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 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!

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!

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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...

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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.