How to Wow: Photoshop for Photography [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I was looking for a book that concentrated on using Photoshop and digital photography together without getting too wild or too complex in skill level. As a person who has used Photoshop for 5 years, both for work and at home, I still felt like I wasn't getting the most out of it. And after taking 4,600 digital photos last year alone, I decided I wanted to actually do something interesting with them. So I poured over the plethora of books out there on Photoshop: tricks, tips, how-tos, guides, shortcuts, etc. at the bookstore for 2 hours. Some books were too novice, some too difficult - - I really don't need to know how to make a surreal collage of a planet pouring a waterfall into a floating baby's outstretched hand behind a rainbow thank you. What I was searching for was a basic primer on real-world techniques with some fun stuff thrown in to give my images punch and snap, but nothing too involved. I wanted something that would get me results the same evening. "How To Wow" is that book. Having been a photographer for half my life and worked in photo labs for years and then as a digital designer, this book still completely changed the way I see a digital image. I have gone through the book cover to cover and done all the techniques, tips and tricks and THEY WORK. Even the ones I didn't think I would like ended up pleasantly surprising me. Like if you want to convert a color image to black-and-white, don't use MODE-GREYSCALE, use the Channel Mixer instead. You do have to know a little bit of basic Photoshop, but most of the tips are 3-4 steps and the results are great. These guys write well and make it absolutely clear what your result will be and how to get there. I couldn't be happier with this book! The CD that comes with the book contains all the sample images, so you can use those or your own. I found it best to use theirs first, then try it on my own image to really get the feel of the technique. My favorite chapter is "Enhancing & Exaggerating" and using glows and tints. Your digital photos will never look the same! I guarantee you will add new pop and life to your images. The CD also comes with a gaggle of free presets, so you can load those up and do one-click framing styles and other cool stuff. I also liked that this book wasn't cheesy. A lot of Photoshop effects look like obvious filters and give a cheesy result. Not these - these effects are elegant and stylish and often subtle and don't have that "Photoshopped" look. I printed out many of my images and they translate well to paper. I just can't rave enough about this book. It's already dog-eared from me taking it with me everywhere. Get it if you've used Photoshop a bit but feel like you could do more with your images.

I don't often give 5-star reviews but I think this book deserves one. It is clear and easy to follow, and has lots of good examples to get you going. I have a number of digital photography/Photoshop books and and this one stands out because it is very useful, but without being a 500-page encyclopedic volume on all things digital. I think if you become familiar with only a quarter of the techniques in this book you'll be a much improved digital photographer and photoshop user.

I have purchased every book jack and Ben wrote on Photoshop and have attended a 3-day workshop presented by Jack Davis and will attend his 2-day workshop in Honolulu. When it comes to Photoshop, Jack is the most knowledgeable person in the field. This book covers every trick you can think of and shows you how to solve the same problem with different approaches using Photoshop CS! The book is only 270 pages, easy to read, and with all the images on the CD, you can follow the instructions until you get it. For the beginner, you will be a pro in few weeks, for the advanced user, you will have all the tools you need in a handy concise book for fast reference. This is truly the photographer's Swiss Knife!
The best companion for this book is Ben Willmore's: Photoshop CS Studio Techniques, it covers the "why", while the How to Wow book shows you the "How" of Photoshop techniques.
Thank you Jack and Ben for these master pieces!