Photoshop Tricks

5 Comments for this entry

• Jean Walters
  June 28th, 2010 on 2:20 pm

  Review by Jean Walters for Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks
  Rating:
  I have a couple of Scott’s books (and love his style) but my Down & Dirty Tricks book just arrived and it’s quickly becoming my favorite. He’s just nailed all these cool effects that I’ve sat there and wondered “How’d they do that?”. I’m already playing around with some, and having a ton of fun learning.

  I’m about a 5 on a scale of 1-10 in Photoshop and I found the steps very easy to follow. The real beauty is that the book has given me techniques and ideas that I can put to work right now – I didn’t have to read the whole book to use it. You can dive in anywhere and learn techniques you can apply to your own projects. I haven’t looked at it yet but there’s a companion web download page too. Just my opinion, but I think even a more experienced Photoshop user can get a lot out of this book (it’s perfect for beginners or intermediate users, so if you think you could teach your own class, maybe review it in the book shop first).

  Sometimes I see a look I want to replicate, but it’s hard to know where to start, I like how Scott breaks it down. There’s even a cool chapter on 3D, which I have been afraid to even play with so far (of course it looks easy when it’s step-by-step). These techniques will seriously make me look like a Photoshop guru and that will put money in my pocket (which I really need right now).
• Stephen Kalman
  June 28th, 2010 on 3:16 pm

  Review by Stephen Kalman for Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks
  Rating:
  I usually don’t trash other reviewers, but this time some of them wrote reviews that really annoy me.

  If you bought a wrench and used it to fix a nail sticking out of a dresser, but found it didn’t work, would you blame the wrench? Would you write a review saying what a lousy wrench it is? Or, would you quietly return it and get a hammer instead? It seems to me that several “reviewers” here are blaming the wrench!

  As another example, if you like mysteries and buy a romance book by the same author, it isn’t fair to say that the romance title is a bad mystery.

  When the covers of a book clearly describe what it is about and who it is for, and the editorial review on this page says the same thing but someone buys it withoug reading any of that, hoping for totally different content, it isn’t fair to blame the author. Giving a 1-star review says more about the incompetence of the reviewer that it will ever say about the book. Unfortunately (and unfairly) it kills the book’s average review. This book deserves a 5-star average. It meets and exceeds the needs of its audience. If you’re not in that audience that’s OK; it means the book isn’t for you, not that it is a bad book.

  The covers say that this book is about special effects. Want to learn how to make type appear on fire, look here. Want to figure out how to make a special layout or design, then this book will show you how to do it in photoshop. Kelby has been teaching this stuff for years, both in books, on tours and online. Naturally, that’s all written in Kelby’s humorous, self-deprecating style and it makes learning fun. It is yet another great book from one of the industry’s best authors.

  The fact that this author has also written many best-selling books about camera raw, workflow and sharpening, and has built a loyal following for such content is great. If that’s what you need, then run to get one of those titles.

  However, if you’ve bought several of his “better pictures” books and liked them but bought this one without reading the editorial material and were then disappointed that is wasn’t for you, just return it quietly and tell the bookseller “my mistake”. Don’t make an online fool of yourself by telling everyone you can’t tell the difference between a wrench and a hammer.
• M. Kubeisy
  June 28th, 2010 on 3:24 pm

  Review by M. Kubeisy for Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks
  Rating:
  I just received my book and it is awesome, I will be applying the “Gritty High” effect on images on my new website just as soon as I’m done writing this review. The “Tricks” are all cutting edge and are very applicable to Little League Images of my kids to professional jobs that I get paid for.
  
  I have been working in Photoshop since version 3.0 and Scott’s books are always so amazing and his writing style is, well lets just say its Scott. One last thing, in his acknowledgments the part about “Most importantly” is why Scott is so amazing. HE’s HUMBLE, and that is why he is so BLESSED with such a great gift of writing.
• Mark Allen
  June 28th, 2010 on 3:32 pm

  Review by Mark Allen for Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks
  Rating:
  As with other Scott Kelby books, I pre-purchased it. I’ve come to expect the best from Scott and this book is no exception. I’m one of those people who need a step-by-step guide when using a piece of software like Photoshop. I’ve got countless examples in my office of marketing pieces that were designed using one or more of Scott’s Down & Dirty Tricks. And they work! I already plan to use some of the tricks in this book in some projects in the next few weeks. This book IS NOT a photography book. Scott has some great books (which I also recommend) on that subject, but this is not one of them. This is about how to take full advantage of some of the amazing things you can do with Photoshop.
• Virgil L. Mize
  June 28th, 2010 on 3:34 pm

  Review by Virgil L. Mize for Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks
  Rating:
  I must admit the I too bought this book under the impression that it was going to be more towards the photography side than the special effects. Bad on me for that. Having said that I discovered that what is in the book really did it justice. I read book cover to cover and found it a great source of info. I actually read different sections almost daily just to keep the tricks in the back of my mind. Now about the uproar over the reviews. There is a saying in the military. ” One oh crap wipes out a thousand that a boys”. I hope that does not become the case with this book. It a good book. Also I do hope that Scott Kelby is not so insecure that 2 bad reviews really gets him that spun up. I think it’s more of a sales tactic which is also acceptable (Hey business is business). I give this book 4 stars. There is always room for improvement. Keep’em coming Scott.