The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers

• #37 in Best Photography Books

156 Reviews

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This is neither the biggest book on Photoshop, nor the most comprehensive. The author makes no pretense of covering every feature contained in the massive program known as Photoshop CS3. What he does attempt to do is identify tasks useful to digital photographers (and this includes film shooters who scan) and give step-by-step explanations to get them done. Most of the information is presented in a very task-oriented approach. The emphasis is squarely placed on giving you the tools to get things done quickly and efficiently. As such, I find it a highly useful reference book often as I edit photos.

For those who own the prior version for CS2, this is much more than a rehash of the same material with a few odds and ends added to cover the new CS3 features. I was surprised to see that most or all of the example photos appear to be new for this edition and the author has reorganized the material within each chapter. I applaud Mr. Kelby for what looks like an earnest attempt to earn our money rather than just cash in on the sales a new version of Photoshop automatically generate.

On the negative side, I do wish that the author would tone down his attempts to be funny throughout the book. Humor has gone from being unknown in how-to books to being painfully overused and this book is a prime example. It goes from being mildly cute for the first couple of pages to just getting in the way and slowing down the flow of information as you continue reading.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Mr. Kelby has done an excellent job organizing and presenting a useful guide to Photoshop CS3 and I commend him for that. If he prunes 90% of his attempts at humor, I'll give his next book 5 stars instead of 4.

This is Scott Kelby's revised edition of his Photoshop for Photographers series covering CS3, but don't be fooled in thinking that it's just as the previous version with a few added extras. Not only does this book cover the new features of CS3 which are mainly relevant to photographers, it's packed with all new techniques for retouching and finally presenting your images.

Since the last edition, it's clear that Scott Kelby has been studying his craft hard. The book is full, cover to cover with beautiful photographs, taken by him, which are motivating by themselves. Amongst the many, two techniques which stand out to give superb results are what he calls the Trendy High Contrast Portrait Effect and the Hollywood Highlights technique.

The book is written in Scott's easy going humerous style, and yes there are people that don't relate to his sense of humour, but then you can't please everyone. That being said, if you don't like the humour, then do yourself a favour and look past it, cos amongst it is some of the most valuable information, we as photographers need if we want to keep 'up there'.

Covering everything from the Bridge, color correcting, enhancements, presentation and more, as I've said this book is a MUST HAVE for photographers of all levels.

Oh and incase you were wondering, 'no' I'm not on commission ... I just like to spend my money wisely!

This book reminds me of the old proverb, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' This book just throws some fish at you.

With that being said and the popularity of the book I guess a lot of people like being thrown fish. I wanted to learn to 'fish' but the book taught me little about 'fishing'.

I can say I did learn some stuff from the book and I was certainly glad I'd used Elements for a couple of years prior. The book is certainly not for newbies as it covers nothing about the many tools/options you have available in the toolbar other than in some contexts of creating a visual effect. I didn't see much in the book for a seasoned Photoshop user as only basic 'retouching' ideas are 'thrown' you.

I was particularly appalled when told to just use Adobe RGB as the color profile with no explanation other than sRGB is for the web. While I am no expert I do know there is a lot of talk/arguing in the industry about which you should/might use and the heart ache that Adobe RGB might cause you. There should have been some discussion on this topic, I don't need advice like this.

So, in my opinion, if you have played with Photoshop a little and are 'a learn by example' type of person then this book might be for you. If you want to learn about why you might grown/feather a selection, understand the various tool settings/options or learn anything remotely advanced I would look for another.

While many have criticized Kelby's stylistic prose, the content in the book is very helpful and allows hobbiest to hard core professionals to produce beautiful images. I feel that this series will allow users to maximize their output in the least amount of time.

Compared to the CS2 version, there have been some improvements and additions (smart filters and portrait skin softening) with great images. There are some redundant chapters, but still worth it for beginners as well as a refresher for advanced users. I've read through most of the book, and while a few chapters are useful, my workflow has not significantly changed.

Those with the CS2 version, I'm less convinced that this is a must have upgrade. For those on the fence who don't have the CS2 version, go get it as it'll be the best $30 you'll spend.

Am I a Scott Kelby fan? You bet I am! Not because he is a great instructor (which he is) but because he continues to produce books that inform, instruct, entertain, and most importantly, improve my skills as a photographer and user of Adobe Photoshop. This newest, soon to be classic, book is packed so full of useful information that you'll go back to it again and again. If you're looking for in depth discussions of the tools and technologies of Photoshop CS3 like what is Lab color and what does it do, then go look elsewhere. But if you want to know how to use Lab to improve your color saturation or give your image some amazing sharpness then you have found the right book. At 460+ pages, this book is no light weight. You will learn how to use every tool and menu that could possibly be used to enhance your digital photography. Want to know how to make great looking prints? It's in there. Want to know how to resize your images properly, get better flesh tones and smoother skin in your portraits, do you have a desire to make beautiful black and white images and then turn them into spectacular gallery prints? Yup, it's all in there. If that's not enough, Mr. Kelby has also included 4 on-line chapters that you can turn to for even more great tips, and tutorials that were covered in the previous Photoshop for Digital Photographers books but have been updated for CS3. Every lesson in the book is step by step and easy to follow. You can learn at your own pace and even skip around from chapter to chapter to find just that little nugget that you have been searching for to improve your photos. By the way, you might read some reviews about Scott infusing his sense of humor into the book which, in my opinion, is a welcome change from all of the dry, textbook-like Photoshop manuals out there on the market. If that's not your thing, just skip the first page of each chapter and jump into the juicy goodness of the step by step techniques. Bottom line, you want better pictures to come from your digital camera? Just buy the book, you can thank me later!

Don't get me wrong, this is a good book, as far as it goes, but I thought it could be more comprehensive. If you want to know everything about PhotoShop, this isn't the book for you. This is a step by step "how to" book. As such, those techniques which are covered are explained very well. The problem I have with this book is that it only covers a moderate sampling of PhotoShop CS3's capabilities, but only a sampling. If Mr. Kelby covered PhotoShop's editing power as extensively as he covers the associated file management Bridge, and Camera Raw, this would be an outstanding work.

If you are a real "pixel picky" techno-junkie, and want to know everything about PhotoShop, The Photohop CS3 Bible is a better choice.
Photoshop CS3 Bible

I've bought Scott's Digital Photography books since version 7. This one tops them all and I've only had one evening to peruse the pages. I've been keeping up with video/written tutorials of CS3 but Scott, you've out done yourself my friend, you've thrown in lots of tidbits I haven't seen.

Since I'm self taught using your books, NAPP website and tutorials I depend on you. Don't forget to read the Intro/Q&A section to get the "extras". Thanks again for all you do with Photoshop Scott, we your fans appreciate you!
Dr. David Jones
Muskogee, OK

I bought this book based on the reviews I saw here.... It seemed that it was a good choice for beginners and experienced users alike. When I received the book and read the introduction- it clearly states that the book does NOT include information that you can find in every other Photoshop book out there- things like painting tools, filters and layers. Unfortunately- many of the instructions I am looking to apply start with layers! :-(

I have yet to read the photography portion of the book. It seem that the first 17 pages are set aside for Kelby the Comic. Frankly I do not appreciate Mr. Kelby's approach.

The other reviews are right. I tried this book. The authors pathetic attempts at humor are exceptionally distracting and after a short period of time they are intolerable. And they happen much too frequently. I returned the book to the store the same day. There are some great ideas and information in the book. But they are covered over with just plain foolish stories, remarks, and lame jokes. Several other great books on the market and I would suggest one of them instead. Try The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers, or Photoshop CS3 One on One.

The idea of using humor to relax a novice comes form the series
"******* For Dummies". This may work for some, especially on a first reading. But later on when you want to use the book as a reference the humor becomes very distracting, You just want to refresh your knowledge of Photoshop and you don't want to rehash stale jokes. This is a good book but to make it useful you need a black hi-lighter -- Doug

1. I've read / owned a lot of various photoshop books; most are pretty good, some terrible--> but Scott Kelby's books are always the best.

2. The layout is simple, the language is clear, the steps are clearly written.

3. If you're a photoshop user from beginner up to moderate advanced, this book should be a no-brainer purchase. Anyone with a high level of photoshop knowledge will know everything in this book and thus should look to more indepth tomes.

I am new to Photoshop and jumping in to it has been a bit overwhelming. Scott's books, this one and several others (including his Lightroom book) have made the journey fascinating. While others find his humor distracting, I have actually read some of the passages out loud to family members, in other words I get it. Scott shows the tools he uses most and gives step by step workflow examples in a simple and straightforward manner, untangling the seemingly infinite photoshop possibilites. I am inspired by his photography, and his style and friendly manner make him one of my favorite authors.

I recently completed a class at a local Art and Craft institution on Photoshop. It gave me a good foundation, but the version they used was CS. This book on CS3 has been an invaluable aid to me, building on what I learned in the class and also introducing features I didn't know existed. Some reviewers slam Kilby for his humor, I tend to agree there may be too much there for some people, but I also enjoyed the conversational tone and one on one feel of the author's writing. I found the book to be very informative and it will remain at the side of my workstation for a long time to come for reference as I am one who needs to repeat tasks several times to master and remember them. What is nice about this book is there are specific recommendations for different settings and techinques. Material you can actually use to make things work for you. Once you understand the process you can certainly vary the settings and experiment - which is what we all should do, but it's nice to have a really good place to start. All in all, a very good book for a serious photographer who is working on learning how to best utilize Photoshop.

This book is great if you are looking for step by step processes for a fairly wide range of tasks. What this book does not do, however, is dive into what certain aspects of Photoshop really mean and what Photoshop is really doing to you photo when you make various adjustments. It doesn't teach you to be creative with Photoshop's tools, only how to use them to accomplish specific tasks. If that's all you want, this book will be perfect.

Here is a specific example of what I am talking about. In going over Camera Raw, Kelby mentions that you might want to tweak brightness, fill light, and exposure until the photo looks right. I wanted to know what the difference was between these 3 sliders. They all have similar, but still different affects on the photo, but he doesn't go into those specifics at all.

And lastly, the step by step format doesn't work for me because it is filled with way to much meaningless humor. On the first read, it is amusing, but if all I want to do is to go back and refer to something I've already read, in order to extract the steps I need, I have to read through a buch of jokes to find what I really want.

Although Scott Kelby teaches a few cool things in this book, there is nothing out of this world about it, the reviews are *way* overrated here.

My biggest complain is about his cheesy, dumb humor. It really gets in the way. I think 1/3 of this book pages are dedicated to his silly jokes and remarks. I mean, poor guy, he seems to be a nice person, but give me a break. I had paid for this book to learn about PHOTOSHOP! I have nothing against a few *good* jokes to lighten things up, but here they get really distracting, and I actually don't feel like reaching for this book anymore.

Another reviewer wrote: "This book reminds me of the old proverb, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' This book just throws some fish at you." In my honest opinion, he had hit the nail on the head. You learn a few tricks in here, and that`s about it. You get a "recipe" to do something, but you don't learn the basics of how to make your own recipes.

But if you want a book to learn some tricks to apply to your personal candids, then I think this book is acceptable.

I did my homework and now I have just purchased Real World Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Real World) and Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Real World) . I heard about this author when I saw some videos about adobe camera RAW by Michael Reichmann and Jeff Schewe at the Luminous Landscape site. Jeff Schewe is the co-author of Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Real World). I'm enjoying his videos so much that I decided to buy his book. Really in-depth information, plus he is involved with Adobe's Photoshop designing team. So do yourself a favor and go straight to the good stuff!

EDIT 05/31/08: another great book is Adobe Photoshop CS3 Studio Techniques and the books by Katrin Eismann. She has excellent books, but they are more specific and advanced.

Not to suggest that everyone is in my situation, but I have PhotoMechanic for downloading/renaming/adding MetaData and I have LightRoom for RAW conversion. I've spent a lot time learning these tools so I'm not going to change. Unfortunately for me, one-third of this book is devoted to components that I won't use.

I also have to admit I am a bit off-put by all Scott's cutesy commentary, talking to himself, explaining how he names chapters, yada yada yada, which are all pretty irrelevant to a training manual for any serious professional ... I have a very full and meaningful life and didn't buy this book as a surrogate social life.

So, what real content he does present is well presented, but there is a huge amount of irrelevant fluff and I expect in the future I will avoid books by Scott as I don't find this style endearing. On the other hand, if you need a new friend but aren't good with people, this book will give you warm fuzzies and make you feel like Scott is your buddy.

This is a brand new, improved, totally revised edition of the best selling Scott Kelby "Adobe Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers."

"Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers" has 100 more pages, and to include all the new stuff some items covered in the older book were removed. The removed items are available for downloading on the book's support page. However, you would not know that unless you read the initial Questions and Answers section or this review. This section was fun to read and it also tells where to the pictures you can download.

The topical chapters in the book are presented in the order that a photographer would work, and to properly end the book Scott Kelby has added his step-by-step workflow starting with Bridge and RAW processing to get to the final print.

In Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers, Scott Kelby tells you how he uses the important new additions in Photoshop CS3, and this edition also includes other improvements professional photographers have adopted that were not covered in the earlier edition.

As an example, he explains how to use double processing in RAW to "Create the Uncapturable" by capturing a broader exposure range within one shot. He also describes a method to enlarge photos to produce 26" by 36" posters from a 6 meg camera image.

As a final example, he shows how you can use the Quick Selection tool and Clone Stamp Tool to get a photograph of two doctors together when their schedule does not include time for the two to meet.

"Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers" is a fine book with information that will help you if you are a professional photographer or want to become one. If you are not now using Photoshop CS3 you will want to once you see this book.

Excellent book scott endeavors to try teach a broad audience how to find their way around photoshop.
He not only shows why things are there but also shows you his own settings on some parts, he makes sure to give you his opinion without coming out dogmatic.
really appreciated the lesson on color correction, portrait-touch up,and Scott's favorite high contrast B&W settings.

In a nutshell when you read this book Scott makes you feel at ease and in control also you know how sometimes you buy books that by their titles promise a lot and when you receive it you feel cheated?
Not this one you wont find no fluff on this one.

if I were to loose this book I would buy it again.

looking foward to Scott's new book

Was so happy with Scott Kelby's similar book for Photoshop CS2 that I had to buy this version when I upgraded to CS3. I would definitely recommend it to others in the same position.
Even though I knew quite a lot about Photoshop before opening this book, I had picked up several new techniques within half an hour after doing so.
My only concern is that Kelby's "click by click" cookbook approach to specific tasks tends to leave one without a real overview of the full functionality of Photoshop. However, the range of tasks covered is pretty wide and you know from the outset that this is the style adopted for the book.

I am new to Photoshop CS3, but have experience using Photoshop Elements. Although I could take or leave the authors humor, I found the book an excellent companion to the product. The book shows good practical approaches to using the product. I highly recommend it.

As you can see from the title, I really liked this book and use many of the ideas in processing my photos. I'm an amateur photographer that recently upgraded to Photoshop CS3 from CS2 and this book has clearly shown me how to correct white balance for some of my older scanned photos, how to lighten and darken only some regions of my photos without using selections, and how to use masks and adjustment layers much better than I've been using them in the past. I've also improved my retouching skills with some of the book's helpful hints. I'm not always sure I understand Scott Kelby's humor since I am probably past the target age of this book but the quality of the writing and the color photos showing the adjustments are first rate. Mr Kelby has some good discussion on the new Bridge capabilities in CS3, a limited illustration on the updated (and more capable) Photo Merge and also some illustrations on how to really improve your retouching of portraits that I also found helpful. I'm glad I added this book to my small library of photoprocessing manuals.

It is hard enough to sort through the instructions as they are obviously written for Mac users, but you to have to deal with the grammerical errors such as: "Under Edit, click Save As". When using the index, subject matter points to pages that contain absolutely none of the relevant information. I do believe you could learn on your own faster rather than trying to locate the information you need in this book.

On the plus side, the book did give me a bunch of tips and techniques that were very helpful. His explicit approach (as opposed to theory) was generally helpful, but I'm now looking for a book on theory so I can get a better understanding of all the stuff this book doesn't get into.

On the minus side, his constant humor became old, tired and distracting. I'd be OK with some humor, but he went waaaaayyyyyy overboard in this book.

I was also surprised to see so much of the book dedicated to Adobe Bridge (the first 3 chapters) rather than Photoshop. Granted, it was good info and I probably use Bridge more now than I would have otherwise, but hey, I thought I was buying a book about Photoshop!

I don't know how Scott Kelby finds time to keep cranking out books and run workshops both. I'm glad he does. I like this book but do point out that it is not comprehensive in its coverage.

I've used Photoshop for years in web design but haven't done as much with digital photography as I would like. For me, this is a perfect introduction. It's a cookbook of Photoshop recipes for enhancing photos.

It's not a general introduction to Photoshop. It is not filled with theory. It often doesn't offer multiple ways to achieve the same effect.

What it does offer are straightforward tutorials that propose useful numbers for settings, not "adjust to your preferences." It offers what appears to be a solid digital photo work flow and covers many situations that I've had problems with in the past.

Instructions are easy to follow and well illustrated. The writing is clear if sometimes a bit too clever. For all but the absolute Photoshop beginner who will find that Kelby assumes a bit too much background for comfort, or for the seasoned pro who already has solved the problems presented here, I'd happily recommend this book. I also recommend it to those who have a background in Photoshop Elements and now want to use its big brother for photo editing.

If you're just getting into Photoshop CS3 this is the book for you. As usual, Kelby doesn't fool around with theory. He uses a direct step-by-step approach to show you how to handle a subset of Photoshop that includes those things most serious photographers need to do. Just the facts, Maam." If you want the whole enchilada though, you'll have to wait for Real World Photoshop CS3 by Blatner, Chavez and Fraser - if it ever gets into print.

The down side of Kelby's book is his style: He writes like a four-year-old showing the guests how cute he is. He tries awfully hard to be funny, but fails because he doesn't understand subtlety. If you can stand that kind of writing without developing an acute urge to regurgitate, this book is well worth your time and money.

It's good, but if you have his other books, there isn't that much more info I felt. If you don't have his old books, then definitely a worthwhile read. Not as useful as I would have hoped it would be.

The instructions are clear and concise. The color photos at every steps are great for understanding the desired effect and how to achieve it. I love how the techniques are smart rather than cumbersome. It's possible to achieve the same result in Photoshop with different tools. It seems that the author makes a point of putting together steps efficiently. Awesome guide ... buy it!

I've used the basic features of Photoshop before but never really got into the detailed features basically because I didn't know much about them. This book was really helpful in letting me read/see what all the features are about and what they do. I'm more of a visual learner so it was extra helpful that this book had step-by-step visuals on the features. Therefore, I'd clearly recommend it.

The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book by Scott Kelby is probably the best book out right now that teaches you the basics about CS3. The only negative thing I have to say about the book is that its completely dedicated to Mac users. I personally hate Mac computers but Mr. Kelby does do a good job of explaining steps to take if using a Windows based O.S. Overall an amazing buy and I would definetly refer this book to anyone who is just getting into Photoshop C.S. 3

As always, Scott's books are the best - I don't think I will need any other CS3 books.
TP

From my series of many Photoshop books this is the least helpful. As stated by other readers the author's attempts at lightening the subject matter with humor quickly become annoying. The structure is overly verbose (do I want 2 full pages wasted on a chapter heading and the author reminiscing on song and movie titles?). All procedures are divided in "steps", which are titled "step 1", "step 2" etc. Hence you will not know what a particular step is about unless you read the entire section. For even slightly advanced users this becomes frustratingly annoying when trying to locate the sprinkles of wisdom.

I opened this book today for some help with selection. You know, when you use masks or the quick selection tool to isolate an area to change something limited to that area. It doesn't exist!

Furthermore, Scott writes in a jocular style in which he explains things by telling stories, as if he were speaking to a child. I don't want that, I just want straight information which I can quickly scan or search for answers. If you want to be amused, this is your book. If you just want Photoshop information, look elsewhere.

Apparently you can. Mr. Kelby is extremely proficient in condensing useful information about a really vast and complex piece of software;The book is structured more like a step-by-step guide than a reasoned approach, but the results are certainly interesting.

Unfortunately, as technically versed as he may be, he is also a terrible writer, so be prepared to deal with a sense of humor that is as redundant as it is - after a time - insufferable. I wish Mr. Kelby would deal with the fact that the only - ONLY - thing readers care about when buying this kind of book is learning about Photoshop. If we wanted lousy jokes, we'd buy a jokes book.

I've bought 3 books on CS3 and this is the most practical. Scott Kelby skipped may features of Photoshop though, the ones that he mentioned in his previous books on CS and CS2, and that would not help readers who only bought CS3.

Scott Kelby is known for his good-natured, knowledgeable instructional books and reviews on things photographic, particularly Photoshop. With the Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers, he scores another hit in his line of Photoshop how-to books. This book skips the mundane and goes right to the heart of what we all want to know about CS3. It is written in Scott's easy-going humorous style and packed with just about everything you'd want to know. The reader can start at page one and read to the end, or dip in and read a page here and a page there and benefit. I particularly liked the interview at the beginning of the book. A must-have for the Photoshopper's library.

If you are doing any photo enhancing this is the only book you will need. I have read all of Scott's books and every time I am amazed at how many short cuts, tips and just plain great ideas I come away with and use on a regular basis. Scott's writing style is concise and very user friendly and the chapter intoductions will put a smile on your face!

If you do anything with Photoshop, buying a book from Scott Kelby is a no-brainer. I promise you will enjoy reading it as well as learning a ton at the same time. Anything that has his name on it is well worth your time and money!

Rich Nortnik Jr.
Visualization Artist, Illustrator & Designer
The Shaw Group, Inc.

Just when I thought I purchased a redundant Photoshop book, I needed to find a few ways of altering an image. I found, to my delight, new information that is not in other books.

The book is as good as the previous CS versions, but since I owned the previous books from him; the content feels the same. How much new techniques can you add for a book right? Still the book is good for newbies and average digital photographer.

To me a review is most meaningful when you know a little something about the person writing the review. I have been an avid amateur photographer since the late 1970's and have been making my full time living at photography since 2008. I used to use a Canon 1D Mark II Professional Digital SLR until May of 2008 when I switched to a Nikon D3. While the Nikon files do have a different look directly out of the camera, in the end both systems provide wonderful images once they have been worked in post process. When I last wrote a review I was doing all most all of my post processing work in Photoshop, but my workflow has evolved significantly since the introduction of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. See my Lightroom reviews to learn why.
I am a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and make extensive use of the abundant educational materials available on the member website. I have read well over three-dozen Photoshop training guides with one overriding goal in mind; producing the best images possible.
The Photoshop CS3 book fore Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby is THE book I recommend to anyone that is new to Photoshop and feeling overwhelmed by the program. I have worked extensively in Photoshop since 2001, and I feel as though I have only scratched the surface of what the program is capable of offering. The learning curve with Photoshop is formidable. This book is the best guide I have found for getting you up and running quickly and effectively. Don't think that it is only for newbies however; there are many great tips for users of all experience levels throughout the entire book.
You won't find a great deal of Photoshop wizardry in this book, but that's not the point. This book is dedicated to explaining the basics, and helping you really master the underpinnings of Photoshop so that when you ready to take it to the next level you are doing so from a rock solid foundation. Having said that there is a tremendous amount of material covered in this book. You will learn how to handle numerous real world problems that every photographer faces at one time or another.
In a nutshell the books walks you through how to setup the program so that it works intuitively for you. Next you learn how to import and organize your images so you will be able to find them later. Once you are able to upload, store and retrieve your images then you start to learn how to correct the myriad of technical problems that are typical with digital photography. At the end there are several chapters dedicated to preparing your images for printing including numerous suggestions for ways to present your work like a pro.
There are 457 pages, most of which are written in classic Scott Kelby form. If you have never read one of Scott's books you are either in for a treat or will find yourself groaning... a lot. I happen to really enjoy his writing style, which is good because he is a prolific writer and consummate educator. If you have a thirst for Photoshop knowledge you will come across his work again and again.
I copied the next few lines directly from my review of Layers by Matt Kloskowski, because it sums up this book just as accurately. Like everything the Kelby team does, the layout appeals to the visual senses immediately. The images and examples throughout the book are well done and demonstrate real world examples of how to correct or enhance your images in Photoshop.
I'll repeat myself to make certain you come away with a clear understanding of how strongly I recommend this book. Scott Kelby far and away writes the best guides to Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom that I have ever come across. His are the first books to buy when faced with learning either program.

I have read several Photoshop books written by Mr. Kelby, and learned quite a few shortcuts to producing great work. His CS3 book for Digital Photographers is just like having Scott by your side telling you how to take your image from good to great!! The information on using Adobe Bridge to organize images and using Camera Raw to process them is so helpful that I have added this book to the list of suggested reading materials for my students. I teach Photoshop Basic and Digital Imaging/Photoshop at the local college. I feel that this basic information will be invaluable to both returning and new students.

Putting writing style aside, the one thing that I look for is the means by which topics are covered. I buy books to obtain information of greater depth than provided by Adobe's Help or to obtain methods that transcend specific features.

When I buy a book on a product/release, I minimally expect all capabilities to be covered. I don't like crap shoots. Kelby states in opening comments that not everything is covered (like layers) that are well covered in "every other Photoshop book out there." "In short-it's the funk and not the junk."

I don't like books that are published in haste and miss topics in total. Such is the case with the topic of High Dynamic Range images. This book (to my knowledge) is void of this huge topic. Christian Bloch's "The HDRI Handbook" (343 pages) does provide coverage, but not the idiosyncrasies of Photoshop CS3 which I hoped would be addressed by this book.

As I was flipping through this book at the bookstore, what originally caught my eye was the Retouching Portraits chapter. Removing love handles, reducing a double chin, doing lip enhancement, etc. Wow...I thought to myself. I could offer friends, family and clients all this with no plastic surgery involved! I had to read on.

Actually, I had never read any of Scott Kelby's previous books, and I was in for a nice surprise. Being a regular listener of the Photoshop User TV podcast and also having recently attended the 2008 Las Vegas Photoshop World conference, Scott Kelby is no stranger to me. As we all know, a good presenter must not only know the topic well, he must also know how to capture the audience's attention. And, Scott Kelby is a master presenter. While some people may not relate well to his style of humor, I appreciate it as it keeps me awake and engaged.

His book writing style is no different. Scott Kelby keeps his writing simple and fun. It starts with the book's introduction, or should I say, lack thereof. Instead of a typical introduction, he includes a humorous Q&A section which was definitely much more interesting - and I actually read it (well, not all of it, but some of it).

Scott Kelby provides a fine introduction for each chapter. He then breaks each chapter down into bite-size chunks of tasks. Each task has step-by-step, easy to read instructions, complete with a screen shot for each step. Yes, I said - each step has a screen shot. I wish all instructional books included screenshots for each step! He also includes Photoshop shortcut keys for the steps, as appropriate; I like this, since I only knew a handful of shortcuts previously. The steps to completion are anywhere from 2 steps to more complex tasks that take up to 16 steps. Throughout the book, he offers little asides and tips as an added bonus.

The book starts out with two chapters introducing Adobe Bridge, followed by a chapter discussing Camera Raw. To be honest, at first, I was surprised to see these chapters, as I assumed this was all about Photoshop CS3. Oh, I forgot who the intended target audience is - digital photographers! Ok, this makes sense. Having not used either tool more than twice, I found these chapters to be enlightening. For those unfamiliar with the tools, here is a very basic description: Bridge is a photo management tool (and more). Camera Raw is a tool available in Bridge and Photoshop CS3 to non-destructively modify photos. Point and shoot photographers should also take a peek at the Camera Raw chapter, since a limited set of Camera Raw features are available for use on not only RAW images, but also JPG and TIFF.

The book continues on with chapters describing common Photoshop CS3 challenges facing a digital photographer, such as Resizing and Cropping, Printing and Color Management, Color Correction, Black and White, Digital Image Problems, Retouching Portraits, Special Effects, and Sharpening. Scott Kelby's last two chapters offers readers insight as to how to show one's work as well as sharing his own step by step workflow.

Here are, but a few, examples of how I found the book beneficial for me.
* I really enjoyed chapter 9 of this book, that uncovers his beauty secrets, i.e., Scott's techniques for lip enhancement, skin softening, nose jobs, love handles removal etc.
* New to Camera Raw, I found his technique on fixing chromatic aberrations (colored fringe around objects in a photo) well described and very simple to follow.
* As an intermediate Photoshop user, I thought I knew quite a bit about resizing in Photoshop. But, when I turned to the chapter focusing on resizing and cropping, I learned a completely new technique to create poster prints, researched by Vincent Versace, an acclaimed photographer.
* I heard a little about the advanced LAB color correction and sharpening techniques during a Photoshop Conference, and I wanted to learn more. When I looked at the book's index, and reviewed the pages, I was pleased to see that this book provided at least some basic coverage of this more advanced technique.

As I mentioned earlier, the book is organized by tasks to get the job done. Other Photoshop books are organized by Photoshop functionality, covering Photoshop tools one at a time. I already have another beginning Photoshop book that details Photoshop tools which I rely on to detail the Photoshop tools for me. If you're like me, you never buy just one book on a large subject as Photoshop; you always buy multiple books to round out your knowledge and to get different perspectives. This is probably the fifth book I own on Photoshop, and the best one I've seen that is geared especially for digital photographers.

Summary:

This book is an excellent starter book for digital photographers just getting into Photoshop who want to jump into Photoshop quickly without learning all the details surrounding each and every Photoshop tool. It also appeals to new and intermediate Photoshop users as an secondary book, who want to learn more about digital photography and some fast Photoshop techniques to improve photos.

While it is not a comprehensive reference for all Photoshop CS3 functions, that is not the intention of the book (as noted in the Q&A section page xvi). The book does not profess to be "the be all, end all of Photoshop CS3 books" covering the hundreds (or is it thousands?) of functions of Photoshop. Instead, it provides an excellent reference for fast and reliable Photoshop CS3, Bridge, and Camera Raw techniques that digital photographers can appreciate. I definitely recommend this book to be in your arsenal of Photoshop books.

My Thoughts:

Ease of Use: Very easy and fun to read

Audience: Any level of digital photographer

Cost: Reasonable

To me a review is most meaningful when you know a little something about the person writing the review. I have been an avid amateur photographer since the late 1970's and have been selling my work since 2004. Photography isn't my day job, but it does provide a welcome supplement. I shot with a Canon 1D Mark II Professional Digital SLR from 2003 until May of 2008. I recently switched to a Nikon D3 and while the files do have a different look directly out of the camera, in the end both systems provide wonderful images once they have been worked in post process. When I last wrote a review I was doing all most all of my post processing work in Photoshop, but my workflow has evolved significantly since the introduction of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

I am a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and make extensive use of the abundant educational materials available on the member website. I have read well over three-dozen Photoshop training guides with one overriding goal in mind; producing the best images possible.

The Photoshop CS3 book fore Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby is THE book I recommend to anyone that is new to Photoshop and feeling overwhelmed by the program. I have worked extensively in Photoshop since 2001, and I feel as though I have only scratched the surface of what the program is capable of offering. The learning curve with Photoshop is formidable. This book is the best guide I have found for getting you up and running quickly and effectively. Don't think that it is only for newbies however; there are many great tips for users of all experience levels throughout the entire book.

You won't find a great deal of Photoshop wizardry in this book, but that's not the point. This book is dedicated to explaining the basics, and helping you really master the underpinnings of Photoshop so that when you ready to take it to the next level you are doing so from a rock solid foundation. Having said that there is a tremendous amount of material covered in this book. You will learn how to handle numerous real world problems that every photographer faces at one time or another.

In a nutshell the books walks you through how to setup the program so that it works intuitively for you. Next you learn how to import and organize your images so you will be able to find them later. Once you are able to upload, store and retrieve your images then you start to learn how to correct the myriad of technical problems that are typical with digital photography. At the end there are several chapters dedicated to preparing your images for printing including numerous suggestions for ways to present your work like a pro.

There are 457 pages, most of which are written in classic Scott Kelby form. If you have never read one of Scott's books you are either in for a treat or will find yourself groaning... a lot. I happen to really enjoy his writing style, which is good because he is a prolific writer and consummate educator. If you have a thirst for Photoshop knowledge you will come across his work again and again.

I copied the next few lines directly from my review of Layers by Matt Kloskowski, because it sums up this book just as accurately. Like everything the Kelby team does, the layout appeals to the visual senses immediately. The images and examples throughout the book are well done and demonstrate real world examples of how to correct or enhance your images in Photoshop.

I'll repeat myself to make certain you come away with a clear understanding of how strongly I recommend this book. Scott Kelby far and away writes the best guides to Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom that I have ever come across. His are the first books to buy when faced with learning either program.

I wanted a Photoshop CS3 book that would give me the steps to remove blemishes from faces in photographs. This book gives you that and much more. For example, it includes the steps to get rid of a double-chin and many other facial problems in digital photos. Also the book uses large color photos to show the before and after effects of the changes you make so you can clearly see what the photos are supposed to look like after you go through the steps. I recommend it.

Some useful information, but a bit fluffy and repetitious. As many others have noted, the attempt at humor is off-putting. Also, you have to get past the vomit-making section on page v of the Acknowledgments where Kelby thanks Jesus for personally introducing him to his beautiful wife. Seriously.

I found the book provides some useful tips and approaches but that it lacks much in the area of why to take those approaches. This "step-by-step" type of book on Photoshop and digital photography is more the norm than the exception, but fundamental understanding of the principles of why to perform an action or technique is difficult to get from this book - and that makes it difficult to apply more generally to the photographs that YOU actually take.

I also found that the authors tongue in cheek style to be tiring after the first several chapters.

Scott Kelby has a winning formula. (There are many reasons he's the top selling author of all time in his field.) Plain English. Great graphics. Only the information you need to know to get the job done. No nonsense. A little humor.

No matter what your level, his books are rewarding.

If you're just getting started, Scott's books are the ones I recommend. Dive in. Skip beginning level introductions and go straight to Scott. Scott makes great information extremely easy to absorb.

If you're more practiced and looking to catch up on new features, this is the easiest place to start. One of the most seasoned presenters and prolific authors, Scott's always up to date on the latest advances.

Scott covers all the important bases. He organizes his material by task, rather than delineating every feature of a robust software program.

You just want to get the job done well? This is the book for you.

I've learned a lot about keeping it simple and being more effective at the same time from Scott.

(You'll note my review for two of his books are the same. He and his format are that consistently good.)

See other books I recommend here: [...]

This book was worth every penny. I'm a beginner of Photoshop. I bought both for editing digital images. I tried out Lightroom for a week or two and when this arrived I began to meddle with CS3. This book really is a step-by-step guide to CS3. He takes your hand and walks you through the steps. I'd recommend this book for any beginner. The joking is a little rough but I skip the stuff and dig right into #1. It is more of reference manual for me. I'm not big on reading 490+ pages cover to cover. I shoot NEF, .jpeg and film.

Great pool of ideas and practices for the digital picture enthusiast. The only concern is the author sometimes gets too emotional and the process thus, too long. I think most people aren't interested in the cliches rather than the core content.

The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)
I am a Scott Kelby junky, and for good reason. In my opinion he is at his best in this particular book: clear and to the point, easy to understand and of course love the occasional humor.

Scott Kelby's newest Photoshop CS3 Book is truly FANTASTIC! Scott continues to hit home runs every time. His approach to CS3 makes good understandable reading in a no nonsense matter. How can you lose with the stuff Scott Kelby uses. This guy must be from another planet. Thanks in has enriched my Photoshop experience.

Byron, NC

This book does an outstanding job of explaining a very complicated piece of software. I think it would be of great help to anyone trying to master Photoshop. He explains things clearly with wit and humor that make it fun to learn.

I have not yet had the time to go through the whole book step by step, but so far i have skimmed and stopped up a couple of times to read more closely.
The book is (in my opinion) best suitable for up-and-comers and hobby photographers who want to take their photographs a bit further, with full control at their fingertips. It is also suitable for professional photogs who may feel they limp a bit in their workflow.
Everything is step-by-step and you can learn a whole deal here.
There is a lot of basics though, so if you know a bit already, you might not find everything as useful.
The only "let down" is that you can find different tutorials for all this stuff online. But at least here it is gatheret in ONE place.
I recommend buying this book to everyone who is not a pro in photoshop, there are several tricks that may help your work become easier.
This is by the way the best book of it's genre, so don't bother looking at other similar options.

Happy learning!

Once again I'm reviewing another Scott Kelby book because his books, like those of Bryan Peterson, are consistently very good and full of useful information. I'm please to say that The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers is once again another great Kelby book.

If you've read Scott Kelby's 7 Point System for Photoshop CS3 you will quickly see that many of the things he uses in the steps for enhancing photos for that book are included with more details in this book. However, this book is more of a recipe book to help you solve a particular task with little information on bringing it all together to solve a series of typical problems, which is why he wrote the 7 Point System book.

[[I've got a few Kelby books, do I really need this one? OR Who is this book really for?]]
When I started reading this book it was heavy on information about Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw so I started to question my decision to buy it without reading it from the library first. However, as I went deeper into the book I found a lot of nuggets (even in the Bridge section) that were super useful to me in the things I do in Lightroom. As a result, I can easily say that this is a book worth reading from cover to cover for anyone who is wanting to understand more behind the voodoo of Adobe Camera Raw, sharpening, Color Management, Printing and lots of hidden gems in Photoshop. This is a really good reference book, but it is one that should be read cover to cover to allow your brain to index what it offers so you can come back to it when you really need it.

[[Come on Ron, I can't afford all of these books. If I only had to pick one or two Kelby books, what would they be?]]
This is a fair question, and after reading this and the 7 Point System, I'd have to say that if you only bought one then the 7 Point System is the better book to have. That isn't to say that this book isn't useful and that you shouldn't own both if you can afford it, but if you only had to pick one then you'll get more out of the 7 Point System because it will show you a bunch of photos that look like the ones we are used to seeing come out of our camera and show you how to make them look awesome. Doing this both increases your confidence and gives you series of basic tools that allow you to directly apply these techniques to your photos for great results.

Where this book comes in handy is when you have a specific question like "how do I whiten teeth?", and you can go that topic and get quick step by step instructions that show you exactly how to do that.

<< content removed - for the full review visit http://ronmart.blogspot.com/2008/07/review-adobe-photoshop-cs3-book-for.html and for other reviews check out http://ronmart.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-photoshop-books-should-i-read.html >>

[[Conclusion]]
I had over 20 pages flagged in this book as being important for future reference, and since I've worked on a few batches of photos after reading this book I found myself going back to this book to recall how to deal with certain problems. It's a good book, and an excellent resource for sure. However, it is more of a recipe book that you'll use as a reference, but I don't think it is the right book for the average Joe to learn how to see the "big picture" on how to make your photos look their best.

Skill Level: Beginner to Advanced
Value: Good (Expensive, but lots of good stuff here)
Recommendation: Recommended, but if you can't afford this and Scott Kelby's 7 Point System for Photoshop CS3 then I'd say your best best for learning is to go for 7 Point System. If you are a very advanced Photoshop user, then you'll probably find some good nuggets in this book that make it more worthwhile than the 7 Point System.

Awesome book - very practical, and Scott Kelby has a hilarious sense of humour that absolutely makes the book unique! Higly recommended.

I got CS3 a month ago and have been staring at it wondering why i even bothered to get it. I have been clueless as to how to use this thing. I bought a "CS3 for dummies" but it didn't really help me with my photography. It gave me some basics and didn't walk me through anything. Then it dawned on me how much I've loved Scott's other books. They are my very favorite photography books ever. They give perfect advice to help you through everything. So off to purchase "anything" by him for CS3. I got this book and WOW! Lights started turning on! Step by step in Kelby fashion he leads you through anything you might have a question about. I couldn't be happier. Makes me want to buy everyone of his books in case i run into something else i need help on. Wonder if he does parenting books....LOL. So thanks Scott Kelby for writing this more than amazing book.

Read J Boones description for an accurate take on Scotts book.
BUT the only thing I disagree with is I like the humour aspect.
I love Scotts books.
The way he writes.
I find it easy to follow.
I found I was talking aloud as I read this book.
I would say "Huh?!" and in the very next sentence Scott would write, "I bet you are saying HUH? right now"
Then he would go and clearly explain to me what it was I was having a hard time grasping.
Scott writes in a a way a teacher does who knows the thoughts of his students.
I highly recommend this as a fanastic book to all us beginners and intermediate level photographers.
I am constatnly using it for reference.

Scott Kelby's books have done more to teach me concepts of digital photograpy than any other source I have tried. His style puts the reader at ease as he authoritatively disects the complex world of digital photography.

I was little hesitant about buying this book given its cookbook step-by-step style but I was surprised how useful it is. The book covers most of the practically important functions and if you ignore or skip the "funny" parts, you will find yourself with one of the most useful books on CS3.

My main complaint is that the book puts too much attention on the Camera Raw. My second issue is the question of color space. The book essentially tells the reader to use Adobe RGB without much discussion of pros and cons. To make it even more clear where the author stands, he points out that the pros refer to sRGB as the "stupid RGB". Now, who would want to use something stupid, right? Since this book is clearly not aimed at pros but rather at casual photographers, it should provide a more balanced view of the color space issue. Most people will view their pictures on computer monitor, post them online, and print them at regular photoprinting services like Kodakgallery, Shutterly, Snapfish and such (their printers all assume that your picture is in sRGB). For all these applications, sRGB is a better choice than aRGB and readers will be disappointed with picture quality if they follow the author's advice.

This book has re-inspired me as a photographer. I have been a semi-pro photographer for about 10 years now. I dodged the digital revolution for more years than I should have. I only got into it in 2005. Before that I wouldn't even look at going digital. Until now I only used Photoshop for basic photo editing because other books I had bought just made the subject complicated. This book changed all of that. Those "complicated" techniques are illustrated beautifully in this book and the author makes it easy to duplicate the techniques outlined in the book. His approach is fantastic. He takes a photo, decides what is wrong, or right with it, and takes the reader through ALL of the steps needed to correct the photo. Then he shows you what the final product should look like.

I use this book nearly every day as a reference. If I have a photo that is underexposed, I simply turn to the section on exposure, follow the steps and I always come out with a better photo. Because of this book I am now going through all of my old photos and seeing what I can do to them to make them POP a little more and I can tell you that this book has saved some photos I thought were horrible, losses.

Get it!

Well, I am an expert. On Photoshop. I know it since it exists. I teach a non-destructive work approach. I use layers all the time. I know about channels. I preach adjustment layers and layer masks. But this guy made me faint more than once. This trick on page 223 -finding the neutrals in photos that don't really have them - no,no,no,NO ! It can't be that easy ! Scott, one more of these, and I'm gonna marry you ! (Oops, er...) I really love all those black&white techniques (ok, I knew most of them); they are explained very well just like everything else in the book, and b&w is my first love in photography and ever will be. A great book for, well, maybe not complete beginners, and people like me. Yes, I learned some new stuff. And, in some cases, a different approach, and that's great ! Everything in this book WORKS, and the results are great. There's only one thing (sorry, Scott), in my workshops there's alway an imaginary poster on the wall saying "NEVER touch your background layer". But that's just me.
Great work !
Karsten Franke, Hamburg, Germany

Wow. I'm impressed.

I got the CS version of this book out of the library and I was so excited I bought the CS3 version straight away. This is definitely a book you need to keep so you can constantly refer to it. Out of all the photoshop books I own this is the best.

I have never learnt so much, so quickly. The format of this book is brilliant. Sure, I've seen some of this material in other books, but it was always so much more of a chore to read and harder to absorb. This is a book you will enjoy reading. And the tips are great quality, it includes everything you need to know to get a solid foundation of photoshop!

The only disappointing thing about this book was that I didn't find it years ago when I first started using photoshop! If you are new to photoshop, forget doing a course - this book will be all you need to get a great foundation and it will cost a fraction of the price. I also definitely recommend it for people like myself who have used photoshop for years, as there is so much you can learn from this book.

Well done Scott Kelby!

This is a well written instruction manual without being overly technical. I have been a Photoshop user for many years but this book introduced me to several things I did not know and explanined the new features of CS 3 very well. Could use fewer quips.

Scott Kelby walks you through each process step by step and gives clear, concise explanations of each process. This is an excellent book, and I find myself applying some of the concepts to other work (not just photographs). Definitely a buy. You should also check out his Lightroom book and his books on digital photography.

The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)what can I say about this book its fab it cool and most of all scott is the best at his job, if you need to know how to use adobe CS3 then this book is a must. I would just say go head and buy this book, you will not be sorry at all.

I love the step by step instructions. His writing style can be a little corny, but the meat of the book is straightforward, precise and extremely helpful. I cannot recommend this book enough. Also recommend his book for Lightroom.

This is simply the best how to guide for photoshop you can buy. Scott Kelby's writing style is down to earth laymens terms that are easy to understand and really get you excited about all the features of photoshop. My wifes digital photography class has discovered this book and uses it exclusively.

Finally finished reading the entire book. As pointed out, Scott Kelby does interject his own sense of humor throughout the book, but it is very limited when he's actually discussing the steps to improve your images. I'm sure there are hundreds of other books on the subject, but based on the problems I see in my own pictures, this book should correct 90% of them. As a newcomer to CS3 I still think it's over my head, but seeing tutorials and reading books like "The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book" just convinces me that I can do so much more. This will be a book I will refer to as long as I take digital pictures and own CS3.

This is an excellent "Step-by-step" book showing you how to use all of the major CS3 tools. It literally walks you through dozens of situations, e.g., if you want to adjust exposure, you go to the section called "The Essential Adjustments #2: Exposure" and follow his 16 steps.

It really is a wonderful guide, with to-the-point text and very useful photos illustrating each step.

The only negative is the author's sense of humor. It gets in the way of the learning process, and becomes somewhat annoying. (I would give the book 5 stars if he would just leave out the odd humor.)

Kelby does a good job on the topics he presents - clear step-by-step instructions. As a non-commercial type, I found it a bit too much oriented for the professional who is selling commercially.

This book is certainly an excellent step by step guide for most any digital photographer wanting to understand Photoshop. It's probably best for the person who wants to learn on his/her own up to someone with intermediate Photoshop skills.

In my opinion it is a necessary text for anyone who is interested in enhancing their pictures. Before reading this book I thought my pictures looked pretty good. But now I realize that they can be so much more! It is an easy read, straight forward, and the light humor keeps it enjoyable. I highly recommend it!

I like this series from Kelby. Essentially the same books from version to version (minor updates), but well thought out and presented. If it's about Photoshop, Kelby's probably got a book for you.

This one is on my must have list.

Jim Hoerricks
http://forensicphotoshop.blogspot.com
Author of Forensic Photoshop - a comrehensive imaging workflow for forensic professionals

This is the greatest book I have read on Photoshop CS3> I could understand the articles step by step.Scott Kelby did a great job and I recommend it to everyone.

The book is good and concise if you are familar with some of the functions that are carryovers from previous editions if you are not you will be confused with some of the steps.

I have enjoyed reading this book and still occasionally reference it. There are some nice tips and the steps are very easy to follow. I enjoy the way Kelby writes his books. He makes it entertaining while learning.

I highly recommend any of scott kelby's books! His books are written in very easy to understand instructions. A must have for photographers of all levels!

I just do not find Scott Kelby's writing and instruction to be all that good. I am sure it works for other people but not for me. But the book is better than nothing.

This an excellent book full of informative information that can be used and understood by anyone.

This is a great book for anyone learning or using photoshop. It is very informative and easy to follow

This book has a mechanistic approach to solving very specific situations. What I mean is that it teaches to solve a problem without understanding why you do what you do. On the other hand the author's attemp to be funny makes matters worse.

I don't know what I would do without Mr. Kelby's wit and wisdom! This is the 3rd book of his that I've purchased, and it is SUPER helpful. A must-have for any CS3 user!

A great book packed with essential tips and tricks.

My skill level is medium to advanced ... this book has taught me new techniques. For instance: Scott's method for finding neutral grays; fixing reflections in glasses; fixing group shots; how to use smart objects; their advantages and disadvantages; making me aware of the free Online Photo Gallery software that is available for CS3; and teaching me how to install and use it.

The book concentrates on the nitty-gritty with step-by-step illustrations. Basic stuff is ommitted so if you are not comfortable with layers then you may struggle. Chapters 1 & 2 deal with using Bridge. Chapter 3 goes into RAW processing. Chapters 4 - 11 (some 271 pages) is packed with techniques. Chapter 12 is great as it shows 10 techniques for presenting your work. Finally chapter 13 outlines Scott's personal workflow which gives you a useful insight to professional photography.

Laced throughout the book is Scott's zany humour. Some like it ... some don't. If you are in the latter camp don't read the first page of each chapter. In general the actual tutorials are free of it :)

Throughout the book Scott makes reference to other sources of material. For instance he refers to Dan Margulis's book "Photoshop LAB Color". If you only have a passing interest in LAB then Scott has effectively condensed Dan's book down to a series of steps that, if applied, will punch up the color of drab photos without the need to understand LAB curves. But if you want a complete understanding of LAB then read Dan's book or "Scott Kelbys 7-point system for Adobe Photoshop CS3".

The book gets 10 out of 10 for layout. The photos in the sidebars have been carefully chosen to not only illustrate the techniques being taught but to also give you ideas as to what can be achieved. A great source of ideas.

I don't have the latest version of CS4 but I am certain that the techniques shown in this book would apply.

You can't go wrong with a Scott Kelby book. It is perfect as a cookbook for Photoshop. Need to repair a photo? His index points to the proper section and the problem is quickly resolved. This book omits all the graphic arts projects that are usually included in other Photoshop Books.

I am pretty much a beginner at photoshop and this book is awesome. It gives you details step by step and explains why you do what you are doing. I do wish it had a few more details on some things like fixing eyeglass glare after the fact, instead of what to do while shooting for an easy fix. That didn't help when the shoot is in the past. Otherwise it has some great tips for editing that I wouldn't have even though about doing. I definitly recommend this book.

The steps are very easy to follow, and the book includes many images that make it easy to see what's happening. The writing style is somewhat humerious, which is a refreshing change for a computer how-to. Definately recommended for those interested in using Photoshop CS3 for editing pictures.

I find Scott Kelby really easy to read when it comes to all things Photoshop and this book is no different to any of his others.
The book is helpful and doesn't bog me down with useless information that I don't need to read.
It tells me what to do and why and helped me learn to use Photoshop CS3

This book delivers it's information in a clear and concise manner and you will learn every step of the way. Ben Willmore's "Photoshop CS3: Studio Techniques", could learn a lot from a book like this as Willmore's book is a hopeless piece of muddled drivel. If you're a beginning digital photographer with Photoshop then this book is a must have to get started in Bridge and Photoshop and great to keep as a reference as your ambition develops.

I love this item, it came in exactly the condition it said it was, maybe a little better, and I'm really enjoying it!

i bought this book bec i have photoshop cs3 since i am a photographer and was hoping to pick up some tips and i have,i would recommend it to anyone that wants to better their photography skills.

Was thrilled to be able to get this book. Took a class for Photoshop and the teacher used this book. His demos were right on target. I am very pleased with this purchase. The book is easy to use and easy to understand so I would highly reccommend it.

Thanks
Teri Carpenter

This book makes learning photoshop CS3 so easy! Each chapter is a lesson unto itself. I felt fairly secure in my knowledge of layers before purchasing this book, now I find I was barely using the basics! I was missing the full potential that I had available and didn't even know it! If you want to learn photoshop at home, on your computer, this is the book for you!

I enjoy all of Scott Kelby's books. The Photoshop CS3 was a great addition to my library. He can explain how to do things so easily. I appreciate his work and advice so much!

I have used Scott Kelby's books on the different versions of Elements and have found them extremely user-friendly. When I bought Photoshop CS3, I bought a book from a different author to teach me the ropes. It was based on learning from tutorials. I found I needed the ability to just isolate and read up on a particular skill. I purchased this book, and voila!! I could get my questions answered speedily and in the entertaining Kelby fashion. Great addition to my library!!

I really appreciate and enjoy Scott Kelby's style: specific, relevant, prescriptive and useful with a nice amout of humor. I looked forward to this book (after having used and benefited from his PS CS book) to show me how to take advantage of my upgrade to CS3. My first task was reduce some high-ISO noise. I looked in the index and saw the only entry (page 107). I was a little disappointed because it's in the Camera RAW section. I don't use camera raw since I use Apple Aperture for my RAW conversion: no help. Then I read on and to have him tell me CS3 noise reduction "ain't great" and then tells me he uses and recommends a third party plug in. Great. I should have spent the money on that. I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in Mr. Kelby for not showing me how to reduce noise or Adobe for not having a quality noise reduction filter.

I had taken this book out of the library and kept it past the due date until my copy was delivered! Excellent reading, Scott Kelby does a great job teaching throughout this book. Not too wordy, not too techy, and pleasant to read as well. I've learned alot since reading this publication, and I look forward to more of his product. Highly recommend to anyone who's learning Photoshop.

I received this book for Christmas from my son and his wife. I had not yet received the Photoshop CS3 software, but ordered it on a day after Christmas on a special from Amazon.
I started reading Scott's book before the software arrived so I would have some heads up on processing the aircraft images I have been shooting with my Canon xsi camera. After the software arrived I was already ready to tackle a layout to send to clients. Scott's book gave me exactly what I needed to professionally produce some great comps and add my copyright logo (one of the most helpful features I found) to my photos.
The book is designed to zero in on only certain areas that seem to be perfect for the individual that needs only basic production features from the software. To me, it would impossible to learn every aspect and function of Photoshop. You can skip to only the topics of interest and seek the step by step method to achieve your goal.
I am wearing out the pages in the meantime getting more familiar every day with the feature rich capability of Photoshop. It is one fantastic application. Coupled with my Canon camera and my Canon Pro 9000 printer this book has made my day as a semi pro photographer that is growing my business.
Thanks Scott!

I find all Scott Kelby's Books to be the best. His step by step instructions are easy for those not so tecnically inclined, like me, to follow. Using his techniques, I have taken my images to the next level.

There is a lot of ways you can practice to get most of your pictures, you won't believe.

I would be happy to review this book if I had ever received the product. I may not ever buy anything else from Amazon since I have let them know about the situation with no response.

Fantastic book for digital photographers with a beginner to intermediate understanding of photoshop. Gives a ton of great pointers on how to make your shots look good. Covers topics from special effects, to color correction (great work flow for amateur color correction process), resizing appropriately, portrait effects, etc. Rather than thouroughly teaching you how to use each tool it walks you through a ton of example tasks. Great book.

Every time a new edition of Photoshop comes out, I buy several of the how-to books. Each one contains different useful tips and tricks. Scott Kelby's is always the best, and this is no exception.

For example, have you ever wondered what LAB color is and why you should care? There's a step-by-step illustrated tutorial on how to give your color extra zip using this color mode.

In fact, there are illustrated tutorials on all of the major features of Photoshop. They include screenshots, which many other guides neglect.

Learn how to use layers to simulate filters, how to use shapes to create vector masks, how to create stunning special effects through collaging, retouching, and combining color touches with B&W.

Chances are, if you've seen a stunning digital creation and have wondered how it was done, you will find out here.

The CS4 book should be out soon. Can hardly wait!

A comprehensive book that will be useful for some time to come. I have barely touched on some of the aspects, but they have been very useful. Another humorous slant on things by Scott Kelby! Always a pleasure to read.

Yes, a very helpful book. Not really 4 stars though, however, compared to the author's competition this book almost rocks. First, there is quite a bit of very useful information within the pages. Then, it is written well, with step by step direction which I found easy to follow. Most topics of interest to me were covered, but it was a little difficult to cope with the basic instruction, only to learn later in the book that there was a much better way to accomplish the same thing. You can't expect one volume to provide every bit of what everyone needs and I didn't. Although, I was surprised at the obvious repetition in one or two chapters, and thought perhaps the editing might have been better. Mr. Kelby's style is unique, but his humor which I found tolerable doesn't, at all, detract from the "very helpful" content. Truly, close to 4 stars, and bravo to Mr. Kelby.

Well organized into specific tasks broken into multi-step instructions. Not written in computer garble; just plain English that a person who doesn't already know what to do can understand. Well illustrated. Very helpful to both amateur and professional photographers.

This is great, consise guide to the photographer's photoshop needs. Doesn't include photoshop basics like layers, etc, but does show photos for each step making this great for all levels! And I don't know why people whine about Kelby's style, I'd rather have some humor in my technical guides than manual-speak with no personality.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers is the best instructive book I have ever read. I have numerous books on "How To" on Adobe Photoshop producrs.

For the newbie this books step by step procedures is easy to follow and extremely instructive.

I feel that when I have accomplished all the tasks in book I will be able to read and understand Adobe Photoshop procedures.

Best buy on the market.

MHF

I have never written a review of a book before and I am happy to now. Not just this book but all of Scott Kelby's books are awesome. Scott makes it easy to follow his directions no matter what your skill level is. It is like a friend just telling you straight without all the stuff you don't need. I would highly recommend this and all of Scott Kelby books!!

I really like this book. I am a newbie to Photoshop. I've only done the classroom in a book book. Although those were good for me to learn in general, I like this one because it offers specific solutions to common problems. I am taking a class right now involving photoshop and I just keep referring over and over to certain sections of this book. It is a nice quick way to find the solution without having to wade through a lot of extra info. The intro didn't thrill me though. Lots of extra info to wade through. I don't mind the little quips, but the long quips are too much to read through each time I want to find something. That is only the intro though. Otherwise the book was great!

I haven't had a chance to work through a lot of the projects, but the book is very easy to read/understand. The projects make good sense, and it will help to build skills and organize photo files. Glad I bought it.

Easy and pleasant reading, straigth forward explanations...suits the amateur very well while the pros can surely skip the first chapters and go directly to what interests them...

This is a book that is readable for the learner! Its great! I'm new at this and can still follow and understand the instructions!

A great book. Well documented "How to's" and a very good index which makes it easy to find a proceedure.

This is a great book. I have improved my photoshop skills enormously and will be purchasing more books from this author.

Everyone needs a little help with Adobe PhotoShop CS3. This book touches on many different areas. Another helpful book is Adobe PhotoShop CS Down and Dirty Tricks. Both work very well together.

This book is an essential guide for getting the most out of Photoshop CS3. Scott Kelby is well know as one of the best teachers in the digital imaging field, and this book is to his best high standard.
There are additional downloadable examples for this book, just read the quirky but fun introduction for more information.

Very easy to use as a teaching guide or just a reference for specific techniques. The book was highly recommended on the www.ausphotography.net.au forum.

This book contains a great deal of useful information. It is most helpful if you already have some familiarity with CS3. For your first book I would recommend one with a more organized, feature-by-feature approach.

Scott Kelby, in addition to being really knowledgeable about Photoshop, is just plain fun, whether it's on the page, on his blog, or on his podcast: Photoshop User TV.
I had the CS2 version of this book and got the CS3 version firstly because my cat had eaten the white balance card provided. True story. But I also wanted had heard there was a lot more in it. I haven't read it cover to cover like the CS3 one because I haven't had time, but whenever I glance at a section, I learn something new.
So if you like taking pictures and want to take them to the next level in Photoshop, get this book.

GREAT BOOK, IT HAS HELPED ME CREATE AND EDIT PHOTOS IN A WAY THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO WITHOUT THIS GREAT BOOK. SIMPLE AND TO THE POINT. IT'S A THUMBS UP PURCHASE.....
DEBRA

this book is everything i hoped for and then some....it is well written, humorous in spots to make it even more of a fun read and covers a wide variety of topics that i was interested in.....you'll learn some new tips, learn some better ways to accomplish tasks you thought you already knew how to handle and you'll wish the book was even longer after pouring over it.....a most excellent purchase that will be used for years.....

Scott covers an incredibly wide range of topics in The Adobe Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers. From importing and organizing images in Bridge, to removing sensor dust from hundreds of photos at once, to subtly smoothing skin, this book is full of useful tips for digital photographers. Every section has detailed instructions that let you see exactly what's going on and, even better, make it easy to make changes along the way to discover what each tool does.

The book doesn't really teach you concepts of photography or give you an idea of what your final product should be; that's left as an exercise for the reader. What it does give you is exactly what it promises: relevant methods for improving your photos.

If you have CS3 and don't have this book, its like having a Twinkie w/o the cream in the middle, or like Fred w/o Wilma! An absolute MUST HAVE. I've worked with plenty of photoshop editions now and still learned a lot from this book. Thanks Scott:)

Book is fine; the same one used in a college course by my son. Pictures are very clear. Humor is heavy handed and juvenile, but the information makes the book worthwhile.

This book (and pretty-much anything Scott Kelby writes) is amazing! I read it straight through the first day I got it, and now I use it as a reference. If you're new or sortof new to Photoshop, this is the book for you. Easy, step-by-step instructions with good pictures. I highly recommend this book as your first Photoshop book.

Also, Kelby's "The Digital Photography Book" and "The Digital Photography Book, Vol. 2" are must-haves.

I really like this textbook. It gives exact directions on how to do stuff with your pics on photoshop. Many other texts are pretty vague, but this one is great for anyone unfamiliar or unsure.. step-by-step help.

Scott Kelby never ceases to amaze me with his ability to explain all the lessons in such a way that even the ordinary person with very little computer knowledge can understand and apply. This book has helped me to take my good photo's and really make them great. The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

A quick and handy reference book for photoshop users. You want to do something: just look it up and there on only one or two pages is the answer. No trolling through pages of dense text . Scott Kelby condenses the theory into a practical explanation which can immediately be applied. It looks at photoshop as a photographers tool and not a graphics designer. It is not a bible containing everything and some techniques are not covered but for every day work it is all there. I would not be without it.

I loved this book. It left me sad that it was publically available as the instructions in this book are accessible for anyone to use, and basically everyone can have their pictures look professional, a threatening proposition for a professional.

I've wasted hundreds of dollars on reference guides to help me learn CS3, and Photography in general. Scott's book is by far the best I have come across. Not a page is wasted in this outstanding compilation of how-to steps for numerous CS3 activities that every photographer needs to know.

I rarely write reviews, but am happy to sound in here!

You pick the parts you need and ignore the parts you don't. This book doesn't build on the knowledge chapter by chapter, which is great for a person who hops around a book looking for the bits that interest them. Love the way Scott Kelby writes - he had me laughing out loud several times. And so happy to find out that I'm not the only one who is a lazy photographer at times (if I can get the shot out of a car window, by golly, I will).

This is a very interesting and useful book. Good value as there are so many easy tips that are shown with easy to follow descriptions. I'd recomend this book to anyone who uses digital photography. Actually I have recomended this book to others, just as Matt did to me. Thanks mate, and thank you Scott Kelby (author) and Amazon. Oh, and delivery was a fortnight earlier than promised too!

I am a fan of Scott Kelby's work, and this text is very useful to those who want to "hit the ground running" with PS CS3. The layout of the book itself could use some tweaking (there's no step 1... step 2... step 3..., just conversational dialogue and pictures), and Scott's priorities may not be yours, so break free from the need to go "front to back" and just skip to the sections you need, especially if you're already familiar with Photoshop. He does provide some useful tricks and tips and his sense of humor is, as ever, firmly intact. It's a little jarring at first when you're expecting your standard dry textbook, but once you get used to it, Scott's humor helps you actually remember what he's teaching you.

Kelby is the best. If you want all the mind-numbing explanation of what makes something work in PS, go elsewhere. But if you just want a guy to walk you step by step through how to get results fast without a lot of hassle, buy everything you can by Kelby.

Thanks, Scott, for a fun book that takes all the technical outta manuals! Your quick-wit draws attention and I often found myself answering the questions you were posing to yourself! Some of my favorite techniques you teach in this book are about the high-contrast b/w editing and the color with b/w. My brides are happy, their mothers are happy and that means my pets can eat for another week! Now, if you can only teach me how to dance to "Soulja Boy" for all these receptions as easily I'll buy ya a cocktail!:-)

I'm enjoying this book very much. The steps are laid out in a way that is easy to follow and understand. Still learning and working with this.

This is a MUST-BUY book for annyone who has upgraded to Adobe CS3. Scott Kelby, the author, is THE #1 expert when it comes to Photoshop and digital photography. I swear buy his books... get them all!

well written but sometimes it fails to include basics like using the patch tool to remove objects.

I am an advanced hobbyist with a background in 35mm shooting and B&W printing. I was waiting for a reasnoably priced DSLR to come out that could make a sharp poster sized print. I just took the plunge. I had minimal experience in photoshop. I could crop, remove a blemish, etc. This book was the perfect tool for someone of my level. Even if you don't know about white balance, chromatic aberrations, geometric distortion, etc., the author introduces you to these problems in an easy to read manner.
This book took is great as it is broken down into easy to find chapters on particular subject matters. It acts as a quick reference and an education. It talks you through a good workflow and gives you a great set of quick and easy ways to fix common problems.
Now I can at least sound like I know what I'm talking about when I am hanging out with my pro-photographer friends!

For me as a new user of photoshop this book gives an excellent outline of what really matters for post processing. Especially in combination with Lightroom.

I learned a lot stuff from the book. The book is to people who work with the Photoshop already. You have to know about tools, options you have available in the toolbar. The best part for me is the 'retouching charter'.
Very nice an powerful book high recommended.

I upgraded to CS3 and bought this book, having had the CS2 version of this same book. Both are very much worth it. I'm finding that some of it is new, and some of it the same - only how to do it in CS3.

I wish I had kept the CS2 version of this same book, however. There were some techniques that were there that are not in the new one, and now I can't reference them.

If you get CS3, you definitely want this book. Just hold on to the CS2 book version in case you need to get back to it.

This is the best book of its kind that I've seen. Kelby's writing style adds interest to the content, and the content is concise, organized, clear, to the point, and well illustrated. It would help if you already knew a little about Photoshop, since this books admittedly does not spend time on the basics. I've learned many new things that have helped me liven up my digital pics, including some good touch-up, color correction, and black-and-white conversion techniques. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a digital camera. Just get this book.

I have several books written by Scott Kelby on my bookshelf. I like his writing style, and enjoy his humor. Most important is the way he approaches the subject of CS3. We all know there's a learning curve with a new version of software. Scott has assembled a book that helps ease the frustration, and allows you to gain understandingThe Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) and get up to speed quickly.

Unless you are already a professional, you will undoubtably find some tip in this book that will prove invaluable to making you a better Photoshop user. I have used Photoshop for many years but most of my knowledge was self taught or came from tips I had received from friends or seen in magazines. Most of Kelby's tips I had never seen or heard about before, and I would definitely have never figured them out just from playing around in Photoshop. These are tips using functions buried deep in Photoshop settings that an amateur would probably not understand, but Kelby describes them in easy to follow steps and the results are amazing.

Two of the more notable tips I picked up were image sharpening without creating additional color artifacts (by using a channel in Lab color mode) and also using Lab color to punch up dull color as a result of overcast lighting. Comparing two edited images from what I learned from this book as opposed to what I knew less than a week ago, I can truly see the differences.

You won't need to dedicate hours to reading and studying this book; simply choose an effect that you wish to learn from the Table of Contents and apply that effect to your image. This book will truly make you a better Photoshop user overnight!

This is a fine book for someone who wants a step-by-step cook book on how to do things with PSCS3. Kellb's humor gets in the way at times but I can live with that as his instructions are outstanding. The book is at my side most of the time Photoshop is running.

This book is great. It covers everything that you need to know, even somethings that you really don't need to know. From start to finish this gives you easy to follow instructions, and the hows and why's to go along with it. From basic picture development to creating works of art. This is the best book about CS3 I,ve read and used.

I found this book extremely valuable. The author provides tips and techniques that I can use on an every day basis. It is an update of previous editions but I found the new material easily justified the cost. I also appreciated the humour he included.

Many people have critizied this book becuse of its lame humor.... When I began to read there are many parts that have some lame humor. But it is so easy to skip those parts, they are mainly in his chapter headings which has nothing to do with the step by step he goes though, teaching you how to edit pictures. This books is great, it covers everything I've wanted to learn so far in Photoshop. Don't hesitate buying this book becuse of peoples comments on his humor if you don't like it, it is very easy to skip over and get the information you wanted out of this book

Pretty cheesy, yet has been more than helpfull to my intro to "Photoshop" being the newby that Iam to an art form that ive fallin in love with i must say that this book is pretty good at getting the points accross without much confusion. Minus one star only for the cheesy content at times, not quality of teaching.

Quite complete coverage although in places to detailed (aimed too low) and in others not detailed enough. Two features of CS3 which are quite important to photographers are the panorama tool and the HDR tool. Both of these could have been covered more fully.

This book is so easy to use. I have learned a lot. I really like the humor he uses, though if you don't watch Photoshop TV then you might not know where he is coming from.

I just think the illustrations are clear and the step by step is easy to follow and the topics are very relevant.

I have not yet received this book yet - unusual for you guys. I feel it may be lost at this stage.

This book is fast becoming my bible.
For anyone with CS3 it is a must.
A fantastic book.

You've already spent a tremendous amount of money on Photoshop CS3. Don't skip the most important step of using it in the most efficient manner possible. I happen to like Mr. Kelby's humor, but even if you don't, don't forget why you bought the book in the first place.

Scott Kelby's instructions always make sense and are easy to follow. Having said that, I will now add that as a newly minted graphics professional (thanks for the new career, Scott) I was a touch disappointed at the lack of information on batch processing.