Photoshop CS6: The Missing Manual

Missing Manuals

by Lesa Snider

Photoshop CS6 is truly amazing, but it can also be overwhelming if you’re just getting started. This book makes learning Photoshop a breeze by explaining things in a friendly, conversational style—without technical jargon. After a thorough introduction to the program, you’ll delve deep into Photoshop’s secrets with expert tips and practical advice you can use every day.

The important stuff you need to

Learn your way around. Get a guided tour of Photoshop’s beautiful new workspace.
Unlock the magic. Discover the most practical ways to use layers, channels, masks, paths, and other tools.
Fine-tune your images. Learn techniques for cropping, retouching, and combining photos.
Play with color. Drain, change, and add color; and create gorgeous black-and-whites and duotones.
Be artistic. Create original illustrations and paintings, use text and filters effectively, and edit video clips.
Share your work. Produce great-looking images for print and the Web.
Work smarter and faster. Automate common chores and install plug-ins for complex tasks.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Photography

888 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I now have a Photoshop subscription which means I need to polish up my PS skills. So many things have changed since I last us PS that a great book like this knocks the rust off. I first started using PS with version 2.5.

[D.M. Webb-Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I liked this manual even more than the ones from Scott Kelby. Perhaps not as easy to read but more useful I found.

[Mike Romoth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This funny and extremely well-written manual makes learning a complex software package like Photoshop CS6 into a relatively painless process. Lots of great hints and advice. I really appreciated how the instructions for each new tool or process did not assume that the reader knew a bunch of background procedures. Each procedure is spelled out from the beginning with references to any necessary processes or tools clearly spelled out. Photoshop CS6 is an enormous and complex software package and this book gives an enormous and complex education in its use. As an additional benefit, the writing is very human and humorous enough to make readers actually laugh out loud...on occasion. I'm very glad I bought it! I am a beginner with this type of image processing software and this manual definitely got me up to speed on everything I needed to know.

[Scott Oney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good info, but because there is so much it is not always easy to find help on what you are trying to do. Photoshop is not a quick or easy program to learn. This book helps, but there are also plenty of free forums to help you learn too. I had a one year subscription to Adobe CS6 Suite, but due to the cost and the upper end use, I will probably stick to Photoshop Elements. Thus my future reference to this book will be limited.

[Annukka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't even finished the whole book but it's great. Love the way she explains even the most complicated features in a understandable way.

[Mark Niemann-Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encyclopedic. If you are a professional Photoshop user, this should be on your desk.

It's like eating a watermelon. You don't consume it all at once - just take little bites.

[Beth Lind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info -- but much of it is over my head. I think this book will remain on my desk as a reference.

[Jane Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The retouching examples were amateurish, but the technique descriptions were spot on and it was a useful guide to the new features.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read. Easy to skim through and search. A Godsend!