Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac: The Missing Manual,   ISBN:9780596804961

Customer Rating: 

For those of us who do not plan to read and understand every word of the Help menus included in the long-awaited version 8 of Photoshop Elements for the Mac, this book is indispensable. Brundage does all the work for us. And in the vaunted tradition of the Missing Manual series, this book provides the answers and guidance needed to learn or to master Elements 8.

The abundantly-detailed Table of Contents and Index make finding things easy. The Introduction gives a quick and valuable description of the new features in v. 8, many of which are not readily apparent to the user, such as the new Smart Brush and Touch-Up tools. As Brundage explains, v. 8 now generously includes Adobe Bridge CS4, which provides all the tools available in the full Photoshop CS4. It is a powerful, richly-featured editing tool which can be used with any image format.

While new users of Elements will find Parts One and Two basic and helpful, experienced users of Elements will find new tricks and tips in Parts Three and Four. Part Three, Retouching, and Part Four, Artistic Elements, are replete with descriptions, step-by-step directions and illustrations which both new and advanced users will find illuminating and skill-enhancing. Ironically and surprisingly, the photographs in this book are poorly rendered due to the quality of the paper used in the production of the book, substantially reducing their effectiveness.

Part Five, Sharing Your Images, includes sections on creating projects (such as photo books, CD/DVD labels, greeting cards), printing photos (ordering or printing at home), emailing photos and preparing them for the web. iPhoto users can and may prefer to do many of these things more easily in iPhoto. Using the best features of each program, Elements and iPhoto, provides a rich menu of options.

Part Six, Additional Elements, provides a wealth of resources including websites, (Adobe's own Adobe Exchange is particularly helpful), where users can find brushes, textures, plug-ins, actions, and custom shapes, many of which are free, to add to those in v. 8. The tutorials and forums referenced are a good source of information and help as well.

Easily overlooked, Part Seven, Appendixes, includes useful menu-by-menu explanations for Elements and Bridge CS4, describing and defining each menu item, many of which are far from self-explanatory.

This book deserves to be close by anytime one is working in Photoshop Elements 8. It is comprehensive, current, invaluable.

Customer Rating: 

This is a must addition to the the software but to follow the directions and comments in the book, the graphics leave a lot to desired. The pictures are not as clear as they could be and are dark which make directions hard to follow.

Customer Rating: 

This book is an outstanding reference for using PSE 8. I am impressed with the discussion on levels and other tools within the program. I also like the access to downloadable files for practice. I would like more information on when to use the various tools, as it would be very helpful for a beginner. However, it does have logical steps on how to use things. Definitely a strong recommendation.

Customer Rating: 

I agree with the other reviews, this book does bear its name: clear explanations and an honest approach that tells you what parts are worth using, and when (or if at all!) Photoshop, even the "Elements" version, is fairly complicated as far as software goes. This book goes a long way toward breaking it down for you, I really enjoyed it.

There is a learning curve to this program: you have to wrap your mind around certain concepts. I use it for making web graphics for web design jobs. Like a lot of people, I was using GRSites for a long time, but Photoshop is really essential in the long run, and this book really took me a long way towards mastering it. Get this book, you can't lose. Great job, Barbara!


(I am also posting this review, slightly modified, to the author's "Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows", I've read both as I sometimes use the Windows version of Photoshop.)

Customer Rating: 

PSE 8 is a daunting product to the novice - I speak from experience (or lack thereof!) There are some useful tutorial videos on YouTube, but there is so much capability to this product, and its user interface is so counter-intuitive that 10 minute videos just don't tell you all you need to know, in a handy reference form. The Missing Manual (gotta love the title!) is a superb resource. Don't be put off by the price - if you've invested in PSE, and no doubt invested in a decent digital camera, computer, printer, etc. the price of the manual and the value you will get out of all your photo investments is well worth it!