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This is arguably better than the missing manual to Photoshop CS5. The author has a clear writing style and the illustrations are first rate so that you can actually see the modifications he is discussing. This book also includes a DVD with movies showing some of the new features of CS5 including content aware fill and puppet warp. There is a significant discussion of using raw to preprocess pictures even if they were not captured in RAW format. He even covers color management in considerable detail, well beyond the usual display profiling and calibration.

Of course every book can be improved and even though I gave this book the maximum number of stars I believe that there are short comings that some other authors can and will address. For example, the index seemed a little hard for me to use, at least at first, and I wished that the entire book, rather than selected chapters was on the DVD so I could search for what I wanted. Nevertheless the DVD does include a help guide that complements the book and provides some desktop assistance. Also, even though the book contains numerous specific examples of photographic modifications and repairs and the DVD contains the original photographs when possible for your practice, I think that there are other Photoshop books that provide more fully illustrated examples with the steps more clearly outlined. I also have the Scott Kelby Photoshop CS4 book for digital photographers as well as the CS3 book and these guides teach by example, with the books organized as a series of photographic fixes. As I am writing this review, however, the CS5 book is not yet available and I've been temporarily saved from having to read through Mr Kelby's humor to get to the good parts.

So to sum up. Martin Evening has created a tour deforce explaining the features you need to run Photoshop CS5 that is better illustrated than the Adobe Photoshop CS5 user's guide available on the Adobe web site! (see it's not really missing and you can Google photoshop CS5 user guide to find it like I did) He has also included a DVD and movies illustrating his skills, a nice touch. And he has left room for other authors to provide illustrative examples in guides organized differently.

I recently upgraded from PSE7 to CS5 and was a bit overwhelmed with all the new tools and options now available to me. Martin Evening's CS5 book is fabulous! It does assume some prior PS knowledge, so I wouldn't recommend this book to someone completely new to PS, but it is very informative and full of practical tips for someone relatively familiar with Photoshop. I had a question about one of the techniques in the Image Retouching chapter and emailed the author. I received a prompt reply in less than 24 hours from Mr. Evening clarifying his description in the book and pointing me to some other resources. I have many pages earmarked already and will continue to use this as a reference whenever using CS5. Highly recommended!

This book is a great deal. The book itself is quite thorough, and the DVD has so much material in it that it alone is worth the cost of the book. The DVD has tutorials, tool detailed descriptions, and my favorite, which is a 33 page PDF of all the Photoshop keyboard short cuts. I printed this out and keep it at my desk.

The book was originally written for intermediate to advanced users, and although he says it is now written to include beginners, I'd say it's still a book for people who know their way around Photoshop.

I have his previous book for CS4, and I thought it was quite good, so I was really excited to see this one come out so soon. At first glance, I wasn't impressed, because it uses his old material, but as I took my time and studied the book, I found it was quite updated for CS5. He does a great job of explaining the aspects of CS5, and I love the fact that he goes into such great detail for Camera Raw, which he obviously uses quite extensively.

I consider this an excellent reference book, while I've read it and watched all the tutorials on the DVD, this is a book I keep by my computer, and refer to it when I need detail on a particular aspect of Photoshop. This is my favorite Photoshop book, and I have many.

So why didn't I give it 5 stars? Many of the photos he uses as examples are not well shot or good quality, and that always influences my impression of a book about photography or Photoshop. He's also a curves snob saying you can do just about anything with curves, but without going into detail as to how he would do so. This is a problem throughout the book as he doesn't always explain himself, for instance he mentions about how you can deactivate and activate a computer to use Photoshop so that you don't exceed the license limit of two computers, but he doesn't tell you how. (You find it in the help menu, and Adobe really only lets you license 2 computers)

Those weaknesses aside, this is a great investment.

I bought this book a couple of months ago after reading all the excellent reviews. I must say that I am disappointed. Not that it isn't a comprehensive book, that it is. But it is not too useful if you want to refer to it when you are working - in fact it is frustrating if used in this fashion. For example, I wanted to know how to use the clone stamp tool. Good write up on the features and all the options. Nice picture showing you half way through a touch up using the tool. As to how to set up Photoshop so that you can work as described and shown... out of luck. Read the other 720 pages. This is a good manual, not a good reference book. I just ordered the Kelby book, hoping it will be more useful.

Martin Evening may be the last best hope of comprehending the infinite complexity of Adobe products. There are those of us who are giving up on use of all the things Photoshop can do. Adobe doesn't seem able to manage them very well, either, so an early and unusual update on CS5 was sent out to cool the nerves of many jangled users.

Because of his very close relationship to Adobe Mr. Evening has an overview few of us can match. An accomplished photographer, his book is based on an eye long sharpened to photographic effect rather than "just another pretty shot." The material on shooting raw images is urgently required reading for every serious photographer.

And, because he has been at it for so long, Mr. Evening can ferret out new complexities that have crept into the coding on more than just new additions to Photoshop's burgeoning bag of tricks. This 746-page book and a superb DVD with video and text-with-illustration have answered every question I've raised since CS3 when I first discovered Mr. Evening's
abilities. Every new issue by Adobe has been met with the careful language and detailed explanations that have brought him is well-deserved fame.

On-line training is always very helpful but it is frequently necessary to have printed material to open and read for full understanding of the inner workings that make Adobe great to use but extremely difficult to 'grok.' This is the way to do it, with Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers.

If you have any interest in photography, and therefore in Photoshop, this is the ONLY book you'll ever need. I've read every Martin Evening book since the issue of Photoshop CS, and each book has been extensively re-written to accommodate all the new features of each edition of Photoshop. These books are not exhaustive, but then they're not supposed to be. Only the tools a photographer is likely to need are discussed.

This latest edition has been broadened to appeal to even beginners using Photoshop. The emphasis is on digital, of course, because that's where the future of photography lies. There are new sections here (among others) on converting to black and white, and an extensive section on the new "Merge to HDR Pro" tool in Photoshop CS5.

Evening himself is a successful professional photographer, and is also a respected advisor to Adobe Systems, Inc. This book is excellently written and painstakingly illustrated, and is a joy to read. The book is also highly unusual in that you can read it from cover to cover, and you can also use it as a reference guide. Once you examine this book (and heft it), I think you'll realize that your money is very well spent. So buy it, and you will indeed realize that this book is the most comprehensive and readable treatise on Photoshop (for photographers) that you'll find out there, and the only one you'll need.

Put this on your bookshelf right next to Scott Kelby's, "The Adobe CS5 Book for Digital Photographers."

The latter is the "how to" guide; Evening is that plus the "why."

As are all of Evening's books, this one is excellent.

Martin Evening set the standard for Photoshop books aimed at photographers several releases ago, and continues to produce the most comprehensive guides for those who spend a lot of time behind the camera. It may seem odd that photographers need a special version that relates to their needs, but too many Photoshop books are written by graphic artists who also take pictures, or by amateur photographers who develop skills in Photoshop and fancy themselves "real" photographers. Martin Evening is one of the rare breed that has both amazing photographic skills and is adept at applying Photoshop to optimizing his images. Unlike books that simply show you how to repair ill-captured images in Photoshop, this one will help you take great shots and make them even better.

Martin Evening's impressively encyclopedic book provides in-depth coverage of the full array of Adobe Photoshop CS5's tools available to digital photographers. Although I found it tedious to read in places, studying all of its chapters resulted in a demonstrable increase in my Photoshop competence.

Overall judgment:

PROS:
1. Excellent coverage of Camera Raw Image Processing that has greatly improved my digital photography.
2. Very good coverage of CS5's innovations involving Puppet Warp, Content Aware Fill, and Refine Edges. (Its materials on the new Mini Bridge, as well as innovations with HDR and Lens Correction are adequate.)

CONS:
1. None so far.

Concurrent with my recent upgrade from CS2 to CS5, I bought three books: Evening's Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers, Kelby's Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book For Digital Photographers, and Smith's Adobe Photoshop CS5 Digital Classroom. Evening's book is the most useful of the three, and will serve as my primary CS5 reference.

There is a reason this has become one of the industry standard guides, focused on intermediate users of Photoshop, who want to go beyond the basics while focusing on essentials. It is thorough and clear, and manages both to outline each technique and approach it describes in a clear and general way, and to enhance its coverage with personalized insights and tips, obviously drawn from a wealth of experience, and also addressed to the specific issues of specific photographs that are included for reference on the accompanying dvd. The book strikes a nice balance between "how to" and "hands on," in other words. I like this especially because it isn't just a cookbook approach to photo editing - according to the Foreward, Evening was closely involved with Adobe's development team as it created this new release, and it shows in his insights about the inner workings of Photoshop. Even for those who have been using Photoshop a long time I expect that working through this book would be a nice refresher, that would give fresh insights into the basics of Photoshop and clarity about the newest features.

The title of my review may sound like an oxymoron, since "comprehensive" implies complete coverage, beyond the basics. That's not what you get with this book - in spite of its massive, tome-like heft, this guide focuses on the most essential and basic skills of photo editing that Photoshop makes possible. At the same time, this is not an introduction to Photoshop, not a "getting started" book, but aims to give thorough coverage of all the features that professional photographers can use to fine tune and improve realistic photos and show them in their best possible light. I'm not a professional photographer, but really like taking photos and want them to look the best they can - I'm usually more interested in enhancing what's already there in my photos than in creating fantastic images, so the emphasis in this guide on essentials is exactly what I wanted.

I took out the previous edition of Evening's book from the library when I made the move from Photoshop Elements 8 to Photoshop proper; but this is really a book to own, and with the latest version I've found myself going back over several sections as I work on photos. As far as I can tell, the basic approach of the book and several of the examples are continuous with the last edition, but there are a few new sections, lots of new examples, and an increased emphasis on a workflow that begins in Adobe Bridge, makes non-destructive adjustments in Camera Raw, and then completes the look in Photoshop Proper. In addition to the book proper, there are several chapters on specialized tasks available in PDF form on the dvd; and there are a few hours' worth of video tutorials that complement and expand on the treatment of a few techniques covered in the book. The new "Content Aware Fill" feature of Photoshop CS5, for example, is covered fairly briefly in the book but Evening explains and illustrates several different ways to use it in a video tutorial on the dvd. I do wish there was a bit more clarity in the book about "what's new" in CS5 and in this edition of the book, which would make it a bit easier to approach for users of previous editions of Photoshop and readers of previous editions of this book. Still, it's an excellent and thorough guide to the most valuable features of Photoshop, that would be a great refresher for experienced users and has taught me a lot. For those most interested in enhancing realistic photography with Photoshop, rather than "cheating" in Photoshop and creating photomontages and special effects shots (for that see How to Cheat in Photoshop CS5), then this might be the only photoshop book you really need.

A well written and easy to follow book for photoshop newbies like myself. His discussion of the RAW workflow convinced me to switch to RAW and I haven't looked back. ;)

I'll make this short & sweet. This is a well written, and very imformative book, touching on many new techniques. There is something for every level of expertice in photo retouching....from the beginner to the pro! I haven't gotten too far into the book, but so far I'm very pleased! I'm always looking for more ways to learn and develop skills in the very facinating hobbies of Photography & Adobe Photoshop! As I read I take notes, that I can later refer back to. As with any learning experience these can be helpful. We all can afford to skip certain KNOWN keypoints and the other things we will probably never need or use. This will help condense our studies and make them more manageable. In conclusion, from what I have read so far, I highly reccommend this book & DVD.

I am a long-time user of Photoshop, but by no means a power user.
I recently upgraded to the CS5 version after finding that CS2 no longer recognized some of the latest camera RAW formats.

Along with the upgrade, Adobe give a one month subscription to Lynda,com, which has lots of training material on Photoshop (as well as many other Adobe, and other products). Looking at some of the materials there made clear to me that my usage was not exploiting Photoshop to its full potential. Not by a long way.

Watching videos is one way to learn, but I find that until I have used functions pretty regularly, I forget exactly how to use them, and going back, searching for a video and watching it, or possibly several of them, to refresh my memory is not the best way to work. I needed a printed reference work.

After looking at reviews of various books, I settled upon Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers. I have not been disappointed. The book is well organized, and written by someone that obviously understands his subject. Its not for a raw beginner, but for anyone that has at least some basic idea of how to edit photos and wanting to unlock the full potential of Photoshop, I think it would be hard to find anything better.

Its organization and writing style make it something that you can sit down and read from cover to cover, but also something which can be used as a reference to refresh the memory when you need to do that one little thing which you only do once in a blue moon, know its possible to do, but just can't see it by staring at the menus available in Photoshop.

At least in my view, a valuable addition to my reference bookshelf.

I am a first time user of a full version Photoshop Product. I was using Photoshop Elements 7 and purchased CS5 because Adobe offered me a substantially reduced price and because Elements could not take full advantage of my 64-bit system.
To begin, "Photoshop for Photographers" is not a good manual if you are new to Photoshop. It is what it says it is, "A professions image editor's guide." I bought it because I had been using Photoshop Elements 6 and 7 for about a year and I figured this manual, despite warnings from other reviewers, would be a logical transition to Photoshop CS5 and that it would give me what I needed to bridge the gap. I was wrong. What I needed was a how to do it book and this book is far from that (with the exception of where it talks about new features in CS5, which, of course, presupposes you are familiar with previous versions). So to be clear, this book is not for beginners, it is for people who already know how to use Photoshop (not Elements) and want to get better.
The most useful feature in this book was the included DVD which was and will be very useful, and might well be, as one reviewer said, worth, by itself, the purchase price. Be warned, however, the author has a strong British accent which I found difficult (no doubt because I am a little hard of hearing) to understand. It also has good and mostly understandable chapter on Camera Raw Image Processing which I found to be somewhat enlightening, and which, I think, will change the way I take pictures and the way I begin my photo editing process.
Bottom line, I discovered almost immediately that this manual wasn't going to help to get very far into Photoshop CS5 and that I was going to have to buy a more basic manual. I opted for "Photoshop CS5, The Missing Manual" because I found the Photoshop Elements version very useful when I was learning PSE6 and I assumed it would do the same with CS5. So far it has and I recommend it if you are going from Photoshop Elements to Photoshop CS5. There are other manuals, including the Adobe manual, which may be just as good or better for beginners, but as I said, I went with the "Missing Manual" because it taught me what I needed to know about PSE6.
To be candid, I don't think, even "The Missing Manual", will be much help to someone who has never used a Photoshop product, i.e. Photoshop Elements. If you are jumping straight from a more or less automated photo-editing program or no program to CS5, I think you need to take a class.
I plan to keep Adobe Photoshop for Photographers because I think it will be what I need down the road when I better understand what CS5 can do and what I want to do with it. I also can't return it (take note here if you are just trying it out) because I broke out and played the DVD. The book has a warning about that, but I played it anyway as I decided the book was worth keeping.

I've never used previous versions of photoshop. I'm taking a class in school to learn photoshop CS5 and this is the required reading. Very pleased with it so far. I'm learning a lot! My only criticism is that at times it feels like the book expects me to know what certain things are, as if I've used previous versions of the software.

Very comprehensive and excellent coverage of how lightroom works. However for the amateur user the Kelby book is laid out in a much simpler easier to follow step by step tutorial method. Ideal is to have both.

I have completed many classes on photoshop and each teacher has their own way of "getting around" Photoshop. I also collect tutorials like some people collect antiques. This book is a professional all inclusive Photoshop "Bible". It is color coded and has pictures - which is something most of us photographers need to keep our interest, but most important is step by step instructions and descriptions that make the difference between wasting time and getting something done.

A short review, this. Others go into more and better detail. But for me, Martin's evolving series of books on Photoshop for use by photographers are the clearest, most informed and most intelligent. There are far too many books out there on this subject, most just following the trend, embellished with cute titles, and not what I'd call a primary source. This, however, is a trusted manual, and the only one I would consider buying.

Halfway through this book and I can't say enough great things about it. I am a photographer and illustrator. I've skipped some CS versions but finally hunkered down and purchased CS5 for the Illustrator's upgrades. I carefully looked over all the books as it starts adding up $$$ buying both the PS and Illustrator books. If you are a serious photographer this is the book to get. Kelby's are fun for quick and easy references but to understand the changes and upgrades of CS5 PS and CS5 Camera Raw this is the bible.

Pros for me: Evening must have a graphic design background as the book is beautifully laid out, chapters are color-coded, Mac/PC shortcuts are color-coded as well and easy to follow, plenty of space for tips in the margins, wonderful white space for notes, and beautiful sample images.
Although Evening is a British photographer, lucky for me, a large percent of the Camera RAW chapter images are pictures of the US Southwest. As a native, many of my images are similar and have the same complex image problems; tons of color saturation, difficult fore and background highlight/shadows and contrast issues. I also do studio portrait work and he addresses both issues throughout the book. Cons. Non yet.

There is enough technology/science background for the photo-nerd, but clearly written for the non-tech photographer. No meandering stories (Margulis), no "ha-ha" stupid funny (Kelby), just straightforward information about Photoshop CS5 and Camera Raw for the Photographer and with these many Adobe upgrades, pace of life and busy photo and illustration work...that's all I want anymore.

Once again Martin Evening has produced an outstanding new guide to Photoshop. As in his previous Photoshop books,
Mr. Evening has built a very detailed, comprehensive step-by-step manual for editing digital images. This time
the guide is based upon Photoshop Version CS5, a major update of the program.

The book is similar in style and scope to his previous Photoshop books. As in the past, this version is profusely
illustrated and clearly annotated. The excellent included DVD emphasizes and demonstrates the powerful new features
of CS5.

If you are serious about getting the most out of your upgrade to CS5, this is the book for you! Read through it
once, and then keep it beside your computer for frequent reference. My copy is already profusely highlighted and
heavily bookmarked with "Post-Its".

"Adobe Photoshop for Photographers" series of books on the subject of Photoshop is by far the best there is. I highly recommend this book to all those who are serious about learning Photoshop. I also recommend this book to all teachers who want their students to learn Photoshop with solid foundation.

Martin Evening in his "Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers" is successfully maintaining this trend. Moreover, not only he is introducing new techniques, but he also explains all the new tools of Photoshop in great detail and uses very vivid and practical examples which can be used over and over.

I wish I could give more than 5 stars. This is the best technical manual I've ever read... for at least 3 reasons.

1 Its 700+ pages covers a ton of material and it does so in a clear and concise manner.
2 The full-color example illustrations are of high quality and actually show they are supposed to illustrate.
3 Perhaps most amazingly, when the text refers to an illustration, it is ALMOST ALWAYS right there. Rarely, when referred to an illustration, does one need to turn a page to find it. This HAS to be extraordinarily difficult editorially.

I haven't seen any of Martin Evening's other books, but if I need another Photoshop book, I will check his out first. If they're all so well done, I know I won't be disappointed.

This is the best Photoshop CS5 learning/reference guide on the market. Very in-depth and I can assure you that this book covers every detailed aspect of CS5. I HIGHLY recommend this book to both the beginner and experienced CS5 user...

When PS CS4 was released, as a newcomer to digital image editing, I reviewed a number of the publications claiming to be of value for photographers. Hands down, this book is far and away the most complete and tightly focused upon the needs of the working photographer. When I recently upgraded to PS CS5, I waited to install the software until this new edition was available. The information regarding instillation, configuration and use of new CS5 features makes the book indespensable for anyone who is not a full-time pixil wrangler.

Confession: I was a darkroom printer for over 15 years, working mainly with medium and large-format film. I struggled with Photoshop Elements bundled with an Epson V700 scanner I had purchased (I had the Elements for Dummies book). I struggled with the Adobe manual after I purchased Photoshop CS5 (mainly because it offers 16-bit/channel editing and is easier to use than Elements), along with various online tutorials including Adobe's (they're hard to reference quickly and are nowhere as thorough and logically progressive as Evening -- there's no substitute for a book). I read the numerous reviews of various books available through Amazon. Truthfully, I was a bit intimidated by the Martin Evening reviews, as good as they were. So I initially purchased Scott Kelby's Adobe Photoshop CS5 book, along with Harold and Phyllis Davis' "The Photoshop Darkroom". Kelby was good at getting me started, although it annoyed me that the "why" of his how-to examples were often lacking. The Davis book gives a rudimentary start on the invaluable Camera Raw feature of CS5 and devotes a lot of space to special effects using LAB color, which may or may not be of interest in the future (I presently am more interested in producing more or less "realistic" prints). Kelby gives much more information on Camera raw and Photoshop features. I don't regret either purchase.

However, and it's a BIG however, despite reviews that indicated Evening's book was for more intermediate or advanced Photoshop users, I ordered it. Unless you are looking for easy, minor photo-editing (in which case why use CS5 when there are simpler programs available?), this is the book to own. Maybe I knew more than I thought I knew but I have not found Evening's book difficult. Despite one reviewers comment that he was verbose, and others that he was for the advanced Photoshop user, I did not find this the case at all. He provides "how-to" and "why" explanations in a well-written, understandable way. His section on Camera raw is thorough, much more so than Kelby's. (Note: I am using Silverfast SE Plus with basic HDR for "raw" scanning of color and b+w negatives as well as transparencies. It took me a while to figure out, but scan color negs in 48-bit HDR mode and use Silverfast's extensive selection of color film types to neutralize the orange mask. The film type to achieve the optimal look isn't often the same as the actual film used. Experiment -- you see the differences in real time. Then use their HDR module in 48 bit color output to reverse the image from negative to positive. Then use Camera Raw for further adjustments. Inverting the negative in Photoshop works, but gives weird results since the orange mask isn't compensated for.) Much initial editing can be done more intuitively in Camera Raw than using Photoshop's curves, levels and layers. I do extensively use Photoshop's amazing content-aware brush for dust spotting and removing unwanted objects. His explanation on setting up Photoshop and Camera Raw preferences was alone worth the price of the book as I am working with the large (120 Mb and larger) files that result from large film scanning.

I've only read about 2/3 of the book so far and haven't even yet downloaded the enclosed DVD's. I'm already producing images that are up to my high standards, just weeks after receiving the book. The book is well laid out. Yes, the index is frustrating, but in fairness, to reference everything would require an index as big as the book. Despite that, I can find what I'm looking for fairly quickly in the appropriate section. There are many quality before and after photos showing the effects of various tools, along with invaluable screen shots of the multitude of menus, panels and dialogues, each displayed alongside the text describing the tool or action. Truthfully, I've scarcely glanced at Kelby's or Davis' books since purchasing Evening's, and reference it frequently as I continue to learn. If a problem arises, I'm confident Evening has a solution. This is unquestionably the book to own for those want to take advantage of CS5's capabilities, which appear limitless (the more I learn, the more I'm in awe of the programmers who developed it). One piece of advice: my somewhat older Compaq came with ~1 gigabyte of memory. For about $70 and easy installation, I increased it to 4 gigabytes. You'll need it if working with large files, or smaller files with lots of layers. I also use an external 1 terabyte disk for backup and as Photoshop's "scratch" disk (don't worry, Evening explains what it is for and it may not even be an issue depending upon your computer's capabilities). A RAID setup (according to Evening) is better, but so far with my present setup, Photoshop is fast and I haven't experienced any real problems.

I had thoughts of buying Scott Kelby's book on CS5, but after reading the other reviews, I thought much of it would be a repeat of his book on CS3 which I already had.
In comparing these two authors, I see that they disagree on many ways to handle images in PhotoShop. It is obvious that Martin Evening is talking to the true professional. He is concerned about making the perfect large size wedding print that will hang on the wall. Scott Kelby's book is more about how to turn out the 8 X 10 print that he will be able to make a profit on by keeping his time costs down. I don't think that either of them are incorrect in their approach since they are working toward different ends.
Since Martin Evening's book is aimed at the true professional, I was able to skip over many parts of it. Most of my images will end up as 4 X 6 prints and 8 X 10 at the most. I am not a professional. Martin Evening makes everything clear and understandable even when it is on the technical end of things.
Two different books. If you are not a professional and don't have a recent versions of Kelby's book, I would recommend his book if your plan is to purchase only one.

Martin Evening shares with you all you will ever need to know about getting the most from your images without all the fuss and mindbending jargon most books throw at you.Long story short,a must have book if you are serious about getting the most from your pics.I must say the book made me a better photographer as far as looking at an image and by following Mr.Evening advice,I can now made a good photo even better.Very well written and full of great photos to help you master the beast of Phoshop.

An excellent book on the subject, severly hobbled as a reference by a grossly inadequate index. If you're new to CS5 and attempting to learn the software from scratch this probably is the best book available now that Bruce Fraser is no longer around to make "Real World Adobe Photoshop CS5" the definitive source. But if you plan to use it as a reference, forget it. The index is so abbreviated it's almost useless.

This is a book with more than 740 pages, very small letters. This means that for those who want to quickly but efficiently operate CS5, even coming from prior versions, reading will become extremely tiring after a while. More yet, there is no doubt that Photoshop has enormous amount of options, ways of doing things, but the reality is that unless you spend hours every day working with this software, what you really need is some "killing tips" literature, presented in a mild environment. This is a heavy book to read, to store in mind, although very professional. As far as I can see, to date, no books released based on desirable profile submitted above. Jennifer Smith, Scott Kelby (with less sense of humor) and even the standard "Adobe Class Room" should be more advisable for those who want to benefit the max, with a compatible time & effort.

This book was written for professional photograhers who are using Photoshop CS5. I was hoping for an amateur photographers book on how to use Photoshop using common Photoshop techniques. A lot in the book doesn't apply to me. I'm not interested in setting up a photography studio. I also need to know how to use Photoshop when designing webpages. The book is Ok, but there is more there than I need to know.

I've been using Photoshop for editing photos for more than ten years, starting with version 5.0, upgrading to each new version as they were released. Now I'm using CS5. Adobe used to include printed manuals with Photoshop, but they stopped that several versions ago, and now only a glutton for punishment would try to learn Photoshop with Adobe's online help and tutorials.

Up until CS5, I bought the Scott Kelby books, and they're very good, but his CS5 book had not yet been released when I bought the CS5 software. Martin Evening's book had been released, so I bought it and hoped it would be thorough enough to cover the newer features in CS5. It is. I've enjoyed using it very much as both a tutorial and a reference. With almost 750 pages and a comprehensive index, it's now my #1 resource for using Photoshop CS5.

This is the third edition of the series that I've bought. It's the easiest way to learn photoshop and has great information for photoshop veterans, too.

I purchased this book as a reference when retouching photos, and it's been a great resource! Sometimes, you don't want to watch a video tutorial and go through minutes of stuff you already know. I can just flip through to the section I need and get some great tips or refresh my memory of certain techniques. The examples are thorough and easy to understand. This is definitely my go-to guide.

A comprehensive, detailed and complete guide to the nooks and crannies photographers will wish to understand about the tools, processes, and the newest innovations packed into Adobe Photoshop CS5. Mr. Evening outlines such things in a clear, concise and understandable manner. We're able to trust what he says because he's affiliated with some of the most respected gurus in the business, Pixel Genius. For example, some of the skills that he passes on here were passed on to him at Pixel Genius by the late Bruce Fraser, the Obi Won of Photoshop. (If that sounds like hyperbole, it's not.) That's not to detract from Mr. Evenings own reputation, an established commercial photographer from Great Britain. If you want a book that serves as the foundation for the monastic study of Photoshop CS5, or if you simply need an excellent reference that transcends more run-of-the-mill books, this book fits that bill.

After several attemps to learn more through the Kelby group, this is the ONE book that really gets into the operation of Photoshop CS5. As one of the develoing staff of Photoshop, Evening is deeply aware of the subtle ins and outs of the program. He tells you how to use the tools---not by presenting you with a "before" photo and a set of "do this" settings to get the "after" photo, but by teaching you a operation of tools. Evening's approach really gets you to the point where you can make the unique adjustments you need to make your image look its best. This really is the one to have. This is not a "paint by numbers" book.

This is a well written and very imformative book. Haven't finished the reading yet. Already learned a few tricks. I am very pleased. I also like it covers both Mac and PC since I am in transition from PC to Mac. From what I have read so far, I highly reccommend this book.

Be aware that this book is great for photographers who are very familiar with CS5. Also, for some reason there seems to be a problem with the DVD that's included with my copy of the book; it contains no data. According to the instructions in the book, and also at the publisher's website, when having problems with the DVD a specific person should be contacted (the e-mail for this person is provided).

PS: I have received the DVD along a very sincere apology from the Project Manager of Focal Press / Elsevier, so I am extremely pleased. That's one of the two reasons why I have marked 5 starts out of 5. The second reason is as follows: this book is a wealth of information relating to CS5, and very well written. The more I read, the more I like it.

Nice book if you are starting out with
Photoshop.Do the lessons because the book isn't set up as much of a reference source. Purchased because it was a required textbook.

Excellent book.
My transition from Photoshop CS2 to CS5 would be very difficult without this book.
I use it frequently and it help me to get better results from "my photo lab".

I have purchased several resources by Martin Evening and enjoy the layout he uses to project the informaiton. The sections of the book our quick referenced by colored tabs that can be viewed prior to opening the pages where they are printed. He has a way of giving the reader direct information. The sidebars are a great reference tool.

No current book of mine on Photoshop matches this one for depth, presentation and general usefulness - and during the last two years I've bought more than a dozen Photoshop books, each on the strength of excellent user reviews on Amazon. This book doesn't break new ground in terms of discovering dazzling new methods of enhancing photos, but in terms of instruction on Photoshop CS5, it's a classic.