Real World Photoshop 6: Industrial Strength Production Techniques

Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming and unsatisfying
Review: A great book about a great program. But perhaps dissapointing for those who have its predecessor for PhotoShop 5/5.5. Only one chapter (other than ImageReady material) is really different...the one about color management; most of the book is a verbatim copy. Sadly, this 'new' book also suffers from old fashioned OS and hardware ignorance and needlessly denegrates Windows (and yesteryear video cards) as inferior...especially saddening since I asked one of the authors (and other major gurus) what is the difference beyond the traditional mantra, and was told nothing really. After 10 years with 'both' OSs, I find none after W98/SE/2000 (unless you also want business aps, which the book recognize is superiorly supported for Windows users) - although there are some color management profile programs that only know Mac OS apis (not OSX) - but how many of these programs does one need. I have spent many dozens of hours comparing Mac's Colorsync and MS's ICM, including speaking with the MS guru who was a core developer of Colorsync. True, Mac OS gives the user a choice of 2 CMMs, Windows makes only one available trasparently to users. Better yet, most experts use Adobe's CMM engines, bypassing Colorsync and MS's ICM2. Regarding color management, as recognized nationwide by the gurus, most (around 99+%) service bureaus know not what it is or think it does not work. In my area, I find no Mac or Windows users or graphic artists who have any idea of color management. Well, back to the book....I wish it was more than its predecessor. But, considered alone, this is the best book to have for understanding PhotoShop (I regret to admit I have most of them). Get another book for the tricks of the trade. Have bucks? Join the National Association of PhotoShop Professionals and go to PhotoShopWorld this year in LA.

Rating:
Summary: Good and Bad
Review: A great book about a great program. But perhaps dissapointing for those who have its predecessor for PhotoShop 5/5.5. Only one chapter (other than ImageReady material) is really different...the one about color management; most of the book is a verbatim copy. Sadly, this 'new' book also suffers from old fashioned OS and hardware ignorance and needlessly denegrates Windows (and yesteryear video cards) as inferior...especially saddening since I asked one of the authors (and other major gurus) what is the difference beyond the traditional mantra, and was told nothing really. After 10 years with 'both' OSs, I find none after W98/SE/2000 (unless you also want business aps, which the book recognize is superiorly supported for Windows users) - although there are some color management profile programs that only know Mac OS apis (not OSX) - but how many of these programs does one need. I have spent many dozens of hours comparing Mac's Colorsync and MS's ICM, including speaking with the MS guru who was a core developer of Colorsync. True, Mac OS gives the user a choice of 2 CMMs, Windows makes only one available trasparently to users. Better yet, most experts use Adobe's CMM engines, bypassing Colorsync and MS's ICM2. Regarding color management, as recognized nationwide by the gurus, most (around 99+%) service bureaus know not what it is or think it does not work. In my area, I find no Mac or Windows users or graphic artists who have any idea of color management. Well, back to the book....I wish it was more than its predecessor. But, considered alone, this is the best book to have for understanding PhotoShop (I regret to admit I have most of them). Get another book for the tricks of the trade. Have bucks? Join the National Association of PhotoShop Professionals and go to PhotoShopWorld this year in LA.

Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming and unsatisfying
Review: Because this book tries to cover Everything, it reads more like an encyclopedia than a guide or manual.

Rating:
Summary: A "Must Have" if you use Photoshop to make a living
Review: I remember an earlier edition of "Real World Photoshop" that was rather boastful. On the back cover, it stated catagorically that certain effects and filters were NOT included. Not that many of the filters in Photoshop don't have a place; they just don't have a place in the day-to-day production work professionals use Photoshop for.
RWP 6 is no exception. It doesn't include sections on how to use the Dry Brush filter, for instance. But if you want the absolute best advice about color profiling and color management; how to use (and not to use) the Unsharp Mask; how to get great scans, and generally how to more effectively use this graphics wunderkind, Mssrs. Blatner and Fraiser have the best advice in the business.
The first edition of this book I owned covered Photoshop 3, and I've owned each successive edition as Photoshop matured into its current version. Blanter and Fraiser do an excellent job of making sure references to older items or techniques are updated or deleted to reflect new or different capabilities. If you own Photoshop with the intention of earning money with it, invest in some RAM, and Real World Photoshop. Both will make your Photoshop experience faster, more efficient, and more profitable.

Rating:
Summary: A "Must Have" if you use Photoshop to make a living
Review: I remember an earlier edition of "Real World Photoshop" that was rather boastful. On the back cover, it stated catagorically that certain effects and filters were NOT included. Not that many of the filters in Photoshop don't have a place; they just don't have a place in the day-to-day production work professionals use Photoshop for.
RWP 6 is no exception. It doesn't include sections on how to use the Dry Brush filter, for instance. But if you want the absolute best advice about color profiling and color management; how to use (and not to use) the Unsharp Mask; how to get great scans, and generally how to more effectively use this graphics wunderkind, Mssrs. Blatner and Fraiser have the best advice in the business.
The first edition of this book I owned covered Photoshop 3, and I've owned each successive edition as Photoshop matured into its current version. Blanter and Fraiser do an excellent job of making sure references to older items or techniques are updated or deleted to reflect new or different capabilities. If you own Photoshop with the intention of earning money with it, invest in some RAM, and Real World Photoshop. Both will make your Photoshop experience faster, more efficient, and more profitable.

Rating:
Summary: Essential guide to colour management
Review: I upgrade my Real World Photoshop when I upgrade Photoshop itself. This is the only book that truly covers Adobe's colour management. While it is true that there is very little change from the last edition, those changes are critical for using Photoshop's newest colour management tools. The authors have also made Adobe Gamma setting more reasonable by using a monitor colour temp of 6500k instead of the yellowish 5000k, and by recommending the contrast be lowered to something that looks good instead of full-on, which is really bad on the eyes, if nothing else. Finally BruceRBG is a colour space that works beautifully for inkjet users. I've advised many people to try it and they usually report much easier time going from monitor to print. I notice that Bruce himself says in this edition he does not use it as much as he used to, but I still find it the best colour space for my work -- except for the web. BruceRGB is a printers colour space and has no value in web publishing.
There are no neato effects like in the WOWIE! type books. I consider that to be a plus. Your opinion may vary.
If I were allowed only 2 books on Photoshop this would be one. Katrin Eismann's book on retouching would be the other

Rating:
Summary: Warning: very limited in scope
Review: I was expecting a complete overview of photoshop techniques. When I did read it, it seemed this book was focused on adjusting color for photos. It is a comprehensive study of the topic, and I learned a great deal about adjusting the color of photos, but a comprehensive walkthrough of photoshop features, it is not.

Rating:
Summary: Warning: very limited in scope
Review: I was expecting a complete overview of photoshop techniques. When I did read it, it seemed this book was focused on adjusting color for photos. It is a comprehensive study of the topic, and I learned a great deal about adjusting the color of photos, but a comprehensive walkthrough of photoshop features, it is not.

Rating:
Summary: The Photoshop Reference
Review: Real World Adobe Photoshop 6 is without a doubt the best Photoshop 6 book to have if you are serious about learning how to get the most out of Photoshop. The book is comprehensive and well written. If you use Photoshop for daily production of images for print or web use, Real World Adobe Photoshop 6 is one resource you do not want to be without. In addition to the many time saving tips it contains, Real World Adobe Photoshop 6 covers complex topics like color management, selection, unsharpen masking, and color correction in depth in an easy to understand, clear and concise writing style. Although the book is more suited for the intermediate to expert user, new or novice users will also benefit from Real World Adobe Photoshop 6. If you could only purchase one book about Photoshop, Real World Adobe Photoshop 6 by Blatner and Fraser should be that book.

Rating:
Summary: Read in the library, don't buy
Review: This book leads to more questions than answers. The manner in which this book is written is frustrating.