Showing posts with label advanced photo editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advanced photo editing. Show all posts

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9: Maximum Performance: Unleash the hidden performance of Elements Review

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9: Maximum Performance: Unleash the hidden performance of Elements
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Adobe Photoshop Elements 9: Maximum Performance: Unleash the hidden performance of Elements ReviewIf you ask most photographers how to do something in Photoshop Elements, they will roll their eyes and tell you they use CS5. Yet Photoshop Elements 9 is a powerful, yet affordable editor which comes with just what you need. I find simple tasks, such as bringing up shadow detail, a quick adjustment in elements using a slider rather than editing the entire exposure curve in the full version of Photoshop. I'm not a big fan of "shop'ing" photos for hours on end. If my image looks flat and dull, I would rather go and re-shoot the image rather than "fixing it in photoshop."
There are times when re-shooting just is not an option. Perhaps there's an image which would have perfect, if there was just a bit more detail in the sky. Or, perhaps you need to work brochure and you just need one or two items from the original photograph to blend on a different background. This is where the book Maximum Performance comes in.
I dislike the terms "advanced" or "beginner" when it comes to software and books. The examples in the book use tools which you might not be familiar with, such as the Place command or the High Pass Filter. You will either become familiar with them or you'll need to buy an additional book which goes into the details of all the tools.
Reading through all the examples was a bit tedious, trying to follow along and figure out where all the options were located in the editor. I downloaded all the video tutorials and examples which had me speeding through the material. The author provides raw files, psd files, and an application to open and follow along with either video or images. You have the choice to explore the book or follow along on the actual software and original files.
Not only did I pick up on the material, but it was great to look over the shoulder of a Photoshop expert to see the work flow. He does things which I never thought of - such as adding an adjustment layer rather than working on the originals. The author unleashed the power of the editor through the use of layer masks, gradient maps, and blending. For example, when I use a sharpening filter I would apply it to the entire image. The video examples demonstrate how to use a layer mask on top of an adjustment layer to paint on the sharpening to selected areas, then pull back using the opacity.
The topic of Photoshop Magic was full explored as well. In one example, a truck was photographed on a dirt road, then copy/pasted onto a river dock. Any beginner can paste one object onto another, but it takes talent to make it look real i.e. not "shop'ed." What would have taken me an hour with a magic lasso the author did with a selection brush, feather, and reduce. He then focused on the small details, such as color temperature. Before I read this book I never had a use for gradients. Now I can't live without them.
The book and the videos will serve as a "cookbook" of techniques to help me out of a jam when I've got a problem image. If I need to do some advanced sharpening or image toning, I can just pull up the video or flip through the chapter to remind me of some techniques which can be used.
I've got a dozen Photoshop books but this is the first one I've read cover to cover.Adobe Photoshop Elements 9: Maximum Performance: Unleash the hidden performance of Elements Overview

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Photoshop Elements 9 Digital Classroom, (Book and Video Training) Review

Photoshop Elements 9 Digital Classroom, (Book and Video Training)
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Photoshop Elements 9 Digital Classroom, (Book and Video Training) ReviewI am a complete newbie to Adobe Photoshop and have never worked with any of this type of software. I have a nice Canon SLR but never invested in finishing software as I did not have the time to dabble in it. Over the last few years, we have taken great shots that if fixed would be fabulous. I received Photoshop for Christmas and I was eager to get started. I uploaded a few pictures, started clicking along and figured the guided edit should be a breeze. Boy was I wrong! I was quickly frustrated because I did not know where to start. I am the type of learner that likes to have an old fashioned printed guide to walk me through new software and I found the online "Adobe help" didn't tell me where to start. So I headed out to my local bookstore and after reading recommendations on this site looked at the Adobe Photoshop Elements 9/ 9 in 1 for Dummies book and the The Missing Manual Adobe Photoshop Elements 9. They both looked like they were packed with information I purchased the Dummies book due to previous experience with that brand and they had an illustrated example of something I really wanted to do (taking a face from one photo and placing it on another). Once again I started reading my new Dummies book and tried to do some things and again realized that I still had no idea where to start. Not only that, there was so much verbiage that was completely foreign to me and I just became more confused. There is so much you can do. What order do I do things in? And what are these things called and what do I call the thing I want to do?
During this time, I also received and quickly reviewed the Missing Manual version and decided that it wasn't going to help me either.
In an effort to save money, I checked this book out from my local library, Photoshop Elements 9 the Digital Classroom. I didn't want to spend any more money on a book that couldn't help me right now. I ended up being very happy with this book.
Right away, it gave me step by step instructions on how to fix my pictures. There are plenty of illustrations and I thought that the writers provided just enough information on the where, why, and how to clean up my pictures and take them to the next level. There is also a lot of information in the beginning on cataloging your pictures. There is a CD included with the book that provides a photo library that you can download on your computer and use it to complete the exercises in the book. The CD only contains pictures so you have to follow along page by page with the book for the instructions. (That is OK with me because I prefer that to toggling between computer screens for instructions). Since this was a library check out, I had to return the book before I completed the lessons. I wanted to both finish the lessons and use this book as reference so I purchased it from Amazon and I have been very happy.
I recommend this book to anyone with little to no Adobe Photoshop experience who want to know the basic how-to's on how to work with their photos. Those with previous Photoshop experience will probably not get as much out of this book. Also, those who really want to know the "why" you do certain things will find that this is book is light on the "why" details. (That is OK for me. I couldn't take the Dummies book back and I can look up the "why"...if I can find it:)
Newbies will not regret purchasing this book!Photoshop Elements 9 Digital Classroom, (Book and Video Training) Overview

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