Adobe Photoshop Elements 7: A Visual Introduction to Digital Photography

'Introduction to Elements' is the essential all-round resource pack for all users of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Bestselling author Philip Andrews has refined this industry-standard resource over numerous editions, to bring you exactly the information you need to get right up to speed with the software, cut out wasted time in your workflow, and consistently achieve photographic results you can be proud of.
Philip approaches the subject of Photoshop Elements in a straightforward and accessible style. As a working photographer, he brings an in-depth understanding of the image-manipulation needs of photographers, and the best ways to meet them to his teaching. In the words of one reviewer: 'he comes across as a friend, who wants you to succeed'. His approach is always practical, with an emphasis on clarity. Step-by-step tutorials guide you through every essential Elements process, from image import right through to optimised output for print, web, and email, using a winning combination of inspiring images, clear screenshots and clean prose. Key subjects covered include: layers and selections, combining text with images, 'painting' tools, stiching, scrapbooking and file management. Additionally, the accompanying Website features over 2 hours of video tutorials to further boost your knowledge.
Completely overhauled for Elements 7, this resource is right up-to-date for photographers using the latest edition of this powerful software. Whatever your Elements level, you will find a wealth of invaluable advice in the pages of this book.

* Essential reference for all things Elements, fully updated for version 7
* Includes Website featuring over 2 hours of invaluable video tutorials to help you get up to speed quickly
* Written by renowned Elements guru and bestselling author Philip Andrews

User review
Great Guide for the Beginner
I am a total newbie to Elements 7. I'm not a professional photographer and only bought the software to help with some very specific tasks I need to do with some pictures for a newsletter. I like this book because it has high quality color pictures, annotated with detailed instructions on how to do each task. Since I only use select features of Elements 7, and don't really want to take the time to learn the whole package inside and out, it is nice to have a book like this that is laid out by function. For anything I am unclear how to do, I can just look up the tasks in this book and follow along with the pictures and step by step instructions.

User review
A 'must' for any serious photography or Photoshop collection
Any studying Photoshop Elements 7 will find this a fine introductory survey packed with tutorials for every step of Elements. From hundreds of images designed to show the specific results of every Elements 7 command to creating scrapbooks, albums, and making easy image changes, Adobe Photoshop Elements 7: A Visual Introduction to Digital Photography is a 'must' for any serious photography or Photoshop collection.

User review
Good book with color section to quick flip to a section
The layout of this book is fantastic. It definitely has consider technical minds :), There are pleny of pictures on the pages to help with having a clear understanding of what you are tryinng to accomplish.

Each section has its own color so you can flip to the area of what you are trying to accomplish in Elements. I must admit though I beleive each area is not covered at any length. This may be a problem for some who are having trouble with a particular tool within Elements or are very new to it. The flip side is that this is what you may be looking for as a quick review.

The written language is not to technical so most readers will be to understand the author.

If you have been a user of photoshop elements of any length, I do not believe you need this book to learn the new features of the product unless you have not used Elements for a couple of versions





User review
A high quality reference for beginners and intermediate user.
A high quality reference for beginners and intermediate user.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7: A Visual Introduction to Digital Photography By: Philip Andrews

I held off writing this review until I had a chance to read the entire book. Now that I did here are the comments I have.
You get what you pay for. The sheer quality of the cover and the paper for the pages is immediately apparent. The content matches the outside, so yes this book you can judge by the cover.
This book does not treat the user like a dummy or an idiot, it does not talk down to you.
It is not a rehash of the user manual or the help files. There is truly added content here. There is also a link to a webpage where you can see videos of the topics covered. You CAN use it in place of the manual also
There is an excellent comparison table of all the Photoshop and Photoshop Elements software versions. How to achieve similar results with various editions is very useful.
It is not only for beginners, intermediate users will benefit as well. For most of the settable adjustments the author has a suggested value. There are things like `10 commandments for filter usage` which offer tips that I had to learn the hard way. There are also `pro tips`, but they were only intermediate in level. If you have more than 20 hours with Photoshop, you would have known them already.

Layers and layer blending is explain by illustrating what various modes do on a sample image. However this book is not really any better at explaining why to use the layers or various blending modes in the first place. I always feel like I am missing something here by being able to do all I need with the main layer and using history step back if I mess up something.
Of course there are the typical post your images on the web, and printing chapters, but they were too basic.
One of the last chapters is several photo projects which explain from beginning to end how a certain enhanced photo was put together. I wish this chapter was longer.

So all in all, I own half dozen Photoshop books, and find this one to be the best of the aftermarket publications. The user manual is better still but harder to understand. I found that most people would learn quicker with a book like this. and just plain trying out all the things on the menu. Go for it.


User review
Excellent instructional manual for Elements
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 has been called one of the best programs for non-professionals. While it may in fact be so, it can also be very confusing to the novice. That's where this book comes in - to help the beginning user learn how to use Elements for everything from fixing basic issues like red eye, to more advanced things like layers.

I had wanted to get Elements anyway, so I bought the program right after ordering this book, figuring it would be a great way to really see how well the book would be able to help a complete Photoshop novice like myself. After playing with the program, as well as using it to clean up pictures I took at my mother's wedding, I can say with conviction that this book is terrific.

The writing is very simple and easy to understand. Each entry contains at least one color photograph (usually more) to help illustrate exactly what the book is trying to convey. The `lessons` are written in what feels like a natural, common-sense order for a beginner while still allowing plenty of learning for someone a bit more experienced. I almost felt like I had someone there holding my hand as I learned different ways to manipulate the photos I have taken. In fact, I started taking more pictures just to have a chance to play with some of my new techniques!

All-in-all, it's a great book and an excellent reference tool for anyone just starting out with Elements - and since the program has changed quite a bit (I hear) from the last one, I'm pretty sure it would be helpful for those that have used Photoshop before as well. I would recommend this to anyone who would like to learn about different ways to use Elements to create some amazing photo artwork!