Photoshop CS Savvy: Who Should Use This Book

The immense popularity of Adobe Photoshop is in part attributable to the fact that it enables us to alter the reality of images. And who, after all, can resist the temptation to change the nature of what we see? Photoshop CS Savvy is for anyone who has ever unconsciously scribbled a mustache on a face in a magazine while talking on the telephone. It s for those of us who take photographs, draw, paint, and cut and paste pictures. It s for computer artists , graphic designers, Web designers, and printers. It is intended to help master the software, at whatever level you might be in the learning curve.

A Systematic, Comprehensive Approach

The focus of Photoshop CS Savvy is to present a complete and organized guide to the tools and operations of Adobe s amazing image-editing software. It offers descriptions, explanations , and techniques that will make all aspects of the software more accessible and familiar to you without oversimplifying or dumbing down the information. How you work in Photoshop will be defined by your specific output goals. The book explores the basic concepts that are fundamental to your understanding of the digital image. Each chapter contains information to help you master the Photoshop skills you need. Most chapters contain step-by-step modules, and the book is interspersed with Hands On projects, which will further enhance your capabilities so that you can ultimately apply the techniques to your own images.

Photoshop is an enormous software package with the capability to perform almost any imaging operation. When you consider the number of operations that Photoshop can execute, and how they might be combined, the image-editing possibilities become infinite. Making this information understandable and, above all, interesting to you, is the intent of Photoshop CS Savvy .

How to Become Photoshop Savvy

Note  

The Master in the art of living makes little distinction between work and play, labor and leisure, mind and body, education and recreation, love and religion. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both. ”ZEN APHORISM

Becoming Photoshop savvy is more than learning where the tools and operations are and how to use them. The real knowledge comes from being able to creatively apply what you know. Although Photoshop is used by scientists and engineers for image manipulation and color correction, the majority of end users are interested in expressing visual ideas. Photoshop gives them the power to paint, color, synthesize, collage, composite, manipulate, and distort the reality of their pictures and fulfill the potential of their artistic vision.

Photoshop is like all visual art forms, in that the best work is created with love, passion, focus, and skill. The fundamentals of design, composition, and color apply to digital images just as they do to traditional drawings, paintings, and graphics. The basic principles of design are balance, proportion, unity, direction, and emphasis. Great images are balanced in that they carry an appropriate weight within a given space; the viewer s eye can move from one element to another with fluid ease. The proportional relations of elements create an optical rhythm throughout the composition that the viewer can sense, which effectively communicates the content of the image. The image is unified by a cohesive visual integrity that holds it together. The eye moves in a determined direction and does not wander aimlessly around looking for a place to rest. Elements are structured in a visual hierarchy, which emphasizes them in the order of their importance. The mood, color scheme, and ambiance are relevant to the content and message of the image.

Along with a cognizance of the importance of design, an innate sensitivity to the formal elements of the image ”color, light, shadow, form, and perspective ”is imperative. The knowledge of the potential and the limitations of the tools that are needed to produce the desired results are also critical. Pay attention to the minutest of details with the realization that the photographic image is relentless in its seamless portrayal of reality.

Finally, becoming Photoshop savvy means a commitment to the attainment of absolute perfection , but also an awareness of its elusiveness. Each new project presents a fresh opportunity to apply your knowledge, skills, and insights to the fulfillment of this exalted goal.

Photoshop CS Savvy takes the sting out of learning the program and makes the experience pleasant and interesting. It will be your tour guide and point out some of the remarkable landmarks and points of interest along the way, helping to make your journey absorbing and entertaining. Of course, merely reading this book is not enough. You must work through the step-by-step operations and Hands On tutorials until you understand the concepts, and then apply what you ve learned to your images. You may need specific questions answered , and I hope Photoshop CS Savvy will provide all the answers you need.