If you’ve ever wondered "How’d they do that?" you’re about to find out!

Inspired by the column of the same name in Photoshop User magazine, Photoshop CS Classic Effects show you exactly how to do the same special effects you see every day in magazines, on TV, in the newspaper and on the Web. These are "The Classics"--those tried and true effects that are every where--and for a lot of professional photographers and designers, these effects are their bread and butter (as you’ll see inside the book). It’s not the wild stuff, it’s not the weird stuff--it’s the stuff you can really use--the stuff clients always ask for (and expect that you’ll know).

How it works

Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User magazine and author of a string of bestselling Photoshop books (including Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks, and The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers) takes these classic techniques and shows you how they’re used by today’s industry’s leading professionals. You’ll learn step-by-step how to build complete projects, from start to finish, so you can put these Classic Effects to work for you today. You¿ll learn classic photographic effects, type effects, commercial and advertising effects, and the special effects the pros turn to first to get the job done fast!

What Makes it a "Classic"

Over the years certain Photoshop special effects have become so popular they’ve become classics, much in the same way certain songs, or certain cookbook recipes have become classics. For example, if you bought a book of "Classic Recipes" you’d expect that it would include some kick butt recipes for spaghetti sauce, apple pie, buttermilk pancakes, meatloaf, tomato soup, and a wide range of classic dishes, right? Right. So would you expect to find some wild new culinary explorations from Wolfgang Puck in a Classic Recipes book? Not a chance. Instead you’d find the "meat and potatoes" recipes that are used every day by great cooks all over the world. Well, my friends, that’s what you¿re holding--a book of kick butt "meat and potatoes" special effects, the same ones used by great Photoshop photographers and designers all over the world.

MTV or CBS?

Here’s the thing: if your client is MTV, you can go out and do all the latest, wildest, weirdest effects and they love it. But what if your client is CBS or CNN? Try that stuff and they’ll show you the door. They need a professional, clean look, and they’ll expect you to know the classics and how they’re used today. That’s what this book is all about--teaching you the handy bag of tricks that you can use again and again.

If you’ve ever wondered "How’d they do that?" you’re about to find out! Inspired by the column of the same name in Photoshop User magazine, Photoshop CS Classic Effects show you exactly how to do the same special effects you see every day in magazines, on TV, in the newspaper and on the Web. These are "The Classics"--those tried and true effects that are every where--and for a lot of professional photographers and designers, these effects are their bread and butter (as you’ll see inside the book). It’s not the wild stuff, it’s not the weird stuff--it’s the stuff you can really use--the stuff clients always ask for (and expect that you’ll know). How it works Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User magazine and author of a string of bestselling Photoshop books (including Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks, and The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers) takes these classic techniques and shows you how they’re used by today’s industry’s leading professionals. You’ll learn step-by-step how to build complete projects, from start to finish, so you can put these Classic Effects to work for you today.You’ll learn classic photographic effects, type effects, commercial and advertising effects, and the special effects the pros turn to first to get the job done fast!

What Makes it a "Classic" Over the years certain Photoshop special effects have become so popular they’ve become classics, much in the same way certain songs, or certain cookbook recipes have become classics. For example, if you bought a book of "Classic Recipes" you’d expect that it would include some kick butt recipes for spaghetti sauce, apple pie, buttermilk pancakes, meatloaf, tomato soup, and a wide range of classic dishes, right? Right. So would you expect to find some wild new culinary explorations from Wolfgang Puck in a Classic Recipes book? Not a chance. Instead you’d find the "meat and potatoes" recipes that are used every day by great cooks all over the world. Well, my friends, that’s what you’re holding--a book of kick butt "meat and potatoes" special effects, the same ones used by great Photoshop photographers and designers all over the world. MTV or CBS? Here’s the thing: if your client is MTV, you can go out and do all the latest, wildest, weirdest effects and they love it.But what if your client is CBS or CNN? Try that stuff and they’ll show you the door.

They need a professional, clean look, and they’ll expect you to know the classics and how they’re used today. That’s what this book is all about--teaching you the handy bag of tricks that you can use again and again.

Scott Kelby is president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and is editor-in-chief of both Photoshop User magazine and Mac Design magazine. Scott serves as training director for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour and is the technical chair for the PhotoshopWorld expos. Scott is the author of the best-selling Photoshop Down and Dirty Tricks books, The Mac OS X Conversion Kit, and other titles.

If you’ve ever wondered "How’d they do that?" you’re about to find out!

Inspired by the column of the same name in Photoshop User magazine, Photoshop CS Classic Effects show you exactly how to do the same special effects you see every day in magazines, on TV, in the newspaper and on the Web. These are "The Classics"--those tried and true effects that are every where--and for a lot of professional photographers and designers, these effects are their bread and butter (as you’ll see inside the book). It’s not the wild stuff, it’s not the weird stuff--it’s the stuff you can really use--the stuff clients always ask for (and expect that you’ll know).

How it works

Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User magazine and author of a string of bestselling Photoshop books (including Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks, and The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers) takes these classic techniques and shows you how they’re used by today’s industry’s leading professionals. You’ll learn step-by-step how to build complete projects, from start to finish, so you can put these Classic Effects to work for you today. You¿ll learn classic photographic effects, type effects, commercial and advertising effects, and the special effects the pros turn to first to get the job done fast!

What Makes it a "Classic"

Over the years certain Photoshop special effects have become so popular they’ve become classics, much in the same way certain songs, or certain cookbook recipes have become classics. For example, if you bought a book of "Classic Recipes" you’d expect that it would include some kick butt recipes for spaghetti sauce, apple pie, buttermilk pancakes, meatloaf, tomato soup, and a wide range of classic dishes, right? Right. So would you expect to find some wild new culinary explorations from Wolfgang Puck in a Classic Recipes book? Not a chance. Instead you’d find the "meat and potatoes" recipes that are used every day by great cooks all over the world. Well, my friends, that’s what you¿re holding--a book of kick butt "meat and potatoes" special effects, the same ones used by great Photoshop photographers and designers all over the world.

MTV or CBS?

Here’s the thing: if your client is MTV, you can go out and do all the latest, wildest, weirdest effects and they love it. But what if your client is CBS or CNN? Try that stuff and they’ll show you the door. They need a professional, clean look, and they’ll expect you to know the classics and how they’re used today. That’s what this book is all about--teaching you the handy bag of tricks that you can use again and again.

If you’ve ever wondered "How’d they do that?" you’re about to find out!

Inspired by the column of the same name in Photoshop User magazine, Photoshop CS Classic Effects show you exactly how to do the same special effects you see every day in magazines, on TV, in the newspaper and on the Web. These are "The Classics"--those tried and true effects that are every where--and for a lot of professional photographers and designers, these effects are their bread and butter (as you’ll see inside the book). It’s not the wild stuff, it’s not the weird stuff--it’s the stuff you can really use--the stuff clients always ask for (and expect that you’ll know).

How it works

Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User magazine and author of a string of bestselling Photoshop books (including Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks, and The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers) takes these classic techniques and shows you how they’re used by today’s industry’s leading professionals. You’ll learn step-by-step how to build complete projects, from start to finish, so you can put these Classic Effects to work for you today. You¿ll learn classic photographic effects, type effects, commercial and advertising effects, and the special effects the pros turn to first to get the job done fast!

What Makes it a "Classic"

Over the years certain Photoshop special effects have become so popular they’ve become classics, much in the same way certain songs, or certain cookbook recipes have become classics. For example, if you bought a book of "Classic Recipes" you’d expect that it would include some kick butt recipes for spaghetti sauce, apple pie, buttermilk pancakes, meatloaf, tomato soup, and a wide range of classic dishes, right? Right. So would you expect to find some wild new culinary explorations from Wolfgang Puck in a Classic Recipes book? Not a chance. Instead you’d find the "meat and potatoes" recipes that are used every day by great cooks all over the world. Well, my friends, that’s what you¿re holding--a book of kick butt "meat and potatoes" special effects, the same ones used by great Photoshop photographers and designers all over the world.

MTV or CBS?

Here’s the thing: if your client is MTV, you can go out and do all the latest, wildest, weirdest effects and they love it. But what if your client is CBS or CNN? Try that stuff and they’ll show you the door. They need a professional, clean look, and they’ll expect you to know the classics and how they’re used today. That’s what this book is all about--teaching you the handy bag of tricks that you can use again and again.

old tricks are the best tricks
This book is written in a clear and easy to flow manner. It has some discussions about effects but most of the book gets straight to "this is how to do it" then talks some about Why. While I think that due to the detail of the explanations, a beginner could do some of the examples. This isn’t really for beginners,(advanced and experts can benefit easily) or maybe I should rephrase it as first timers. If you understand some basic photoshop tools and principles and consider yourself a beginner you should be good to go. If you are looking for a book to explain stuff (tools,menus,layers) This isn’t for you. Look at some of Mr kelby’s other books.

Good book, good buy.
Even though this book is a few years old, is still up to date and a good buy
the writing is to the point NO BS approach I love and recommended to any body new or advanced Photoshop user.

Nice
down and dirty how to book for common images that are created. I like short cut keys as much as the next, but it’s a little overboard on the book. All in all, I would recommend this book

Easy to follow. Good for beginning and intermediate level
In point of view, I think this is a good book for any beginning and intermediate digital photography. The topics and examples are clear and easily to follow.

All you need to know in a way you need to know it
Even good cooks open cookbooks for their favorite recipes. Scott Kelby makes it easy to access your favorite effects. In fact, he does it twice, once in full form, and again at the end in a "cut to the chase" cheatsheet. I was going to wait and see if he updated this CS version for CS3, but I’m glad I didn’t wait. Like all of his Photoshop books, instructions are full-color and broken into logical steps.

Nicely done
When I read the first few pages of this book that a friend had, I knew I had to buy it! I love the way it gets the information across. The author is brilliant! love it.

Great book
This was one of my first trick books that I purchased. I still use it today. Great buy.

Photoshop Classic Effects by Scott Kelby
As I am a Scott Kelby fan, I am never disapointed by his books on Photoshop. I have learned so much from his books and Classic Effects has methods of improving photos that are for photo albums along with effects to enhance them with titles and fun pictures for different occassions. The book, like all Kelby books, is easy to follow and understand. I recommend this book to anyone, especially beginners.

Comes in handy
The book is not terribly advanced and doesn’t give much background into the inner workings of Photoshop, nevertheless if you are a beginner or intermediate user looking for a bunch of simple yet effective tricks that are easy to use, it will probably be the one for you.

The book focuses mostly on advertising photography so you won’t find tips about correcting red eyes or removing blemishes from your loved one’s skin. But it will sure help you create some interesting effects for your web page

Great book... of course... it’s by Scott Kelby!
Like the title says, this book has all the "Classic" effects you need to hang with the pros. Every tip in this book is something the pros are using in the media right now. Once you see these tips, you’ll keep this book right beside your desk for quick reference all the time.

Another Excellent Kelby Boook
Great book of ’how-to’s’ for enthusiastic beginners and refresher for intermediate Photoshoppers.

Very easy way to learn Photoshop Elements
This book walks you through examples of Photoshop techniques that you will want to use immediately. It is also a surprisingly easy way to learn the program. I say "Elements" in my title because it applies very well to Photoshop Elements. You will either love or hate Scott Kelby’s style of writing, but I feel it is far superior to the typcial "Dummmies" book. Can’t go wrong with this one.

For the sophisticados of this photoshop world!
Exactly what the title of the book says!’:every user needs to know.The charismatic S.Kelby strikes one more time.For the ones who are thirsty Kelby arrives with gallons of water.Classic Holy Water removes the pain from the traps and labyrinths of the photoshopper’s chaotic mind.

Classic Effects means Old Effects
It’s like a chapter from Joy of Cooking--always useful, because the basics never change. But don’t expect techniques that take advantage of the latest CS versions of Photoshop. If you’re an experienced Photoshop user, there are many more advanced books that would be better. However, if you’re just starting out, you are guaranteed to need every technique outlined in "Photoshop Classic Effects".

AWESOME BOOK!!!!!!!!!
This book is fabulous. I have a lot of books regarding photoshop, this one is at the top of the list. It’s simply laid out, has exact description of what to put in the various dialogues, and covers a range of amazing effects which are beyond useful. If you are looking to extend your quiver of tricks & kicks - don’t hesitate, you will not be dissappointed....

Wonderful Book
Great book if you want to know how to create the effects that pros use everyday. There are basic turorials and there are advanced tutorials. Each and every tutorial is very easy to read, easy to follow, and easy to understand. Once you go over the tuturial a few times, you will never forget it. Kelby does a great job with the illustrations and the step-by-step process to accomplish the final result. I recommend this book to both beginners professionals.

Nice how-to
Nice how-to for photography types how need to put together some occasional promotional material. The author has a nice informative style, and certainly helps the reader work with putting together some classic design elements.

Fantastic book (that needs better editing)
This is a phenomenal book that should be on every designer’s shelf. Kelby uses a simple, easy-to-follow format that makes it a snap to learn some of the most commonly requested effects in Photoshop. There are techniques that I’ve always wanted to know, and techinques I didn’t know I wanted to know, but I’m glad I do now.
My only beef is that the book needs better editing - there are a few places where the book says things like "as in the example already covered in this chapter" when the topic being referenced is in fact *later* in the book. But that’s a beef with the editor, not the author.
Despite that, this is an absolute must-read for every Photoshop user.

Solid book for beginners
I found this book to be a great companion to some of the more thorough Photoshop tutorial books. The book doesn’t go into great detail about every aspect of Photoshop, but it provides very practical techniques that all professional Photoshop users already know. I found the book fun to go through and I learned quite a bit in the process.

I would recommend this book as a great supplement to some of the really in depth Photoshop books. Great job.

Just Got To Have It...
Excellent book for someone who would like to have ideas on the power of what photoshop can do! Excellent to help in creativity of the mind to give you that extra notch!

Photoshop Classics
The book is great. It is easy to understand and the effects are useable. I have seen many cool effects, but I never know where to use them, this book is practical hands on. A must have for anyone wanting to better their skills in Photoshop.

Fantastic, easy to copy projects
I bought this book not too long ago yet I feel I already have had my money’s worth for it.

Scott takes us through finished projects and shows us exactly how to produce them. I’ve experimented on almost all of them and have used close to half of them. And I can tell you my boss was amazed at what I had designed.

What I like most about this book is the way eye-catching ideas are implemented most effectively in fantastic desings and finished layouts.

With utmost confidence I would recommend this book to anyone looking for inspirational ideas and superb graphics.

Good luck!

Fantastic, easy to copy projects
I bought this book not too long ago yet I feel I already have had my money’s worth for it.

Scott takes us through finished projects and shows us exactly how to produce them. I’ve experimented on almost all of them and have used close to half of them. And I can tell you my boss was amazed at what I had designed.

What I like most about this book is the way eye-catching ideas are implemented most effectively in fantastic desings and finished layouts.

With utmost confidence I would recommend this book to anyone looking for inspirational ideas and superb graphics.

Good luck!

Professional techniques, shared!
Excellent step-by-step tutorials plus screenshots. Author also shares the names of fonts and image files used. Written so that even Photoshop beginners (like myself) can follow. More than 50 techniques shared, all of which can be used in the new Adobe Creative Suite. I mean, you can read two or three 500-page books on how to use Photoshop but still not produce commercial-grade designs. Five stars, because "Photoshop Classic Effects" saves me time and money.

This book is great.
I bought this book a few months ago when I was still a beginner and I have picked up a great deal from it. Most of the lessons revolve around making ads for the printed media. What I love about this book is that each lesson is step by step and practical. As the previous reviewers mentioned, it is not for the advanced student. But if you are new to Photoshop and want to build a strong base, this is the book to get. Scott Kelby has a talent for making this package easy to learn. I even like his magazine where new techniques in Photoshop are introduced.

useless book
I have found this book really useless.
Beginners should avoid it, because the step-by-step description of the classic effects doesn’t give any informations about photoshop principles and tools. It isn’t a reference book about the why and how of basic photoshop functionalities (color correction, color manipulation, masking and composing techniques,...). Mr. Kelby simply describe how to create an effect in the following way: "Hit D to do this, then Ctrl-J to do that and finally set this to that".

Intermediate users can create the effects, just by simply playing/experimenting a little bit with masks, compositions and filters.
Advanced users, well, they are "advanced", therefore they already know how to re-create those effects.

Another observation: at the end of the book there is a 1-page description of each effect described in the rest of the book.
You need only those 1-page descriptions to re-create the effect! This book could be done with one tenth of the pages!

Neverthless, effects are very well illustrated with nice pictures (that’s the reason of the 2 stars instead of just one).

useless book
I have found this book really useless.
Beginners should avoid it, because the step-by-step description of the classic effects doesn’t give any informations about photoshop principles and tools. It isn’t a reference book about the why and how of basic photoshop functionalities (color correction, color manipulation, masking and composing techniques,...). Mr. Kelby simply describe how to create an effect in the following way: "Hit D to do this, then Ctrl-J to do that and finally set this to that".

Intermediate users can create the effects, just by simply playing/experimenting a little bit with masks, compositions and filters.
Advanced users, well, they are "advanced", therefore they already know how to re-create those effects.

Another observation: at the end of the book there is a 1-page description of each effect described in the rest of the book.
You need only those 1-page descriptions to re-create the effect! This book could be done with one tenth of the pages!

Neverthless, effects are very well illustrated with nice pictures (that’s the reason of the 2 stars instead of just one).

Not for advanced users!
My first book on Photoshop was one of Scott Kelby’s Down and Dirty books. And while it didn’t teach me an awful lot about the inner workings of Photoshop, it did get me hooked with a lot really quick and simple "wow, I made this" experiences.

Today I revisited Scott Kelby in the shape of his Photoshop Classic Effects. I must say that was a bit of a disappointment. Not only was there absolutely nothing to learn for this Photoshop user, but the tutorials were more or less updated versions of the old ones in my Down & Dirty book. I suspect Scott Kelby only has this same set of tutorials/effects and more or less reuse them in each of his books. I for one, already have my Scott Kelby book, so I will stay clear of his stuff in the future. It goes without saying that none of these effects are terribly new, or couldn’t be found elsewhere on Photoshop tutorial sites on the net.

If you are a brand new to Photoshop or anything below intermediate user, this is still a good book to get, granted the above caveat. Do however realise that it is heavily slanted towards the kinds of work you’d do in advertising, and Photoshop is used in so many other avenues, but if that is your game, then it is a fine book.

Not for advanced users!
My first book on Photoshop was one of Scott Kelby’s Down and Dirty books. And while it didn’t teach me an awful lot about the inner workings of Photoshop, it did get me hooked with a lot really quick and simple "wow, I made this" experiences.

Today I revisited Scott Kelby in the shape of his Photoshop Classic Effects. I must say that was a bit of a disappointment. Not only was there absolutely nothing to learn for this Photoshop user, but the tutorials were more or less updated versions of the old ones in my Down & Dirty book. I suspect Scott Kelby only has this same set of tutorials/effects and more or less reuse them in each of his books. I for one, already have my Scott Kelby book, so I will stay clear of his stuff in the future. It goes without saying that none of these effects are terribly new, or couldn’t be found elsewhere on Photoshop tutorial sites on the net.

If you are a brand new to Photoshop or anything below intermediate user, this is still a good book to get, granted the above caveat. Do however realise that it is heavily slanted towards the kinds of work you’d do in advertising, and Photoshop is used in so many other avenues, but if that is your game, then it is a fine book.

Not for the Advanced user
I only really learnt a few cool effects from this book. If you’ve been using photoshop for a while and this is not your first cookbook, then there are far too many common effects (I don’t blame the author, that is the topic of this book after all! Classic effects are, after all, everywhere.) that you will come across. The author doesn’t always take the route that is in my opinion correct (for example, very often he tells you to delete pixels, when you could just as easily mask it out instead, even though your file will be larger, you havent lost those precious pixels!!)
But in my opinion, if you’ve picked up a cookbook-like photoshop effects book before, then be careful, this one might not be too useful. If you haven’t and you just love all these cool effects, thne go right ahead, you will enjoy ;)