This is a good book however; I do miss the step by step instructions to create an photo. CS3 do is a heavy professional program and do have very much possibilities. A beginner does not know all the tools and gadgets what are build inn. The most simply case like: how to cut that part from your picture to create a better look a like photo is one of these delays. Not everybody does know how to use specific tools. This is a missing point for a really good written book.

This book is great if you aren't looking for too much explanation into what you are doing. I began to read this book at my local super book store, and wrote down the information. I like this book because it gives me the information I want to do what I need to, without all the fluff and stuff of other books.

Are you an experienced Photoshop user or just a novice? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Tim Shelbourne, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that is an invaluable resource that you'll return to again and again.

Shelbourne, begins by taking a look at the host of improvements to the way Photoshop looks and works in Version CS3, like: Smart objects, smart filters, multiple clone sources, refine edges, improved curves, and quick selection tool. Next, the author shows you how to make accurate selections, which is the key to the art of successful image manipulations. Then, he discusses how layers are the bedrock of successful image editing in Photoshop. The authors also focus on how to disable any in-camera sharpening and sharpening images in Photoshop after the event, as this gives you far more control over the final degree of sharpness in the image. He continues by explaining how Photoshop is not a true-vector based program, and because the terminology is rather confusing, you can think of vectors in Photoshop simply as paths--in essence, how the two things are one and the same. Finally, the author shows you how to use Photoshop's Lighting Effects filter.

This most excellent book is a real bonus for those times when inspiration runs short or you need to pin down a particular effect. More importantly, this book is organized into different areas, each covering a particular genre of Photoshop recipes.

This book provides clear step-by-step instructions for creating many traditional photographic and graphic arts effects using Photoshop. It does not deal with color correction and retouching, but with creating new images based on photographs. It covers a wide variety of effects. You won't use all or even most of them, but if you are interested in this kind of work there should be enough here to make the book worthwhile.

This book is nominally for the CS3 version of Photoshop, and includes a good summary of the new features, but doesn't use very many of them in the recipes.

The most impressive effects were in the chapter "Graphic Art Effects". This chapter deals with creating traditional painterly images such as water color, pencil drawing, pen and ink, and even woodcut. Unfortunately this is also the area where Photoshop gives you the least help--the recipes here are essentially that you do a little bit of prep work, and then you trace the photograph by hand.

Other interesting examples were applying a flat tattoo to a curved body, adding a rainstorm, adding a rainbow (surprisingly easy with an existing rainbow gradient), caricatures (distortion), and adding a simulated wood look under a photograph. It also includes the ever-popular "fully engulfed in flames" look, saved from banality by including flame reflections in a polished saxophone.

The book doesn't do much explaining in the recipes, but it does have a good summary of Photoshop features in the beginning of the book, including a lot about layers (which you will use heavily in these recipes). Unlike many other books the techniques do not depend very much on the correct choice of values for the many Photoshop parameters. Most of the recipes take about ten steps, which I think is a good balance of complexity against the impressive final results.

There are many intermediate screen shots so that you can check your progress (handy if you tend to lose your place and leave out steps). My only significant gripe about the book is that the recipes are printed in a tiny sans serif font (I measured it at 8 points on 9 point line spacing).

Very Good Feature: the sample images are freely downloadable at the book's web site rather than on CD.