Acknowledgments

First, I want to thank my amazing wife Kalebra. As I'm writing this, she's lying on the couch with me right now, and I have to say that just looking at her makes my heart skip a beat, and again reminds me how much I adore her, how genuinely beautiful she is, and how I couldn't live without her. She's the type of woman love songs are written for, and I am, without a doubt, the luckiest man alive to have her as my wife.

Secondly, I want to thank my 9-year-old son Jordan, who spent many afternoons pulling me away from writing this book so we could play Shadow the Hedgehog or head for the putt-putt course. God has blessed our family with so many wonderful gifts, and I can see them all reflected in his eyes. I'm so proud of him, so thrilled to be his dad, and I dearly love watching him grow to be such a wonderful little guy, with such a tender and loving heart. (You're the greatest, little buddy.)

I also want to thank my daughter Kira, who is still in my wife's tummy as I write this, but we're expecting her arrival any day now. When she does join us out here, I know this: she'll be born with her mother's loving, compassionate heart, and she'll have a Photoshop guy standing nearby ready to be wrapped around her finger. I can't wait!

I also want to thank my big brother Jeffrey for being such a positive influence in my life, for always taking the high road, for always knowing the right thing to say, and just the right time to say it, and for having so much of our dad in you. I'm honored to have you as my brother and my friend.

My heartfelt thanks go to the entire team at KW Media Group, who every day redefine what teamwork and dedication are all about. They are truly a special group of people, who come together to do some really amazing things (on really scary deadlines), and they do it with class, poise, and a can-do attitude that is truly inspiring. I'm so proud to be working with you all.

Thanks to my layout and production crew. In particular, I want to thank my friend and Creative Director Felix Nelson for his limitless talent, creativity, input, and just for his flat-out great ideas. Thanks to my in-house editors Kim Doty and Cindy Snyder, who put the techniques through rigorous testing and made sure that I didn't slip any of my famous typos past the goalie. Also, thanks to Dave Damstra and his amazing crew for giving the book such a tight, clean layout.

Thanks to my compadre Dave Moser, whose tireless dedication to creating a quality product makes every project we do better than the last. Thanks to Jean A. Kendra for her support, and for keeping a lot of plates in the air while I'm writing these books. A special thanks to my Executive Assistant Kathy Siler for all her hard work and dedication, and for showing such grace when her beloved Redskins were crushed by my Buccaneers.

Thanks to my Publisher Nancy Ruenzel, and the incredibly dedicated team at Peachpit Press. You are very special people doing very special things, and it's a real honor to get to work with people who really just want to make great books. Also many thanks to the awesome Rachel Tiley, Peachpit's "Secret Weapon," to Ted "Time Waits For No Man" Waitt, and to marketing maverick Scott Cowlin.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Photoshop color genius Dan Margulis for his many contributions to the color chapter of this book. When it comes to color, Dan is the bottom line, and he was generous enough to share some of his favorite tips with me so I could include them here in the book, and the book is infinitely better because of him. Dan has dedicated his life to teaching Photoshop, and I'm honored to have gotten the chance to work with this Photoshop Hall of Famer.

Also thanks to my "Photoshop Guys," Dave Cross and Matt Kloskowski, for being such excellent sounding boards for the development of this book, and for giving the beta version a good work over. You guys are the best!

I want to thank all the Photoshop experts who've taught me so much over the years, including Deke McClelland, Felix Nelson, Ben Willmore, Julieanne Kost, Katrin Eismann, Jack Davis, Bert Monroy, Doug Gornick, Manual Obordo, Vincent Versace, Peter Bauer, Jim DiVitale, Moose Peterson, and Russell Preston Brown.

Thanks to my friends at Adobe Systems: Terry White, Kevin Connor, Addy Roff, Cari Gushiken, John Nack, Russell Brady, Julieanne, and Russell. Gone but not forgotten: Barbara Rice, Jill Nakashima, Rye Livingston, Bryan Lamkin, and Karen Gauthier.

Thanks to my mentors whose wisdom and whip-cracking have helped me immeasurably, including John Graden, Jack Lee, Dave Gales, Judy Farmer, and Douglas Poole.

Also, my personal thanks to Patrick Lor at iStockphoto.com for enabling me to use some of their wonderful photography in this book.

Most importantly, I want to thank God, and His son Jesus Christ, for leading me to the woman of my dreams, for blessing us with such a special little boy, for allowing me to make a living doing something I truly love, for always being there when I need Him, for blessing me with a wonderful, fulfilling, and happy life, and such a warm, loving family to share it with.