Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks One-on-One

Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks One-on-One I bought this book because of the subject matter, channels and masks.The video that comes with it is the simple versions of the concepts in the book.I would have liked to have seen more difficult examples like seperating trees from a bushy backround.For me, the book tends to get lost in translation, it's not cut and dry, theres a lot of verbage for each example, some of it useless for the average user.I would the pay the same price for a book half that size that cuts to the chase and shows me how to work with channels and masks.I don't care how the program works, i'm looking for instant gratification with my little artworks.

Channels and Masks are often avoided by beginners because they never take the time to learn them. Deke walks you through the process in an easy to understand and enjoyable way. The DVD is worth the price by itself. There are several very high quality videos on the DVD that walk you through all the steps. If you want to learn in a relaxed and fun way, Deke is your guy. I have a few of his other books and DVDs and I think he is one of the best. The pages of the book are colorful and high quality. If you are a beginner, you may want to try Deke's Photoshop book first. Also first-rate.

I can only speak for myself, but I see no problems with this book. As usual, this author knows his stuff.I worked as a professional photographer for about fifteen years. This was years ago, and for the past several years, I have been working as a software engineer. These days, photography is just for fun.This book was easy to follow; however, I do think it is intended for a user with more than average experience with Photoshop. For me it was just right.Mr. McClelland has provided us with another excellent book.

I'm about half way through this book. The video portions (on the included CD) are great. Mr. McClelland is an excellent trainer. I just wish that when he takes you through the various techniques with the practice images he'd spend a little more time on the "whys" rather than just a cook-book "set this option to this setting". It would make the transition to working with real-world images easier - for me at least. This is a very minor nit, though. I'm learning a lot and that's the bottom line.

Deke McClellan has a fluid manner of communicating that enables learning. His mastery of the tool is evident, and his willingness to share insider tips, tricks, and tidbits is admirable and appreciated.First watching the video lessons then putting their subject to practice, step by step, is a very good way to learn these skills. And the lessons are laid out in a logical, progressive order.I would highly recommend this tutorial for anyone at competent beginner level or above.

Deke McClellands book on channels and masks will guide you through Photoshops use of these tools. I was disappointed however, because the accompanying CD with provided examples had problems with some of the images. Although I could still work through most of the tutorials, there were some that simply would not load. Other than this one issue, I still would recommend this book for anyone wanting to get a better understanding of masks and channels.

This book is great! I have been using photoshop for many years now, this book is showing me new stuff!!!!!It is definitely a book for advanced users. But if your willing to push yourself, I can't recommend this book enough !Cheers!!!!!

I Bought this as a giftI Heard it is a good productBut please check other reviewsOnly because I didnt buy this for myself & I dont know much about it

Deke McClelland really is a Photoshop master, and this book and DVD rom together give an in-depth but entertaining insight into Photoshop CS4 masks and channels.It's powerful stuff and maybe a bit heavy for an absolute beginner, but if you have some experience of Photoshop and want to deepen your knowledge it's a good buy. I had already worked through Deke's Photoshop CS4 one-on-one book and I would recommend starting with that then moving on to this book.

Deke's winning formula of lessons enhanced by video, ease you from the very basics to advanced before you know it, with his laid back and witty manner, this book is a must for anyone who owns a copy of Photoshop CS4. You may think that a 470 page book dedicated to Photoshop's channels and masks could be abit overkill but I can assure you that after getting to grips with Deke's techniques (hey that rymes) you will release the pure power of Photoshop. Highly recommended.

Very informative

I have just finished this book and my over all impression is favorable, the book was worth the price of admission. So favorable, that I have ordered Deke's other CS4 1on1 book but...The first half of the book seemed well considered, the last half dropped off considerably to appear rushed and less considered. As an example, despite promises to cover the Magnetic Pen Tool, it was not covered at all in the book and barely mentioned in one video, yet it is one of the most powerful masking/selection tools available in PS.The provided "Masking out" images seemed a bit contrived. Unfortunately, (as far as this book is concerned) I am an out-in-the-world photographer, not a studio photographer, I shoot landscapes, people, animals etc. in situ and my backgrounds are almost never controlled or uniform.You just can't put a green screen behind a mountain, a 200 foot Douglas fir, a bear sauntering across a road, in fact, most of the stuff in the world.In this book, most images have relatively simple backgrounds and/or modest goals, there is no example of masking a tree on a sunny day in a botanical garden and transplanting it to a rainy day in front of a gloomy mansion, or anything even close to that level of difficulty.There is lots of chatter about "hair" but not a single example that I would consider difficult. (eg long locks waving in the breeze against a sunny blue sky, seascape). The hair in the povided images is uniformly short and consolidated, I dare say pre-PS'd.Perhaps the ultimate lesson is that you have to take what you can get and use it to figure out the difficult stuff yourself, because relative to what's out there, this is a good book with lots of useful info. And a tad too much marketing of other products.

This is an excellent instructional book. I was looking for an easier faster way to work with masks and selections in photoshop. There is no magic bullet. Whaaa.However, I believe I have found a new instructor to reference when I want to learn more about photoshop and other programs. I have done 4 lessons from this book. I really like how it is organized, the tone of it and the style of the author Deke McClelland. The videos are well produced and very high quality. What I especially like about this book is the author assumes nothing about what you know, other than you are familiar with the basic operations of photoshop. ( If you aren't, this is the wrong book for now, you need to start with  Adobe Photoshop Cs4 One-On-One ).The lessons of each chapter are broken into smaller sections. This way you can do one or several of them, then pick it up later that day or later in the week and continue on. It is step by step, so there is a lot of reading as you go along. Sometimes in step-by-step books, things are missed or little bits are left out or assumed you know how to do them. This book is thorough in this regard.I find I can get confused and overwhelmed by all the information and the concepts, but as I go over the lesson again, I often start to get the concept (especially on channels) and see how the lessons are layered to build on the previous lesson. I can see how this book is taking me beyond basic masking and selections and increasing my knowledge on the tools to make and refine selections. Soon I'm hoping to get comofortable working with the channel component and the options for refining the selections so they look like they belong in what ever picture I''m placing them in or however I am correcting the image. I look forward to exploring some of his lessons with Lynda.com after I finish this book. You get a 7 day key to acesss at least some of his on-line lessons. I prefer to have the lessons in the form of a book for now, and find this book fills that need.I would welcome this author writing a one-on-one book on Adobe Lightroom.Not for the feignt of heart. Very challenging therefore I think quite rewarding. Adobe Photoshop Cs4 One-On-One