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Book Review
Everyday Photoshop® for Photographers, by Julie King, is touted as written for a user who is “a professional photographer, a serious hobbyist, or just starting 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 5 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 to provide a definitive resource. Quite simply, she attempted to include too much; the amount of information may prove to be 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 need is there – the reader just has to carefully study it. 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 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 of the expertise Julie King has to
offer. |
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