Summary
“Photoshop-Just the Skinny, 2nd Edition is an excellent resource for those just beginning in
photo editing and those who want to learn to improve their skills.”
(4.5 of 5 stars)
About.com Guide to Photography
Photoshop-Just the Skinny is a full color, beginner’s introduction to Photoshop designed to get you up and running as quickly as possible. As Photoshop has gotten more and more complex, so have the associated “how to” books. A 500-page book is a great reference, but who has time to read it? Finally there is a short book (200 pages) that teaches you just what you need, and only that. Just the skinny!
Each easy-to-digest chapter is just four pages long and fully explains a single core concept or technique. You won’t learn 50 ways to perform a task, just the easiest. And you won’t need to set aside hours to get through long chapters or projects. Readers report finishing the book in just a weekend with a reasonable command of the program and the images to prove it. Whether you are a photographer or a hobbyist, you’ll get a solid Photoshop foundation with Photoshop-Just the Skinny.
Written for Mac and PC users alike, this second edition is based on Photoshop CS4. The features described, however, are common to CS through CS4. So no matter what your version, this book will apply to you. All of the essentials are covered:
- The basic concepts of digital imagery, including pixels, color, resolution, and histograms
- Global image enhancing to improve contrast, color, composition, and focus
- Layers, the key to Photoshop, including adjustment layers, layer masks and blending
- Local image enhancing to remove defects, change colors, or composite image elements
- Drawing and painting with an introduction to vector graphics
- Everything you need to know to print images or prepare them for the web
Photoshop-Just the Skinny isn’t a book filled with advanced effects or idle chatter. It is a concise guide filled with straightforward directions, clear explanations and invaluable advice.
About the Author
Stephen Farnow is a 30-year veteran of the high tech industry with a PhD in physics. He currently consults and publishes titles on graphics and multimedia. His writing style is clear and straightforward with attention to simplifying complex concepts.
