Book Review

Inside Adobe Photoshop 6 by Gary Bouton, Barbara Bouton, Gary Kubicek and Mara Nathanson, New Riders. 2001. $45.
reviewed by Robyn Fischer

The July general User Group meeting was all about digital photography. A big part of digital photography is what you do to the image after you take the picture. And what most folks use to fiddle with the image is Adobe Photoshop.
Why do you need a special book? You'll get more out of the program. You'll be able to do things you never imagined. You'll surprise your family or your boss.
This book is laid out for amateur to advanced users so just about everyone will find what they need and get through this program. But for those of you who have trouble and can't find your way around the program, there's a help hotline you can call. Or, check out the help Website that supports the book.
There are five parts to this book - each with a dash of humor. Part one is called Introducing the Basics of the Powerful New Photoshop. Here you'll learn about the basics, working with color, selecting options for viewing, scanning images, and how to customize palettes. The chapter on color management is very helpful and gives you an up-to-date vision of image upkeep and the problems with monitor changes and printer alterations. What I found interesting in this section is that you can customize the viewing screen and incorporate your own ideas and create your ideal Photoshop program.
Part Two, Digging Deeper into the Treasure Chest, begins with a discussion of how to select an image area by size, color, and so on. Next, you look into the world of layers, paths, and special effects for text. Special effects will blow you away and add excitement and possibly some confusion to those who view your images. The effects are full and there are many more options than in version 5.5. These chapters have pictures and examples of how to do all the different functions.
Exploring the Cool Stuff is a self-explanatory section that will point you in new directions. Learn about basic image improvement to help bring out the dimly lit face of your mother at the beach or bring the color of the sky out to make it a richer blue. You'll also learn how to restore and retouch your old photographs. Ask your grandmother if you can experiment with her old images and see how well you can make the tear at the top of the image disappear or that faded black and white look new. Remember that old rubber stamp tool? Well, now it's called the clone stamp tool and it will make a replica of any image you're working on. Chapter 18 considers the idea of making the impossible look plausible. You will just have to read that section for yourself.
Next, learn about scanner resolution, fixing images, mix 3-D graphics with photos, use filters, and work with type. The 3-D graphics are incredible and you can add anything from bubbles to highlights in your images.
Part four was very helpful for me because I am working on a Web page design. This section discusses how to create attractive images while keeping the number of pixels manageable for the Web. I was especially interested in how to create my own photo gallery. You'll find different approaches to animation and ideas to begin and finish an animation.