Top notch tutorial
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Like many masters of their craft, Caplin is equally at ease explaining the basics as he is dealing with advanced topics.
Also, like many good teachers, he does the mundane work up front in order to make learning fun and intuitive for the student.
The combination of real-world step by step examples, "Test yourself" exercises at the end of each section, completed exercises included on CD and even an online website where the author sets weekly challenges and responds to submissions make this book hard if not impossible to beat.
The early chapters set about equiping the student with basic photoshop montage skills which will be required in the later examples -
extraction (without leaving tell-tale edges), colour changes, freeform transformations, perspective etc. .
Each chapter presents a new concept and provides a worked example based on files provided on the CD.
A previous reviewer has complained that the book doesn't give idiot-proof steps for following each of the examples. In my view, this is a strength, not a weakness, as the tools are all explained in the early chapters and to repeat the detailed steps would simply distract from the main point of the exmaples.
Anyone who takes the time to work through the exercises will get more out of this book than any Photoshop "How To" book I've ever come across.
I give the book a resounding 5/5 - I simply could not want more from it.
I notice that the latest version for CS3 is now available for pre-order...
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Don't expect any aesthetic revelations
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I'm frankly surprised by the number of 5 star reviews for this book. It admittedly contains a lot of great advice how to put together montages in Photoshop, but it also lacks a lot of things. To me it is between 3 and 4 stars, and as most other reviewers give it a 5, I opt for the lower of the values.
The instructions are not always foolproof. This is not necessarily a big problem, as it encourages you to look around in Photoshop and try different things to get to the desired result. However, sometimes you have to look around for a long, long time, and a few of the instructions I am still not sure I have managed to follow correctly.
The included photos on the CD are not top quality. They do not need to be for the purpose of learning, but it is disappointing to have to work with low quality files.
The example pictures are not stylish. The aim is always to produce a specific result - often something that would fit as a newspaper illustration. It is well done, and it does what it says it shall do, but it is not aesthetically pleasing. I am not that familiar with British press, but at least in French and Italian press I have seen much, much more beautiful montages.
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Top Guide
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This book guides and tutors in many different aspects of photoshop, you can drop in and try any part or return and practice, it give great projects to do and there is an added bonus of a website which supports and continues development through weekly chalenges. Best photoshop book I have bought.
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Packed with useful advise
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It is obvious that this book is written by a very competent author. He throws in a lot of real world examples of the tricks he describes. It is also apparent that he has been forced to deal with deadlines and learn a lot of useful tricks to speed up the work. This book does not only strive for a perfect image, it also presents a lot of shortcuts that produce good enough results a lot faster. And last but not least, Steve Caplin presents a lot of useful visual advise about what works and what doesn't. All this makes it so much more that just a book about Photoshop technique.
My only warning is that this isn't for beginners. If you don't know layers, masks and selections well, read something else first. Steve goes through the examples with minimum details assuming that the reader knows the basic. But this enables him to pack an amazing number of useful tricks into the 376 pages.
Conclusion: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Please, please, PLEASE buy this book
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I'm a Graphics student, money is tight, so when I buy a book from Amazon I try and make sure I get a book that is well reviewed and comes recommended. But I have to admit that it's not always true. I would like to say that How To Cheat In Photoshop is the BEST buy I have ever brought, essential to all who think they know or want to learn Photoshop CS or CS2. Steve Caplin is obviously a very talented designer, through his book he has opened my eyes to endless creative opportunities and I have seen the light. He is clear in his instructions, passionate and has great tutorials for you to follow clearly written out. There are also QuickTime movie files that show you particular tutorials and just how easy it is to create professional work.
Please, please, please buy this book, it's amazing, a must buy to own what ever your walk in life. Steve Caplin, you have helped me in ways you will never know, you're the man. Thank you for sharing your expert advice and knowledge.
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