Editorial Reviews:
Adobe Photoshop is one of those programs that both dazzles and dismays: You can do extraordinary things with it--as long as you don't get lost in its maze of palettes and toolbars. Luckily for you, with Photoshop 7 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide,, that needn't be a problem! If you're ready to take on image editing in Photoshop 7, this straight-ahead visual reference is the place to start. Veteran authors Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas are back with a completely revised edition of the guide that's become the standard for Photoshop instruction in classrooms, homes, and offices. Through clear, concise instructions and a multitude of screen shots, this book steps you through the basics of photo editing, manipulation, optimization, and correction. It also provides complete coverage of all that's new in version 7: native Mac OS X support, a new painting engine that facilitates wet and dry brush effects, and more--all in a task-based format that constantly reminds you of where you are in the program and what you're trying to accomplish.
Where would graphics professionals be without Visual QuickStart Guides like Photoshop 7 for Windows & Macintosh? Economically priced, they offer a lot of bang for your buck--hundreds of screen shots, all precisely annotated, step-by-step instructions for virtually every feature and menu, numerous insightful tips and sidebars, reference pages filled with keyboard shortcuts, a thorough index for pinpointing just the right problem area, and much more.This latest entry is one of the best. The authors have the ability to clearly articulate what each tool and feature does, why you might want to use it, and how it works, all in a concise form--usually in eight steps or less. However, perhaps due to the multitool versatility of Photoshop, this QuickStart Guide may not the best starting point for all beginners. These are not tutorials that take you from simple ingredients to complex outcomes. Instead, the authors put the tools in your hands and help you discover what you can do with them on your own images. An analogy would be that this book is like a great car manual, but not necessarily the driving lessons. You have a problem in a project, look up the appropriate keywords in the index, and apply the steps to work out a solution. For the experienced user, this is a fabulous reference to have on hand. (Especially those Mac users who've upgraded, since most screen shots are from OS X.) It takes readers through all the many parts of Photoshop: color management; resolution; making selections; compositing (moving, copying, sharpening and blurring, cloning, and more); using layers; the history palette (including using snapshots and the history brush); adjustment layers; working with color (including levels and curves and the spot color channel); painting; blending; masks; paths; type; filters; actions; preparing images for print or for exporting to other applications; optimizing for the Web; and making slices, rollovers, and animations. And new features have a "7.0!" call-out--for example, the new File Browser or the Healing Brush and the Patch tool, to quickly bring you up to speed with version 7.0. --Angelynn Grant
Customer Reviews:
Displaying 1 to 5 of 12 total reviews (Page 1 of 3):
 Perfect
The book looks brand new and arrived in record time. Thank you so much!  Layout...??
This book, as well an several other Peach Pit Press books, did a great job of immediately losing my interest. The layout doesn't seem to flow from one section to the next. It seems like the author thought of a new topic at random, and dumped that information in the book with no consideration for logical order. In general, it seems that most of the Peach Pit Press books that I've read follow this "shuffling of information" approach.  Not for beginners
This book is not for beginners. Very confusing and poorly written.
I don't know if it makes a good reference because I'm new to Photoshop, but I do know one thing, this book does not teach a beginner anything.
I am taking it back.
Concise
OK you're still using PS7 and want to get up to speed.
You want all the technical details and tips and even some background on print design.
You want a couple of exercises and clear examples.
You want to go from beginner to a confident intermediate level.
And you want a shelf reference to PS7.
Note: You also acknowledge PS7 to be the greatest
image editor this side of the milky way(!)
Get this book. It's mostly black and white
How can you do a great Photoshop book in black and white? Turns out, you can't. There is a lot of good reference material here, but it doesn't connect very well. And the full color section at the middle of the book that you would expect to have the color versions of some of the examples had artwork from a variety of artists.
I recommend O'Reilly's Adobe Photoshop CS One-on-One instead. More Customer Reviews:
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(12 reviews)
