Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. Review: Photoshop Elements 4 One-on-One
No, not a fight to the death but a book including a great video tutorial
| Product | Photoshop Elements 4 One-on-One |
|---|---|
| Company | O'Reilly |
| Web | digitalmedia.oreilly.com |
| Price | From £24.95 |
| We like | Videos, typography coverage, price |
| We don't like | Needs more on RAW |
| Rating | |
| Requirements |
One of the hardest things when learning a powerful piece of software is getting to grips with exactly how it all works. Books are a good start and often much easier to learn from than the online help. However, sometimes it is so much easier to have someone actually sit down and show you what to do. Most of us don't have that luxury but this new title from Deke McClelland gives you the next best thing, a DVD containing over 2 hours of video tutorials that show you exactly what to click, what to slide and what happens when you do. Better yet, the examples he chooses are far more real-world than most similar examples in other books. Deke chooses photos that require a bit of effort to select areas or tweak the colours and the book is all the better for it.
As far as coverage goes, the book includes all the areas you'd expect. It begins with organizing your photos and examines some of the tools available within Photoshop Elements 4 such as the face detector, collections and how to easily compare photos.
The Quick Fix tools are next. This section includes a particularly good discussion on the different auto tweaks and exactly what they do and how along with the pros and cons of each. Another good feature is the author's focus on best practices with heavy use of keyboard shortcuts and docking/undocking of controls to maximise the work area whilst keeping all the important tools to hand.
We particularly liked the section on colour (or colour) which explains the different models, tints, hues and various tricks with different eyedropper tools. There is also some discussion of the all to important histogram which is too often ignored by other books. We did think the RAW format could have got more coverage though.
The various selection tools are covered in depth including feathering. One example used a very large feather setting which deserves some experimenting with with your own photos. The new Magic Extractor is explained nicely, as is the Magnetic Lasso.
We did feel that the area of repairing damaged images was too brief and filters and distortions too long. Layering and stacking images was far better and covered a lot of useful ground, as did the section on text and typography.
The book finishes up with sharing and printing photos and the various options and services available. Most major features from creating panoramas to calendars and slide shows are discussed.
As noted, the real gem with this book is the inclusion of a DVD. You can select a section and topic to dip and where you want. The presentations are done by the author himself and start off with an overview before turning to a recording of him working his way through the steps needed to accomplish each task. They are clear, friendly and well executed. I was worried it might be a bit manic and excited as these things can often be but thankfully McClelland chose a more restrained approach that works well.
The author clearly knows his stuff and knows Elements 4 well. The book covers a lot of ground, often in depth but never gets overly techy or overwhelming. The DVD helps clarify the tutorials immensely and at this price we'd say this was a must have for anyone wanting to get the best from Photoshop Elements 4 and their photos.
