Views & Reviews

Book Review: Everyday Photoshop® for Photographers

By Kayte Rudolph, Member, Southwestern Ohio Chapter

Everyday Photoshop for Photographers (McGraw-Hill/Osborne; ISBN 0072254378), by Julie King, is touted as written for the user who is "a professional photographer, a serious hobbyist, or just staring to discover digital imaging." This book, though, is better intended for photographers who are Photoshop beginners, not for the expert or casual user.

The book is divided into five parts, each of which addresses different subject matter. Part 1, "Into the Digital Darkroom," is chock full of information about pixels, bit depth, color spaces, channels, and photo organization that beginners must know. Remaining parts focus on the basics of using Photoshop, exposure and color techniques, retouching techniques, and output, such as color management and how to properly print and share photos.

The content of the book provides an abundance of information designed for beginners. Examples are numerous, and the full-color printing makes them more tangible. However, it seems Julie King sacrificed quality of information in an effort to provide a definitive resource. Quite simply, she attempted to include too much; the amount of information may prove overwhelming to the reader.

Steps for performing many of the techniques are included; however, this is the most problematic part of the book. The steps are vague, the layout proves difficult to navigate, and the images, while having the potential to aid comprehension, are poorly placed and explained. Despite these difficulties, the basic information and techniques a beginner would likely are there; the reader just has to study it carefully.

Everyday Photoshop for Photographers is a solid reference book for Photoshop beginners, although difficult to navigate at times. It is by no means the definitive Photoshop guide, but it provides a good introduction to the various features and tools of Photoshop, as well as basic tools and terms of digital photography. This book is not suited for Photoshop experts, and beginners must exhibit patience to fully gain all the expertise Julie King has to offer.

Editor's Note: This book review originally appeared ion http://www.stc-swo.org/user-groups/reviews.php.)

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