoshop CS3 as part of my conversion to digital photography and digital imaging. At the end of that course the students were all given a copy of this book which contains a training CD Rom. As I was already booked onto the "advanced course" in 14 days time, I eagerly put the CD into my computer to practise what I had learned. Only then did I discover the CD would not work without my having first purchased and installed the full Adobe Photoshop CS3 software.
In my case, I had already ordered that software so it was only a matter of a few days delay before I could get started. Just be warned that you cannot use this product without having first installed the full software package - and that is a separate purchase altogether.
Once that's done, it's actually great. Anyone who starts at page one - with no previous experience and no knowledge of the difference between a tool bar and a menu bar, will find it all fit slowly into place as the book teaches one step at a time and then builds on each step until you find yourself automatically going back to something already learned as though you have been doing it for years.
My only criticism of the book is some pretty silly typing errors. In one example you are referred back to a previous page only to find they got the page number wrong. In another, a list of tools is incorrect.
I did find such basic errors to be quite surprising (and very annoying at the time) from a team of people who are otherwise so technically competent.
NM
Maybe the Definitive Book, 27 Mar 2008
This is the official book for the programme written by Adobe. It takes you through a series of structured lessons with the images from the enclosed CD.
Shows quiet a few tips and shortcuts. In full colour now (about time! this is a manual about colour after all!).
Visual Quickstart Guide is an alternative you might consider, also good, that comes with images but you have to download then from their website. Think the Adobe book has the edge.
It's useful to remember that no book can cover everything and a different way of explaining things might suit you better, so buy two or three.
The very best book for beginners, 02 Mar 2008
Being new to Photoshop CS3, having just converted from many years use of Paint Shop Pro, I made the mistake of starting with Martin Evening's book (- although excellent, it is not for beginners). This Classroom in a Book certainly meets the needs of a beginner and is a real pleasure to work through. I would recommend it, without reservation, to anyone starting out on Photoshop CS3.
Two brief comments on the earlier 3-star review. First, although I am not in a position to know what it is like moving up to CS3 from CS2, a better solution might be Ben Willmore's "CS3 Up to Speed", which I have also bought from Amazon UK, as it is "... focused exclusively on the new features in Photoshop CS3". Secondly, although I did have a terrible experience with Adobe's "GoLive Classroom in a Book" about 5 years ago, where there were several errors per page, this CS3 book has relatively few errors - at a rough count, only about one per 10 pages and none too serious to downrate the 5 stars I am giving for an otherwise top rate book.
Plenty of better books out there, 16 Jul 2007
I bought classroom in a book for CS2 and managed to look through this one at a library - many of the exercises were lifted in their entirety from the last edition including the exercises on basics, layers, filters etc - so if you bought classroom in a book CS2 you'll be very upset with this. Though I did not work through the whole book, I did with the last edition and there were plenty of mistakes, things that if done exactly as instructed would simply not work. The relatively small size of the book and high price are certainly not things that would encourage me to go for it.
There's always a slew of books accompanying adobe's latest so its difficult to know what to go with. Though amazon at the moment is not offering a very good discount on it, Martin Evening's latest book 'CS3 for photographers' stands head and shoulders above the rest. If you can get hold of both books before you make your choice you'll find its no choice at all.
Great book for both beginners and experienced users, 19 Jun 2007
The last book from the 'Classroom in a Book' series I purchased was a German Edition of Classroom in A Book for Photoshop 6. Because I've found that one quite useful and understandable a few years ago, I decided to buy the current book of that series to get a little fresh information and update my knowledge. Furthermore I wanted a book in English because I'm working with the English version of Photoshop.
Unfortunately this book was not yet available at Amazon Germany (I'm talking about the original language, not the translated version!), so I ordered it from UK and did not regret this decision.
This book covers the following subjects:
Getting to Know the Work Area
Basic Photo Corrections
Retouching and Repairing
Working with Selections
Layer Basics
Masks and Channels
Correcting and Enhancing Digital Photographs
Typographic Design
Vector Drawing Techniques
Advanced Layering
Advanced Compositing
Preparing Files for the Web
Working with Scientific Images
Producing and Printing Consistent Color
The book is completely printed in color, the example projects help very good in practising the topics described in the book. You get both basic information and tips for experienced users. If you want to learn about new CS3 features such as Smart Filters, the Zoomify tool or the Quick Selection Tool you also won't be disappointed.
The attached CD includes the training files which you need for the lessons and also 16 interesting movie tutorials.
In my opinion you get here an interesting Photoshop book for a fair price.
Fantastic and so easy to follow, 28 Nov 2008
Absolutely brilliant book. I have just started doing web coding and having enevr done it before I was completely lost in class and not only that I couldn't follow what the tutor was saying and the practicals because I found it so tediously boring, I thought there was NO hope for me ever being able to train my mind to concentrate on boring XHTML.
Anyway after getting this book I am transformed! I read it on the way to uni read it on the way back and even read it in bed that night it is great. Very informative and so clear as well. I have quite a short attention span and get bored easily but the pictures visualisations of what the author is talkign about keeps you readind and shows you examples of what you can do. There isn't loads of text on every page either, it's wrote in managable, digestable chunks and is explained in simple terms. There's also further information about the thing she's talkign about further down the page tips and where it can't be used, what you can't do with it etc.
I would recommend this book to everyone and 3 of my classmates are buying it as well now after reading mine.
Very Good Book, 13 Aug 2008
A very good book for beginners.Its not the book that will make you expert but it helps you to understand how the basics of HTML works.Also very well written!
from a very keen newbe to HTML and CSS, 13 Feb 2008
I can not recommend this book highly enough. While I am sure the professionals find it's lay out too simple. IT WAS IDEAL FOR ME! I have had it now 3 weeks and have just published my first web site and it looks good!! Can't believe it!
Clear concise layout with easy to follow instructions on things that really are complicated. (Trust me I have three other books that make it look like code that only people with degrees in computer science could understand!)
If you can't get a basic page up and run by the end of this book I strongly recommend you pay someone to do it for you.
It has made me keen enough to perhaps get a book that goes into some of the areas in more detail now that I have the grounding knowledge.
But saying that I still think this book will always be close to hand as a quick reference point for many years to come.....
Difficult read, 10 Feb 2008
I'm afraid I have to agree with other reviewers that have criticised the writing style of the author in this book. She seems to be targeting the beginner with an introduction of how the internet and world wide web evolved and what a web page is but then the actual instructions dive right in at a deep end of assumed knowledge. I have some knowledge of computing but am not an expert by any means. I bought this to accompany an evening class I am attending but I am finding it a hard read. Not one for the complete beginner but might work as a useful reference book when I acquire a bit more knowledge.
The raw information. Up to you to make sense of it., 23 Jan 2008
OK, I'm not a complete idiot, I taught myself basic html bit by bit in short spurts at my local bookstore without ever buying a book. Now I wanted to start understanding a bit more about XHTML and CSS, so I asked for this book for Christmas.
It has turned out to be one of the worst written 'teach yourself' books that I have ever read, and by golly, I've read a few. What kind of teacher uses jargon in the first chapter of her book to explain more jargon? Instead of using simple examples involving nothing but the elements learned in a given chapter, she introduces code that hasn't yet been covered as illustration!
One might expect some kind of systematic order in a book this expensive... otherwise, you might as well go to any random techie website (some of which are actually much clearer than this book!) and hope that some reccurent piece of gobbledigook will start making sense after enough repetition. Same experience, a hell of alot cheaper!
The information is there, which is why I give it two stars instead of one, there's just not way for a novice to access it. ANd if you're not a novice, then you don't need this book. I expect a book that anounces itself as 'quickstart for beginners' to to the teaching for me in layman's terms, not for me to have to assimilate all the information before being able to start making sense of it for myself and processing it so that it becomes useful. Believe me, try something else. This is poor.
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Customer Reviews
Yes the humour is bad... , 01 Dec 2008
After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I would buy this book as surely some of the comments about the humour being awful must've been exaggerated!? Well, sadly not - the humour is truly awful. But don't let this put you off - the book in itself is amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and had to get up to try all the techniques, despite it being way past my bedtime. I find the book easy to follow, the techniques are brilliant and will have anyone making the most of CS3 in no time! Highly recommended. (although I would agree that while the book tells you "how", it will not give you understanding of "why")
Good for Photographers, 07 Sep 2008
Firstly don't let the humour comments put you off - it' not that bad. What the book does for digital photographers is tell you how to post process for great results and how to do some neat effects; what it doesn't do is explain why or what some of the steps are for. If you are creative or want to understand the workings of CS3 then look elsewhere. I got the CS3 Bible as well (which does the opposite - give the how and why but not much about what you can achieve) and between the two I got what I needed.
The book is nicely illustrated and all the steps to get the effects are clear and easy to follow.
Buy it and start USING Photoshop, 06 Sep 2008
If you have Photoshop, this book will simply help you understand it and start making it work for you.
Forget all the comments about Scott Kelby's humour, its an easy to read book that explains things well.
I also bought the Dummies book for CS3, it really isn't a patch on this one and just doesn't explain anything clearly.
Buy this book and you will be a Kelby fan for life (even if he is an American!)
Fighting through Photoshop CS3, 13 Aug 2008
I have been amateur photographer for years and have long since left my darkroom behind.
In recent times my interest has been revived by the new high quality digital pocket camera. In my case a Panasonic TZ3
Having played about with Photoshop I soon found I was getting nowhere fast until that is I purchased Scott Kebly's The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book.
I truly love this book; its step by step guide is a dream to use. Full of colour photos to accompany the instruction is great.
I used my own photos whilst going following the instructions which truly change the quality of the finished image.
I agree with other reviewers that Scott's humour is very American but don't let this put you off buying a truly great book. I would say the book is for the beginner to intermediate Photoshop user but has something for everyone.
The only down side is that I have hundreds of digital photos waiting for some Photoshop treatment.
Good luck any enjoy your copy.
Dissapointed, 26 Jul 2008
In a moment of extravagance I bought both Scott Kelby's and Martin Evening's books on Photoshop CS3. I have since sold the Scott Kelby book after giving up halfway through ! If you want to make friends with a needy, middle aged man, then this is the book for you. I just got sick of the corny jokes and the lack of focus. On too many occasions I found myself skipping pages and paragraphs of irrelevant "chat". In contrast Martin Evening's book is up to his usual high standard. It,s beautifully organised and has a clear focus on each aspect of the program in turn. guess which "Lightroom" book I bought?
Buyer Beware., 28 Mar 2008
I recently attended a two-day course on Adobe Photoshop CS3 as part of my conversion to digital photography and digital imaging. At the end of that course the students were all given a copy of this book which contains a training CD Rom. As I was already booked onto the "advanced course" in 14 days time, I eagerly put the CD into my computer to practise what I had learned. Only then did I discover the CD would not work without my having first purchased and installed the full Adobe Photoshop CS3 software.
In my case, I had already ordered that software so it was only a matter of a few days delay before I could get started. Just be warned that you cannot use this product without having first installed the full software package - and that is a separate purchase altogether.
Once that's done, it's actually great. Anyone who starts at page one - with no previous experience and no knowledge of the difference between a tool bar and a menu bar, will find it all fit slowly into place as the book teaches one step at a time and then builds on each step until you find yourself automatically going back to something already learned as though you have been doing it for years.
My only criticism of the book is some pretty silly typing errors. In one example you are referred back to a previous page only to find they got the page number wrong. In another, a list of tools is incorrect.
I did find such basic errors to be quite surprising (and very annoying at the time) from a team of people who are otherwise so technically competent.
NM
Maybe the Definitive Book, 27 Mar 2008
This is the official book for the programme written by Adobe. It takes you through a series of structured lessons with the images from the enclosed CD.
Shows quiet a few tips and shortcuts. In full colour now (about time! this is a manual about colour after all!).
Visual Quickstart Guide is an alternative you might consider, also good, that comes with images but you have to download then from their website. Think the Adobe book has the edge.
It's useful to remember that no book can cover everything and a different way of explaining things might suit you better, so buy two or three.
The very best book for beginners, 02 Mar 2008
Being new to Photoshop CS3, having just converted from many years use of Paint Shop Pro, I made the mistake of starting with Martin Evening's book (- although excellent, it is not for beginners). This Classroom in a Book certainly meets the needs of a beginner and is a real pleasure to work through. I would recommend it, without reservation, to anyone starting out on Photoshop CS3.
Two brief comments on the earlier 3-star review. First, although I am not in a position to know what it is like moving up to CS3 from CS2, a better solution might be Ben Willmore's "CS3 Up to Speed", which I have also bought from Amazon UK, as it is "... focused exclusively on the new features in Photoshop CS3". Secondly, although I did have a terrible experience with Adobe's "GoLive Classroom in a Book" about 5 years ago, where there were several errors per page, this CS3 book has relatively few errors - at a rough count, only about one per 10 pages and none too serious to downrate the 5 stars I am giving for an otherwise top rate book.
Plenty of better books out there, 16 Jul 2007
I bought classroom in a book for CS2 and managed to look through this one at a library - many of the exercises were lifted in their entirety from the last edition including the exercises on basics, layers, filters etc - so if you bought classroom in a book CS2 you'll be very upset with this. Though I did not work through the whole book, I did with the last edition and there were plenty of mistakes, things that if done exactly as instructed would simply not work. The relatively small size of the book and high price are certainly not things that would encourage me to go for it.
There's always a slew of books accompanying adobe's latest so its difficult to know what to go with. Though amazon at the moment is not offering a very good discount on it, Martin Evening's latest book 'CS3 for photographers' stands head and shoulders above the rest. If you can get hold of both books before you make your choice you'll find its no choice at all.
Great book for both beginners and experienced users, 19 Jun 2007
The last book from the 'Classroom in a Book' series I purchased was a German Edition of Classroom in A Book for Photoshop 6. Because I've found that one quite useful and understandable a few years ago, I decided to buy the current book of that series to get a little fresh information and update my knowledge. Furthermore I wanted a book in English because I'm working with the English version of Photoshop.
Unfortunately this book was not yet available at Amazon Germany (I'm talking about the original language, not the translated version!), so I ordered it from UK and did not regret this decision.
This book covers the following subjects:
Getting to Know the Work Area
Basic Photo Corrections
Retouching and Repairing
Working with Selections
Layer Basics
Masks and Channels
Correcting and Enhancing Digital Photographs
Typographic Design
Vector Drawing Techniques
Advanced Layering
Advanced Compositing
Preparing Files for the Web
Working with Scientific Images
Producing and Printing Consistent Color
The book is completely printed in color, the example projects help very good in practising the topics described in the book. You get both basic information and tips for experienced users. If you want to learn about new CS3 features such as Smart Filters, the Zoomify tool or the Quick Selection Tool you also won't be disappointed.
The attached CD includes the training files which you need for the lessons and also 16 interesting movie tutorials.
In my opinion you get here an interesting Photoshop book for a fair price.
Fantastic and so easy to follow, 28 Nov 2008
Absolutely brilliant book. I have just started doing web coding and having enevr done it before I was completely lost in class and not only that I couldn't follow what the tutor was saying and the practicals because I found it so tediously boring, I thought there was NO hope for me ever being able to train my mind to concentrate on boring XHTML.
Anyway after getting this book I am transformed! I read it on the way to uni read it on the way back and even read it in bed that night it is great. Very informative and so clear as well. I have quite a short attention span and get bored easily but the pictures visualisations of what the author is talkign about keeps you readind and shows you examples of what you can do. There isn't loads of text on every page either, it's wrote in managable, digestable chunks and is explained in simple terms. There's also further information about the thing she's talkign about further down the page tips and where it can't be used, what you can't do with it etc.
I would recommend this book to everyone and 3 of my classmates are buying it as well now after reading mine.
Very Good Book, 13 Aug 2008
A very good book for beginners.Its not the book that will make you expert but it helps you to understand how the basics of HTML works.Also very well written!
from a very keen newbe to HTML and CSS, 13 Feb 2008
I can not recommend this book highly enough. While I am sure the professionals find it's lay out too simple. IT WAS IDEAL FOR ME! I have had it now 3 weeks and have just published my first web site and it looks good!! Can't believe it!
Clear concise layout with easy to follow instructions on things that really are complicated. (Trust me I have three other books that make it look like code that only people with degrees in computer science could understand!)
If you can't get a basic page up and run by the end of this book I strongly recommend you pay someone to do it for you.
It has made me keen enough to perhaps get a book that goes into some of the areas in more detail now that I have the grounding knowledge.
But saying that I still think this book will always be close to hand as a quick reference point for many years to come.....
Difficult read, 10 Feb 2008
I'm afraid I have to agree with other reviewers that have criticised the writing style of the author in this book. She seems to be targeting the beginner with an introduction of how the internet and world wide web evolved and what a web page is but then the actual instructions dive right in at a deep end of assumed knowledge. I have some knowledge of computing but am not an expert by any means. I bought this to accompany an evening class I am attending but I am finding it a hard read. Not one for the complete beginner but might work as a useful reference book when I acquire a bit more knowledge.
The raw information. Up to you to make sense of it., 23 Jan 2008
OK, I'm not a complete idiot, I taught myself basic html bit by bit in short spurts at my local bookstore without ever buying a book. Now I wanted to start understanding a bit more about XHTML and CSS, so I asked for this book for Christmas.
It has turned out to be one of the worst written 'teach yourself' books that I have ever read, and by golly, I've read a few. What kind of teacher uses jargon in the first chapter of her book to explain more jargon? Instead of using simple examples involving nothing but the elements learned in a given chapter, she introduces code that hasn't yet been covered as illustration!
One might expect some kind of systematic order in a book this expensive... otherwise, you might as well go to any random techie website (some of which are actually much clearer than this book!) and hope that some reccurent piece of gobbledigook will start making sense after enough repetition. Same experience, a hell of alot cheaper!
The information is there, which is why I give it two stars instead of one, there's just not way for a novice to access it. ANd if you're not a novice, then you don't need this book. I expect a book that anounces itself as 'quickstart for beginners' to to the teaching for me in layman's terms, not for me to have to assimilate all the information before being able to start making sense of it for myself and processing it so that it becomes useful. Believe me, try something else. This is poor.
Emperor's New Old Clothes, 25 Nov 2008
I had high hopes for this book. It looks very nice. It has the right nods to Tufte early on. But...
But the true content is very thin, includes a load of chart junk (the anti-Tufte - I guess the true cue is in the title, this is a PowerPoint book) and page after page of abstract diagrams demonstrating "flow" - much like the woeful second half of "Say it with Charts" which is about 50 pages of arrows.
Very very disappointing indeed.
THE book you need, 05 Nov 2008
If you buy one book on designing presentations, make it this one. Nancy Duarte gives away all the secrets of her company, experts in designing and refining presentations for the likes of Al Gore.
Where books like Presentation Zen (also recommended) give you a style to aim for, this focuses more on the basic tools and techniques. The coverage is simply breathtaking, including type, colour, grids, and even a basic primer on photographic composition.
Reading this book, and applying the lessons in it, will change the way you view presentations. It will also change the way other people see you as a presenter. More than worth the money.
Worth your time and money, 09 Oct 2008
"Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations," by Nancy Duarte is a book that will change the way you think about your presentations. Almost anybody who has ever had to deliver a presentation would benefit in some way from reading this book.
The structure of the book follows the process that you'll ideally use in the course of developing a presentation, from coming up with the presentation content itself to developing the slides. At every step of the way, Duarte explains not only how you should create your presentations (e.g. how graphs and charts should be presented), but also why your information should be presented that way. Following Duarte's advice results in a slide deck that supports and enhances your presentation, rather than having the deck detract from or (even worse) BE the presentation. The result is a presentation where there is actually a good reason for the existence and content of each slide.
You might be thinking that you're not a designer, so you won't be able to create a presentation as good as some of the examples highlighted in the book, but you don't need to be a designer to improve your presentations. The book does cover some of the fundamentals of design (color theory, fonts, etc.), and does so in an approachable way, so the non-designers in the crowd (which is most of us) will get at least some information about design fundamentals to help you improve your presentations.
A tiny nitpick is that I would have liked to see even more examples of "good" slides in the book - or even better, more examples of bad slides being turned into good ones. The case studies are great, but many of them are accompanied by an often full-page photo of the presenter. I'd have preferred to see that space given over to more images of the slides.
Overall, I found this to be an excellent book that will easily and immediately reward the time you spend reading it.
The best and gorgeous book about presentation till now! , 07 Oct 2008
Not so much to read but in my opinion, this is just the strenghtness of the book.
A masterclass in communication, not just powerpoint, 02 Oct 2008
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a stunning book where the messages leap clearly from the page.
Ostensibly about presentation and using power point, the messages presented are easily transferable to other communications media such as advertising and the web. Whether you're about to give a presentation or not, you can use the information here to improve your communication skills in other media.
Highly recommended for those wishing to improve their communication skills, using power point or other communication technologies.
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Product Description
The smart way to learn Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Office OneNote2007 Office PowerPoint 2007 and Office Word 2007 - one step at atime! Work at your own pace through the easy numbered stepspractice files on CD helpful hints and troubleshooting help t
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Customer Reviews
Yes the humour is bad... , 01 Dec 2008
After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I would buy this book as surely some of the comments about the humour being awful must've been exaggerated!? Well, sadly not - the humour is truly awful. But don't let this put you off - the book in itself is amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and had to get up to try all the techniques, despite it being way past my bedtime. I find the book easy to follow, the techniques are brilliant and will have anyone making the most of CS3 in no time! Highly recommended. (although I would agree that while the book tells you "how", it will not give you understanding of "why")
Good for Photographers, 07 Sep 2008
Firstly don't let the humour comments put you off - it' not that bad. What the book does for digital photographers is tell you how to post process for great results and how to do some neat effects; what it doesn't do is explain why or what some of the steps are for. If you are creative or want to understand the workings of CS3 then look elsewhere. I got the CS3 Bible as well (which does the opposite - give the how and why but not much about what you can achieve) and between the two I got what I needed.
The book is nicely illustrated and all the steps to get the effects are clear and easy to follow.
Buy it and start USING Photoshop, 06 Sep 2008
If you have Photoshop, this book will simply help you understand it and start making it work for you.
Forget all the comments about Scott Kelby's humour, its an easy to read book that explains things well.
I also bought the Dummies book for CS3, it really isn't a patch on this one and just doesn't explain anything clearly.
Buy this book and you will be a Kelby fan for life (even if he is an American!)
Fighting through Photoshop CS3, 13 Aug 2008
I have been amateur photographer for years and have long since left my darkroom behind.
In recent times my interest has been revived by the new high quality digital pocket camera. In my case a Panasonic TZ3
Having played about with Photoshop I soon found I was getting nowhere fast until that is I purchased Scott Kebly's The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book.
I truly love this book; its step by step guide is a dream to use. Full of colour photos to accompany the instruction is great.
I used my own photos whilst going following the instructions which truly change the quality of the finished image.
I agree with other reviewers that Scott's humour is very American but don't let this put you off buying a truly great book. I would say the book is for the beginner to intermediate Photoshop user but has something for everyone.
The only down side is that I have hundreds of digital photos waiting for some Photoshop treatment.
Good luck any enjoy your copy.
Dissapointed, 26 Jul 2008
In a moment of extravagance I bought both Scott Kelby's and Martin Evening's books on Photoshop CS3. I have since sold the Scott Kelby book after giving up halfway through ! If you want to make friends with a needy, middle aged man, then this is the book for you. I just got sick of the corny jokes and the lack of focus. On too many occasions I found myself skipping pages and paragraphs of irrelevant "chat". In contrast Martin Evening's book is up to his usual high standard. It,s beautifully organised and has a clear focus on each aspect of the program in turn. guess which "Lightroom" book I bought?
Buyer Beware., 28 Mar 2008
I recently attended a two-day course on Adobe Photoshop CS3 as part of my conversion to digital photography and digital imaging. At the end of that course the students were all given a copy of this book which contains a training CD Rom. As I was already booked onto the "advanced course" in 14 days time, I eagerly put the CD into my computer to practise what I had learned. Only then did I discover the CD would not work without my having first purchased and installed the full Adobe Photoshop CS3 software.
In my case, I had already ordered that software so it was only a matter of a few days delay before I could get started. Just be warned that you cannot use this product without having first installed the full software package - and that is a separate purchase altogether.
Once that's done, it's actually great. Anyone who starts at page one - with no previous experience and no knowledge of the difference between a tool bar and a menu bar, will find it all fit slowly into place as the book teaches one step at a time and then builds on each step until you find yourself automatically going back to something already learned as though you have been doing it for years.
My only criticism of the book is some pretty silly typing errors. In one example you are referred back to a previous page only to find they got the page number wrong. In another, a list of tools is incorrect.
I did find such basic errors to be quite surprising (and very annoying at the time) from a team of people who are otherwise so technically competent.
NM
Maybe the Definitive Book, 27 Mar 2008
This is the official book for the programme written by Adobe. It takes you through a series of structured lessons with the images from the enclosed CD.
Shows quiet a few tips and shortcuts. In full colour now (about time! this is a manual about colour after all!).
Visual Quickstart Guide is an alternative you might consider, also good, that comes with images but you have to download then from their website. Think the Adobe book has the edge.
It's useful to remember that no book can cover everything and a different way of explaining things might suit you better, so buy two or three.
The very best book for beginners, 02 Mar 2008
Being new to Photoshop CS3, having just converted from many years use of Paint Shop Pro, I made the mistake of starting with Martin Evening's book (- although excellent, it is not for beginners). This Classroom in a Book certainly meets the needs of a beginner and is a real pleasure to work through. I would recommend it, without reservation, to anyone starting out on Photoshop CS3.
Two brief comments on the earlier 3-star review. First, although I am not in a position to know what it is like moving up to CS3 from CS2, a better solution might be Ben Willmore's "CS3 Up to Speed", which I have also bought from Amazon UK, as it is "... focused exclusively on the new features in Photoshop CS3". Secondly, although I did have a terrible experience with Adobe's "GoLive Classroom in a Book" about 5 years ago, where there were several errors per page, this CS3 book has relatively few errors - at a rough count, only about one per 10 pages and none too serious to downrate the 5 stars I am giving for an otherwise top rate book.
Plenty of better books out there, 16 Jul 2007
I bought classroom in a book for CS2 and managed to look through this one at a library - many of the exercises were lifted in their entirety from the last edition including the exercises on basics, layers, filters etc - so if you bought classroom in a book CS2 you'll be very upset with this. Though I did not work through the whole book, I did with the last edition and there were plenty of mistakes, things that if done exactly as instructed would simply not work. The relatively small size of the book and high price are certainly not things that would encourage me to go for it.
There's always a slew of books accompanying adobe's latest so its difficult to know what to go with. Though amazon at the moment is not offering a very good discount on it, Martin Evening's latest book 'CS3 for photographers' stands head and shoulders above the rest. If you can get hold of both books before you make your choice you'll find its no choice at all.
Great book for both beginners and experienced users, 19 Jun 2007
The last book from the 'Classroom in a Book' series I purchased was a German Edition of Classroom in A Book for Photoshop 6. Because I've found that one quite useful and understandable a few years ago, I decided to buy the current book of that series to get a little fresh information and update my knowledge. Furthermore I wanted a book in English because I'm working with the English version of Photoshop.
Unfortunately this book was not yet available at Amazon Germany (I'm talking about the original language, not the translated version!), so I ordered it from UK and did not regret this decision.
This book covers the following subjects:
Getting to Know the Work Area
Basic Photo Corrections
Retouching and Repairing
Working with Selections
Layer Basics
Masks and Channels
Correcting and Enhancing Digital Photographs
Typographic Design
Vector Drawing Techniques
Advanced Layering
Advanced Compositing
Preparing Files for the Web
Working with Scientific Images
Producing and Printing Consistent Color
The book is completely printed in color, the example projects help very good in practising the topics described in the book. You get both basic information and tips for experienced users. If you want to learn about new CS3 features such as Smart Filters, the Zoomify tool or the Quick Selection Tool you also won't be disappointed.
The attached CD includes the training files which you need for the lessons and also 16 interesting movie tutorials.
In my opinion you get here an interesting Photoshop book for a fair price.
Fantastic and so easy to follow, 28 Nov 2008
Absolutely brilliant book. I have just started doing web coding and having enevr done it before I was completely lost in class and not only that I couldn't follow what the tutor was saying and the practicals because I found it so tediously boring, I thought there was NO hope for me ever being able to train my mind to concentrate on boring XHTML.
Anyway after getting this book I am transformed! I read it on the way to uni read it on the way back and even read it in bed that night it is great. Very informative and so clear as well. I have quite a short attention span and get bored easily but the pictures visualisations of what the author is talkign about keeps you readind and shows you examples of what you can do. There isn't loads of text on every page either, it's wrote in managable, digestable chunks and is explained in simple terms. There's also further information about the thing she's talkign about further down the page tips and where it can't be used, what you can't do with it etc.
I would recommend this book to everyone and 3 of my classmates are buying it as well now after reading mine.
Very Good Book, 13 Aug 2008
A very good book for beginners.Its not the book that will make you expert but it helps you to understand how the basics of HTML works.Also very well written!
from a very keen newbe to HTML and CSS, 13 Feb 2008
I can not recommend this book highly enough. While I am sure the professionals find it's lay out too simple. IT WAS IDEAL FOR ME! I have had it now 3 weeks and have just published my first web site and it looks good!! Can't believe it!
Clear concise layout with easy to follow instructions on things that really are complicated. (Trust me I have three other books that make it look like code that only people with degrees in computer science could understand!)
If you can't get a basic page up and run by the end of this book I strongly recommend you pay someone to do it for you.
It has made me keen enough to perhaps get a book that goes into some of the areas in more detail now that I have the grounding knowledge.
But saying that I still think this book will always be close to hand as a quick reference point for many years to come.....
Difficult read, 10 Feb 2008
I'm afraid I have to agree with other reviewers that have criticised the writing style of the author in this book. She seems to be targeting the beginner with an introduction of how the internet and world wide web evolved and what a web page is but then the actual instructions dive right in at a deep end of assumed knowledge. I have some knowledge of computing but am not an expert by any means. I bought this to accompany an evening class I am attending but I am finding it a hard read. Not one for the complete beginner but might work as a useful reference book when I acquire a bit more knowledge.
The raw information. Up to you to make sense of it., 23 Jan 2008
OK, I'm not a complete idiot, I taught myself basic html bit by bit in short spurts at my local bookstore without ever buying a book. Now I wanted to start understanding a bit more about XHTML and CSS, so I asked for this book for Christmas.
It has turned out to be one of the worst written 'teach yourself' books that I have ever read, and by golly, I've read a few. What kind of teacher uses jargon in the first chapter of her book to explain more jargon? Instead of using simple examples involving nothing but the elements learned in a given chapter, she introduces code that hasn't yet been covered as illustration!
One might expect some kind of systematic order in a book this expensive... otherwise, you might as well go to any random techie website (some of which are actually much clearer than this book!) and hope that some reccurent piece of gobbledigook will start making sense after enough repetition. Same experience, a hell of alot cheaper!
The information is there, which is why I give it two stars instead of one, there's just not way for a novice to access it. ANd if you're not a novice, then you don't need this book. I expect a book that anounces itself as 'quickstart for beginners' to to the teaching for me in layman's terms, not for me to have to assimilate all the information before being able to start making sense of it for myself and processing it so that it becomes useful. Believe me, try something else. This is poor.
Emperor's New Old Clothes, 25 Nov 2008
I had high hopes for this book. It looks very nice. It has the right nods to Tufte early on. But...
But the true content is very thin, includes a load of chart junk (the anti-Tufte - I guess the true cue is in the title, this is a PowerPoint book) and page after page of abstract diagrams demonstrating "flow" - much like the woeful second half of "Say it with Charts" which is about 50 pages of arrows.
Very very disappointing indeed.
THE book you need, 05 Nov 2008
If you buy one book on designing presentations, make it this one. Nancy Duarte gives away all the secrets of her company, experts in designing and refining presentations for the likes of Al Gore.
Where books like Presentation Zen (also recommended) give you a style to aim for, this focuses more on the basic tools and techniques. The coverage is simply breathtaking, including type, colour, grids, and even a basic primer on photographic composition.
Reading this book, and applying the lessons in it, will change the way you view presentations. It will also change the way other people see you as a presenter. More than worth the money.
Worth your time and money, 09 Oct 2008
"Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations," by Nancy Duarte is a book that will change the way you think about your presentations. Almost anybody who has ever had to deliver a presentation would benefit in some way from reading this book.
The structure of the book follows the process that you'll ideally use in the course of developing a presentation, from coming up with the presentation content itself to developing the slides. At every step of the way, Duarte explains not only how you should create your presentations (e.g. how graphs and charts should be presented), but also why your information should be presented that way. Following Duarte's advice results in a slide deck that supports and enhances your presentation, rather than having the deck detract from or (even worse) BE the presentation. The result is a presentation where there is actually a good reason for the existence and content of each slide.
You might be thinking that you're not a designer, so you won't be able to create a presentation as good as some of the examples highlighted in the book, but you don't need to be a designer to improve your presentations. The book does cover some of the fundamentals of design (color theory, fonts, etc.), and does so in an approachable way, so the non-designers in the crowd (which is most of us) will get at least some information about design fundamentals to help you improve your presentations.
A tiny nitpick is that I would have liked to see even more examples of "good" slides in the book - or even better, more examples of bad slides being turned into good ones. The case studies are great, but many of them are accompanied by an often full-page photo of the presenter. I'd have preferred to see that space given over to more images of the slides.
Overall, I found this to be an excellent book that will easily and immediately reward the time you spend reading it.
The best and gorgeous book about presentation till now! , 07 Oct 2008
Not so much to read but in my opinion, this is just the strenghtness of the book.
A masterclass in communication, not just powerpoint, 02 Oct 2008
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a stunning book where the messages leap clearly from the page.
Ostensibly about presentation and using power point, the messages presented are easily transferable to other communications media such as advertising and the web. Whether you're about to give a presentation or not, you can use the information here to improve your communication skills in other media.
Highly recommended for those wishing to improve their communication skills, using power point or other communication technologies.
An essential adjunct, 21 Aug 2008
I was interested in Photoshop Elements 6 but wondered whether I might end up paying nearly $100 for something that was not a lot better than iPhoto but much less functional than full Photoshop. In actual fact it is a significant advance on iPhoto for image manipulation and does everything I want just as well as the full version would.
The only downside I have encountered is that it is not intuitive to use and the included documentation is poor. To be fair, Adobe do recommend that you use their website Help, but I'd recommend anyone who does not have Photoshop experience to also purchase Barbara Brundage's "Photoshop elements 6 for Mac The Missing Manual". This saved me going crazy in the learning phase and even now that I am comfortable with the program I still go back to the book for advanced tips and work-rounds.
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Customer Reviews
Yes the humour is bad... , 01 Dec 2008
After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I would buy this book as surely some of the comments about the humour being awful must've been exaggerated!? Well, sadly not - the humour is truly awful. But don't let this put you off - the book in itself is amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and had to get up to try all the techniques, despite it being way past my bedtime. I find the book easy to follow, the techniques are brilliant and will have anyone making the most of CS3 in no time! Highly recommended. (although I would agree that while the book tells you "how", it will not give you understanding of "why")
Good for Photographers, 07 Sep 2008
Firstly don't let the humour comments put you off - it' not that bad. What the book does for digital photographers is tell you how to post process for great results and how to do some neat effects; what it doesn't do is explain why or what some of the steps are for. If you are creative or want to understand the workings of CS3 then look elsewhere. I got the CS3 Bible as well (which does the opposite - give the how and why but not much about what you can achieve) and between the two I got what I needed.
The book is nicely illustrated and all the steps to get the effects are clear and easy to follow.
Buy it and start USING Photoshop, 06 Sep 2008
If you have Photoshop, this book will simply help you understand it and start making it work for you.
Forget all the comments about Scott Kelby's humour, its an easy to read book that explains things well.
I also bought the Dummies book for CS3, it really isn't a patch on this one and just doesn't explain anything clearly.
Buy this book and you will be a Kelby fan for life (even if he is an American!)
Fighting through Photoshop CS3, 13 Aug 2008
I have been amateur photographer for years and have long since left my darkroom behind.
In recent times my interest has been revived by the new high quality digital pocket camera. In my case a Panasonic TZ3
Having played about with Photoshop I soon found I was getting nowhere fast until that is I purchased Scott Kebly's The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book.
I truly love this book; its step by step guide is a dream to use. Full of colour photos to accompany the instruction is great.
I used my own photos whilst going following the instructions which truly change the quality of the finished image.
I agree with other reviewers that Scott's humour is very American but don't let this put you off buying a truly great book. I would say the book is for the beginner to intermediate Photoshop user but has something for everyone.
The only down side is that I have hundreds of digital photos waiting for some Photoshop treatment.
Good luck any enjoy your copy.
Dissapointed, 26 Jul 2008
In a moment of extravagance I bought both Scott Kelby's and Martin Evening's books on Photoshop CS3. I have since sold the Scott Kelby book after giving up halfway through ! If you want to make friends with a needy, middle aged man, then this is the book for you. I just got sick of the corny jokes and the lack of focus. On too many occasions I found myself skipping pages and paragraphs of irrelevant "chat". In contrast Martin Evening's book is up to his usual high standard. It,s beautifully organised and has a clear focus on each aspect of the program in turn. guess which "Lightroom" book I bought?
Buyer Beware., 28 Mar 2008
I recently attended a two-day course on Adobe Photoshop CS3 as part of my conversion to digital photography and digital imaging. At the end of that course the students were all given a copy of this book which contains a training CD Rom. As I was already booked onto the "advanced course" in 14 days time, I eagerly put the CD into my computer to practise what I had learned. Only then did I discover the CD would not work without my having first purchased and installed the full Adobe Photoshop CS3 software.
In my case, I had already ordered that software so it was only a matter of a few days delay before I could get started. Just be warned that you cannot use this product without having first installed the full software package - and that is a separate purchase altogether.
Once that's done, it's actually great. Anyone who starts at page one - with no previous experience and no knowledge of the difference between a tool bar and a menu bar, will find it all fit slowly into place as the book teaches one step at a time and then builds on each step until you find yourself automatically going back to something already learned as though you have been doing it for years.
My only criticism of the book is some pretty silly typing errors. In one example you are referred back to a previous page only to find they got the page number wrong. In another, a list of tools is incorrect.
I did find such basic errors to be quite surprising (and very annoying at the time) from a team of people who are otherwise so technically competent.
NM
Maybe the Definitive Book, 27 Mar 2008
This is the official book for the programme written by Adobe. It takes you through a series of structured lessons with the images from the enclosed CD.
Shows quiet a few tips and shortcuts. In full colour now (about time! this is a manual about colour after all!).
Visual Quickstart Guide is an alternative you might consider, also good, that comes with images but you have to download then from their website. Think the Adobe book has the edge.
It's useful to remember that no book can cover everything and a different way of explaining things might suit you better, so buy two or three.
The very best book for beginners, 02 Mar 2008
Being new to Photoshop CS3, having just converted from many years use of Paint Shop Pro, I made the mistake of starting with Martin Evening's book (- although excellent, it is not for beginners). This Classroom in a Book certainly meets the needs of a beginner and is a real pleasure to work through. I would recommend it, without reservation, to anyone starting out on Photoshop CS3.
Two brief comments on the earlier 3-star review. First, although I am not in a position to know what it is like moving up to CS3 from CS2, a better solution might be Ben Willmore's "CS3 Up to Speed", which I have also bought from Amazon UK, as it is "... focused exclusively on the new features in Photoshop CS3". Secondly, although I did have a terrible experience with Adobe's "GoLive Classroom in a Book" about 5 years ago, where there were several errors per page, this CS3 book has relatively few errors - at a rough count, only about one per 10 pages and none too serious to downrate the 5 stars I am giving for an otherwise top rate book.
Plenty of better books out there, 16 Jul 2007
I bought classroom in a book for CS2 and managed to look through this one at a library - many of the exercises were lifted in their entirety from the last edition including the exercises on basics, layers, filters etc - so if you bought classroom in a book CS2 you'll be very upset with this. Though I did not work through the whole book, I did with the last edition and there were plenty of mistakes, things that if done exactly as instructed would simply not work. The relatively small size of the book and high price are certainly not things that would encourage me to go for it.
There's always a slew of books accompanying adobe's latest so its difficult to know what to go with. Though amazon at the moment is not offering a very good discount on it, Martin Evening's latest book 'CS3 for photographers' stands head and shoulders above the rest. If you can get hold of both books before you make your choice you'll find its no choice at all.
Great book for both beginners and experienced users, 19 Jun 2007
The last book from the 'Classroom in a Book' series I purchased was a German Edition of Classroom in A Book for Photoshop 6. Because I've found that one quite useful and understandable a few years ago, I decided to buy the current book of that series to get a little fresh information and update my knowledge. Furthermore I wanted a book in English because I'm working with the English version of Photoshop.
Unfortunately this book was not yet available at Amazon Germany (I'm talking about the original language, not the translated version!), so I ordered it from UK and did not regret this decision.
This book covers the following subjects:
Getting to Know the Work Area
Basic Photo Corrections
Retouching and Repairing
Working with Selections
Layer Basics
Masks and Channels
Correcting and Enhancing Digital Photographs
Typographic Design
Vector Drawing Techniques
Advanced Layering
Advanced Compositing
Preparing Files for the Web
Working with Scientific Images
Producing and Printing Consistent Color
The book is completely printed in color, the example projects help very good in practising the topics described in the book. You get both basic information and tips for experienced users. If you want to learn about new CS3 features such as Smart Filters, the Zoomify tool or the Quick Selection Tool you also won't be disappointed.
The attached CD includes the training files which you need for the lessons and also 16 interesting movie tutorials.
In my opinion you get here an interesting Photoshop book for a fair price.
Fantastic and so easy to follow, 28 Nov 2008
Absolutely brilliant book. I have just started doing web coding and having enevr done it before I was completely lost in class and not only that I couldn't follow what the tutor was saying and the practicals because I found it so tediously boring, I thought there was NO hope for me ever being able to train my mind to concentrate on boring XHTML.
Anyway after getting this book I am transformed! I read it on the way to uni read it on the way back and even read it in bed that night it is great. Very informative and so clear as well. I have quite a short attention span and get bored easily but the pictures visualisations of what the author is talkign about keeps you readind and shows you examples of what you can do. There isn't loads of text on every page either, it's wrote in managable, digestable chunks and is explained in simple terms. There's also further information about the thing she's talkign about further down the page tips and where it can't be used, what you can't do with it etc.
I would recommend this book to everyone and 3 of my classmates are buying it as well now after reading mine.
Very Good Book, 13 Aug 2008
A very good book for beginners.Its not the book that will make you expert but it helps you to understand how the basics of HTML works.Also very well written!
from a very keen newbe to HTML and CSS, 13 Feb 2008
I can not recommend this book highly enough. While I am sure the professionals find it's lay out too simple. IT WAS IDEAL FOR ME! I have had it now 3 weeks and have just published my first web site and it looks good!! Can't believe it!
Clear concise layout with easy to follow instructions on things that really are complicated. (Trust me I have three other books that make it look like code that only people with degrees in computer science could understand!)
If you can't get a basic page up and run by the end of this book I strongly recommend you pay someone to do it for you.
It has made me keen enough to perhaps get a book that goes into some of the areas in more detail now that I have the grounding knowledge.
But saying that I still think this book will always be close to hand as a quick reference point for many years to come.....
Difficult read, 10 Feb 2008
I'm afraid I have to agree with other reviewers that have criticised the writing style of the author in this book. She seems to be targeting the beginner with an introduction of how the internet and world wide web evolved and what a web page is but then the actual instructions dive right in at a deep end of assumed knowledge. I have some knowledge of computing but am not an expert by any means. I bought this to accompany an evening class I am attending but I am finding it a hard read. Not one for the complete beginner but might work as a useful reference book when I acquire a bit more knowledge.
The raw information. Up to you to make sense of it., 23 Jan 2008
OK, I'm not a complete idiot, I taught myself basic html bit by bit in short spurts at my local bookstore without ever buying a book. Now I wanted to start understanding a bit more about XHTML and CSS, so I asked for this book for Christmas.
It has turned out to be one of the worst written 'teach yourself' books that I have ever read, and by golly, I've read a few. What kind of teacher uses jargon in the first chapter of her book to explain more jargon? Instead of using simple examples involving nothing but the elements learned in a given chapter, she introduces code that hasn't yet been covered as illustration!
One might expect some kind of systematic order in a book this expensive... otherwise, you might as well go to any random techie website (some of which are actually much clearer than this book!) and hope that some reccurent piece of gobbledigook will start making sense after enough repetition. Same experience, a hell of alot cheaper!
The information is there, which is why I give it two stars instead of one, there's just not way for a novice to access it. ANd if you're not a novice, then you don't need this book. I expect a book that anounces itself as 'quickstart for beginners' to to the teaching for me in layman's terms, not for me to have to assimilate all the information before being able to start making sense of it for myself and processing it so that it becomes useful. Believe me, try something else. This is poor.
Emperor's New Old Clothes, 25 Nov 2008
I had high hopes for this book. It looks very nice. It has the right nods to Tufte early on. But...
But the true content is very thin, includes a load of chart junk (the anti-Tufte - I guess the true cue is in the title, this is a PowerPoint book) and page after page of abstract diagrams demonstrating "flow" - much like the woeful second half of "Say it with Charts" which is about 50 pages of arrows.
Very very disappointing indeed.
THE book you need, 05 Nov 2008
If you buy one book on designing presentations, make it this one. Nancy Duarte gives away all the secrets of her company, experts in designing and refining presentations for the likes of Al Gore.
Where books like Presentation Zen (also recommended) give you a style to aim for, this focuses more on the basic tools and techniques. The coverage is simply breathtaking, including type, colour, grids, and even a basic primer on photographic composition.
Reading this book, and applying the lessons in it, will change the way you view presentations. It will also change the way other people see you as a presenter. More than worth the money.
Worth your time and money, 09 Oct 2008
"Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations," by Nancy Duarte is a book that will change the way you think about your presentations. Almost anybody who has ever had to deliver a presentation would benefit in some way from reading this book.
The structure of the book follows the process that you'll ideally use in the course of developing a presentation, from coming up with the presentation content itself to developing the slides. At every step of the way, Duarte explains not only how you should create your presentations (e.g. how graphs and charts should be presented), but also why your information should be presented that way. Following Duarte's advice results in a slide deck that supports and enhances your presentation, rather than having the deck detract from or (even worse) BE the presentation. The result is a presentation where there is actually a good reason for the existence and content of each slide.
You might be thinking that you're not a designer, so you won't be able to create a presentation as good as some of the examples highlighted in the book, but you don't need to be a designer to improve your presentations. The book does cover some of the fundamentals of design (color theory, fonts, etc.), and does so in an approachable way, so the non-designers in the crowd (which is most of us) will get at least some information about design fundamentals to help you improve your presentations.
A tiny nitpick is that I would have liked to see even more examples of "good" slides in the book - or even better, more examples of bad slides being turned into good ones. The case studies are great, but many of them are accompanied by an often full-page photo of the presenter. I'd have preferred to see that space given over to more images of the slides.
Overall, I found this to be an excellent book that will easily and immediately reward the time you spend reading it.
The best and gorgeous book about presentation till now! , 07 Oct 2008
Not so much to read but in my opinion, this is just the strenghtness of the book.
A masterclass in communication, not just powerpoint, 02 Oct 2008
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a stunning book where the messages leap clearly from the page.
Ostensibly about presentation and using power point, the messages presented are easily transferable to other communications media such as advertising and the web. Whether you're about to give a presentation or not, you can use the information here to improve your communication skills in other media.
Highly recommended for those wishing to improve their communication skills, using power point or other communication technologies.
An essential adjunct, 21 Aug 2008
I was interested in Photoshop Elements 6 but wondered whether I might end up paying nearly $100 for something that was not a lot better than iPhoto but much less functional than full Photoshop. In actual fact it is a significant advance on iPhoto for image manipulation and does everything I want just as well as the full version would.
The only downside I have encountered is that it is not intuitive to use and the included documentation is poor. To be fair, Adobe do recommend that you use their website Help, but I'd recommend anyone who does not have Photoshop experience to also purchase Barbara Brundage's "Photoshop elements 6 for Mac The Missing Manual". This saved me going crazy in the learning phase and even now that I am comfortable with the program I still go back to the book for advanced tips and work-rounds.
Waaay too much to cover!, 11 Jul 2007
I bought this book about a months ago and have just finished going through it a few days ago. So is it worth it?...depends on what u want to know. I am proficient in photoshop and know indesign to an extent, so certain tools, such as pen, brush, mask etc were easy to get to grips with. The book covers approx 50% of the programs features which annoyed me a bit. If u've used illustrator before, then i wouldn't recommend this book, it does go through new features such as live color etc, but i think u can easily read up about that on the net. I'm much more familiar with the tools and its quite a genius program once u get ur hear around it. My advice would be to get this book if ur a complete newby, even if ur a photoshop genius like me, the integration is amazing...but do also buy another book, maybe 100 tips or wow...which will be out in a few months, to really get the tools working for u...then start looking at online tutorials.
Other than that, the tutorials are fun, the files on the CD are great, has some good sections on color management and exporting...oh and illustrator and flash are much more integrated then u think...i could go on!
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Customer Reviews
Yes the humour is bad... , 01 Dec 2008
After reading some of the previous reviews, I thought I would buy this book as surely some of the comments about the humour being awful must've been exaggerated!? Well, sadly not - the humour is truly awful. But don't let this put you off - the book in itself is amazing. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and had to get up to try all the techniques, despite it being way past my bedtime. I find the book easy to follow, the techniques are brilliant and will have anyone making the most of CS3 in no time! Highly recommended. (although I would agree that while the book tells you "how", it will not give you understanding of "why")
Good for Photographers, 07 Sep 2008
Firstly don't let the humour comments put you off - it' not that bad. What the book does for digital photographers is tell you how to post process for great results and how to do some neat effects; what it doesn't do is explain why or what some of the steps are for. If you are creative or want to understand the workings of CS3 then look elsewhere. I got the CS3 Bible as well (which does the opposite - give the how and why but not much about what you can achieve) and between the two I got what I needed.
The book is nicely illustrated and all the steps to get the effects are clear and easy to follow.
Buy it and start USING Photoshop, 06 Sep 2008
If you have Photoshop, this book will simply help you understand it and start making it work for you.
Forget all the comments about Scott Kelby's humour, its an easy to read book that explains things well.
I also bought the Dummies book for CS3, it really isn't a patch on this one and just doesn't explain anything clearly.
Buy this book and you will be a Kelby fan for life (even if he is an American!)
Fighting through Photoshop CS3, 13 Aug 2008
I have been amateur photographer for years and have long since left my darkroom behind.
In recent times my interest has been revived by the new high quality digital pocket camera. In my case a Panasonic TZ3
Having played about with Photoshop I soon found I was getting nowhere fast until that is I purchased Scott Kebly's The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book.
I truly love this book; its step by step guide is a dream to use. Full of colour photos to accompany the instruction is great.
I used my own photos whilst going following the instructions which truly change the quality of the finished image.
I agree with other reviewers that Scott's humour is very American but don't let this put you off buying a truly great book. I would say the book is for the beginner to intermediate Photoshop user but has something for everyone.
The only down side is that I have hundreds of digital photos waiting for some Photoshop treatment.
Good luck any enjoy your copy.
Dissapointed, 26 Jul 2008
In a moment of extravagance I bought both Scott Kelby's and Martin Evening's books on Photoshop CS3. I have since sold the Scott Kelby book after giving up halfway through ! If you want to make friends with a needy, middle aged man, then this is the book for you. I just got sick of the corny jokes and the lack of focus. On too many occasions I found myself skipping pages and paragraphs of irrelevant "chat". In contrast Martin Evening's book is up to his usual high standard. It,s beautifully organised and has a clear focus on each aspect of the program in turn. guess which "Lightroom" book I bought?
Buyer Beware., 28 Mar 2008
I recently attended a two-day course on Adobe Photoshop CS3 as part of my conversion to digital photography and digital imaging. At the end of that course the students were all given a copy of this book which contains a training CD Rom. As I was already booked onto the "advanced course" in 14 days time, I eagerly put the CD into my computer to practise what I had learned. Only then did I discover the CD would not work without my having first purchased and installed the full Adobe Photoshop CS3 software.
In my case, I had already ordered that software so it was only a matter of a few days delay before I could get started. Just be warned that you cannot use this product without having first installed the full software package - and that is a separate purchase altogether.
Once that's done, it's actually great. Anyone who starts at page one - with no previous experience and no knowledge of the difference between a tool bar and a menu bar, will find it all fit slowly into place as the book teaches one step at a time and then builds on each step until you find yourself automatically going back to something already learned as though you have been doing it for years.
My only criticism of the book is some pretty silly typing errors. In one example you are referred back to a previous page only to find they got the page number wrong. In another, a list of tools is incorrect.
I did find such basic errors to be quite surprising (and very annoying at the time) from a team of people who are otherwise so technically competent.
NM
Maybe the Definitive Book, 27 Mar 2008
This is the official book for the programme written by Adobe. It takes you through a series of structured lessons with the images from the enclosed CD.
Shows quiet a few tips and shortcuts. In full colour now (about time! this is a manual about colour after all!).
Visual Quickstart Guide is an alternative you might consider, also good, that comes with images but you have to download then from their website. Think the Adobe book has the edge.
It's useful to remember that no book can cover everything and a different way of explaining things might suit you better, so buy two or three.
The very best book for beginners, 02 Mar 2008
Being new to Photoshop CS3, having just converted from many years use of Paint Shop Pro, I made the mistake of starting with Martin Evening's book (- although excellent, it is not for beginners). This Classroom in a Book certainly meets the needs of a beginner and is a real pleasure to work through. I would recommend it, without reservation, to anyone starting out on Photoshop CS3.
Two brief comments on the earlier 3-star review. First, although I am not in a position to know what it is like moving up to CS3 from CS2, a better solution might be Ben Willmore's "CS3 Up to Speed", which I have also bought from Amazon UK, as it is "... focused exclusively on the new features in Photoshop CS3". Secondly, although I did have a terrible experience with Adobe's "GoLive Classroom in a Book" about 5 years ago, where there were several errors per page, this CS3 book has relatively few errors - at a rough count, only about one per 10 pages and none too serious to downrate the 5 stars I am giving for an otherwise top rate book.
Plenty of better books out there, 16 Jul 2007
I bought classroom in a book for CS2 and managed to look through this one at a library - many of the exercises were lifted in their entirety from the last edition including the exercises on basics, layers, filters etc - so if you bought classroom in a book CS2 you'll be very upset with this. Though I did not work through the whole book, I did with the last edition and there were plenty of mistakes, things that if done exactly as instructed would simply not work. The relatively small size of the book and high price are certainly not things that would encourage me to go for it.
There's always a slew of books accompanying adobe's latest so its difficult to know what to go with. Though amazon at the moment is not offering a very good discount on it, Martin Evening's latest book 'CS3 for photographers' stands head and shoulders above the rest. If you can get hold of both books before you make your choice you'll find its no choice at all.
Great book for both beginners and experienced users, 19 Jun 2007
The last book from the 'Classroom in a Book' series I purchased was a German Edition of Classroom in A Book for Photoshop 6. Because I've found that one quite useful and understandable a few years ago, I decided to buy the current book of that series to get a little fresh information and update my knowledge. Furthermore I wanted a book in English because I'm working with the English version of Photoshop.
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