"Hinkel...has put together a handy guide to some of the key features of CS2. He has also created an excellent Web site that provides additional sections and images to supplement the book..." - Digital Photographer

"If you’re after a concise introduction to Photoshop CS2’s many image-editing facilities, this is a useful book that packs in a lot of information at a modest price." - Advanced Photoshop

"This concise and accessible title is excellent for anyone thinking of upgrading to CS2, or those who have already made the leap...this is a well-structured book that is useful and easy to navigate through." - Photoshop Creative

If you don’t know where to start in Photoshop and feel overwhelmed with the options, then this is the book for you. With highly visual step-by-step explanations, this concise guide gives you a solid grounding in using Photoshop to edit digital images and helps you develop a full understanding of the key tools and features of Photoshop CS2. Brad Hinkel guides you through a simple image editing workflow to get you up and running fast. If you want solutions quickly and easy access to any basic step of the workflow, this guide provides the essential knowledge you need. Filled with step-by-step projects, this title covers all the key new features of Photoshop CS2, such as: Camera RAW; Reduce Noise; Smart Sharpen; and, Spot Healing Brush. It helps you to understand the basics of Photoshop and learn the image editing skills you need with this simple, easy-to-use introduction. It offers clear, concise color coverage. It is written for Photoshop CS2, but is relevant for all versions. Its step-by-step techniques put image-editing into a practical workflow context.

Brad Hinkel worked as a program manager for a very large software company in the Seattle area. He helped ship a number of important software products including Word, Mail, and Flight Simulator. He also worked for an Internet retailer in the mid-90s. Brad has been teaching digital photography since 1999. He was largely responsible for starting the digital photography program at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography starting in 1999, and has taught several sections of every course at RMSP. He also created the complete digital photography program at the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle starting in 2000, and created the entire digital curriculum for that school.

If you dont know where to start in Photoshop and feel overwhelmed with the options, then this is the book for you. With highly visual step-by-step explanations, this concise guide gives you a solid grounding in using Photoshop to edit digital images and helps you develop a full understanding of the key tools and features of Photoshop CS2.

Brad Hinkel guides you through a simple image editing workflow to get you up and running fast. If you want solutions quickly and easy access to any basic step of the workflow, this guide provides the essential knowledge you need. Filled with step-by-step projects and covering all the key new features of Photoshop CS2: Camera RAW, Reduce Noise, Smart Sharpen and Spot Healing Brush.

* Understand the basics of Photoshop and learn the image editing skills you need with this simple, easy-to-use introduction
* Clear, concise color coverage - written for Photoshop CS2, but relevant for all versions
* Step-by-step techniques put image-editing into a practical workflow context

Get to grips with Photoshop quickly with this highly visual, color guide! Brad Hinkel explains all the features you need to know, with an accessible introduction to the key tools and functions of Photoshop and, just as importantly, offering a comprehensive but simple workflow to help you successfully edit digital images.

But ’The Focal Easy Guide to Photoshop CS2’ offers much more than a simple run down of the tools and features of this powerful software package - it offers solutions. You will learn how to avoid the pitfalls and problems which can slow down and frustrate new users, so you can get on with developing your skills and making the most of your images!

* Understand the basics of Photoshop and learn the image editing skills you need with this simple, easy-to-use introduction
* Clear, concise color coverage - written for Photoshop CS2, but relevant for all versions
* Step-by-step techniques put image-editing into a practical workflow context

unsatisfied newbee
This is not a book for beginners. It is not a book for even relatively new users. And it is certainly NOT a book for anyone interestd in doing some serious photoshopping. The handling of layers and masks is covered but too much info is left out. Anything else described in this manual can be discovered accidentally. Most of what you might really want to do is available using the help feature that comes witrh the software.

The caption under the title claims this book is for professionals. Maybe, but if you are a professional, you probably will find nothing helpful in this book beyond skin tone corrections (roughly coverred).

This book was not worth the money!

A clear and concise guide to Adobe photoshop
I have been a serious photographer for many years and a photoshop user since Photoshop 5. I learn by reading and following examples and have a library of many different guides to photoshop. I came across this book only recently, and in spite of having a fair knowledge of most of the areas that it covers, I found myself reading it from cover to cover and making notes and highlights. It is short and to the point and designed to be very practical. It does not simply provide a cookbook approach, but gives just enough theory to make concepts understandable and help to fix them in your memory. It is designed for the photographer (as opposed to the graphic designer)and uses a work-flow approach in a step by step process from input to finished picture.
As a result of having read this book I will incorporate new techniques into my photo editing, and simplify several of the ones that I have been using up until now.
If I were to recommend just one book to a photographer wanting to learn how to use Abobe photoshop, this would be the one.

cause AND effect, finally
Brad Hinkel is more than a photoshop jock; he’s a real teacher. He isn’t interested in producing another--even larger--photoshop manual. Instead, he distills the almost infinite number of choices and options photoshop embodies into a coherent body of knowledge that is both useful and expansive. Bewildered by the numerous ways to change brightness in photoshop? Brand Hinkel tells you which one is best and, most importantly, why. His ability to get below button-pushing for effect mode into easily understood explanations of principles and terms (of pixels, of how the grey point slider affects the entire histogram, of why 255 is the highest value in photoshop scale) is the great gift of this book. It allows the reader to understand not only the effect of buttons, but also the causal mechanisms rendering those effects. The concentration on effect at the expense of cause is the gaping hole in most photoshop manuals, which have evolved primarily from software demonstrations. It’s easy to see that Hinkel’s book derives from classroom experience, where the why’s can’t be overlooked. The result is a way of learning as well as of knowing, a book for students in the deepest sense of the word.

The only reason this book received four stars is the unusual number of typos. This is unfortunate, because the production quality of the the book (especially paper stock) is quite high (though some of the pallete illustrations are a bit small). Like many people my age, I learned much of what I know about photography from Focal Press publications. It’s great to see them back in the forefront of instructional manuals, but that doesn’t make skimping on proofreading acceptable. Focal Press could do better and has.

cause AND effect, finally
Brad Hinkel is more than a photoshop jock; he’s a real teacher. He isn’t interested in producing another--even larger--photoshop manual. Instead, he distills the almost infinite number of choices and options photoshop embodies into a coherent body of knowledge that is both useful and expansive. Bewildered by the numerous ways to change brightness in photoshop? Brand Hinkel tells you which one is best and, most importantly, why. His ability to get below button-pushing for effect mode into easily understood explanations of principles and terms (of pixels, of how the grey point slider affects the entire histogram, of why 255 is the highest value in photoshop scale) is the great gift of this book. It allows the reader to understand not only the effect of buttons, but also the causal mechanisms rendering those effects. The concentration on effect at the expense of cause is the gaping hole in most photoshop manuals, which have evolved primarily from software demonstrations. It’s easy to see that Hinkel’s book derives from classroom experience, where the why’s can’t be overlooked. The result is a way of learning as well as of knowing, a book for students in the deepest sense of the word.

The only reason this book received four stars is the unusual number of typos. This is unfortunate, because the production quality of the the book (especially paper stock) is quite high (though some of the pallete illustrations are a bit small). Like many people my age, I learned much of what I know about photography from Focal Press publications. It’s great to see them back in the forefront of instructional manuals, but that doesn’t make skimping on proofreading acceptable. Focal Press could do better and has.

Best book on general photo editing with CS2
The book gives great step by step advice on editing most types of photography and mostly the author also explains why he chooses this way and not another way that some other authors suggest, instead of just saying this is the best way. I liked the colored examples that illustrate the text and make it easier to understand. There are lots of pros so let’s get to the few contras:
What I didn’t like was that some of the more interesting topics were only available on his homepage (pdf download) and that he skips certain topics. For example he doesn’t give clear information on the TIFF saving options which can lead to people chosing the wrong compression or Mac users might save their TIFF files for Macintosh and can’t open them in the copyshop/printshop. He just says, "Don’t change these options." instead of explaining them or at least saying which is the standard option (not clear if more than one person uses the computer and the last way of saving is set as new standard).
Also some of the most important ways to make selections were not mentioned. Yet I think it’s the best basic book on the topic, I’ve read about 20 so far and I recommend this one for beginners who know the basic tools and understand how layers work. All books have some disadvantages this one has the least.

Best book on general photo editing with CS2
The book gives great step by step advice on editing most types of photography and mostly the author also explains why he chooses this way and not another way that some other authors suggest, instead of just saying this is the best way. I liked the colored examples that illustrate the text and make it easier to understand. There are lots of pros so let’s get to the few contras:
What I didn’t like was that some of the more interesting topics were only available on his homepage (pdf download) and that he skips certain topics. For example he doesn’t give clear information on the TIFF saving options which can lead to people chosing the wrong compression or Mac users might save their TIFF files for Macintosh and can’t open them in the copyshop/printshop. He just says, "Don’t change these options." instead of explaining them or at least saying which is the standard option (not clear if more than one person uses the computer and the last way of saving is set as new standard).
Also some of the most important ways to make selections were not mentioned. Yet I think it’s the best basic book on the topic, I’ve read about 20 so far and I recommend this one for beginners who know the basic tools and understand how layers work. All books have some disadvantages this one has the least.

great guide for the novice
I want to stress first: Brad Hinkel has put together the perfect concise introduction to Photoshop CS2. He speaks directly to the reader in a personal style and I really appreciate the informal, friendly tone of the book. He generously shares with the reader the best part of his knowledge and experience.

In looking for a book I was wary of the many "encyclopedias" available at the bookshops. This is a detailed Photoshop book that is NOT an encylopedia. You can actually carry it around conveniently.

Even (especially) if you’re a computer savvy person like me but unaware of the intricacies of Photoshop, this is the perfect book.

Thank you Brad Hinkel!

great guide for the novice
I want to stress first: Brad Hinkel has put together the perfect concise introduction to Photoshop CS2. He speaks directly to the reader in a personal style and I really appreciate the informal, friendly tone of the book. He generously shares with the reader the best part of his knowledge and experience.

In looking for a book I was wary of the many "encyclopedias" available at the bookshops. This is a detailed Photoshop book that is NOT an encylopedia. You can actually carry it around conveniently.

Even (especially) if you’re a computer savvy person like me but unaware of the intricacies of Photoshop, this is the perfect book.

Thank you Brad Hinkel!

A very useful, concise introduction to Photoshop
It is hard to believe that a book this concise will be of any use.
Surely it won't contain enough information?

Well it does! The book swiftly takes you through the basics of the tools, commands and filters using a wealth of illustrative material, all presented in an attractive easy to read manner.

For anyone wishing to have a quick but useful introduction to Photoshop I would recommend this as a good place to start.

A valuable, concise introduction to Photoshop
It is hard to believe that a book this concise will be of any use.

Surely it won’t contain enough information?



Well it does! The book swiftly takes you through the basics of the tools, commands and filters using a wealth of illustrative material, all presented in an attractive easy to read manner.



For anyone wishing to have a quick but useful introduction to Photoshop I would recommend this as a good place to start.

A very useful, concise introduction to Photoshop
It is hard to believe that a book this concise will be of any use.
Surely it won’t contain enough information?

Well it does! The book swiftly takes you through the basics of the tools, commands and filters using a wealth of illustrative material, all presented in an attractive easy to read manner.

For anyone wishing to have a quick but useful introduction to Photoshop I would recommend this as a good place to start.

A valuable, concise introduction to Photoshop
It is hard to believe that a book this concise will be of any use.
Surely it won’t contain enough information?

Well it does! The book swiftly takes you through the basics of the tools, commands and filters using a wealth of illustrative material, all presented in an attractive easy to read manner.

For anyone wishing to have a quick but useful introduction to Photoshop I would recommend this as a good place to start.

A valuable, concise introduction to Photoshop
It is hard to believe that a book this concise will be of any use.
Surely it won’t contain enough information?

Well it does! The book swiftly takes you through the basics of the tools, commands and filters using a wealth of illustrative material, all presented in an attractive easy to read manner.

For anyone wishing to have a quick but useful introduction to Photoshop I would recommend this as a good place to start.

A very useful, concise introduction to Photoshop
It is hard to believe that a book this concise will be of any use.
Surely it won't contain enough information?

Well it does! The book swiftly takes you through the basics of the tools, commands and filters using a wealth of illustrative material, all presented in an attractive easy to read manner.

For anyone wishing to have a quick but useful introduction to Photoshop I would recommend this as a good place to start.

Great book for a beginner
First I must disclose that I know Brad personally and we teach at the same non-profit organization. So this means 2 things -- one, you could consider my review biased because of personal familiarity; or two, becasue I know Brad, I know the quality of his teaching ability, his knowledge of subject matter, his enthusiasm for digital photography, and his ability to talk and write in plain English. I hope readers will consider #2 as the dominant reason for my writing this review.

I know close to nothing regarding digital photogrpahy and Photoshop in particular. I have been a film user for all my photographic life (since 1977), and I have always preferred the wet darkroom for black & white, and platinum/palladum printing. So when I decided to start learning Photoshop I bought several books, but they were all too advanced for me and they did not provide a foundation of knowledge and theory to help me understand how to begin. I came across Brad’s book on Amazon and decided to purchase it because it seemed to be just what I needed. I was right. It is organized well and it is written in plain English. It flows logically from the Introduction to advanced techniques chapter. The book also gave me a good introduction to color management theory and practice -- something I never studied. I especially like the book’s emphasis on developing a workflow in Chapter 3, and Brad is very generous in sharing his ideas and approach to a reliable image-editing workflow . The information in the chapter on workflow is provided in a clear step-by-step fashion. The Fourth chapter covers how to print images and it gives good information about color management and steps for printing a final image. The fifth chapter provides information about advanced techniques for blendiing layers, tonal adjustments, color correction, B&W image management, and filter effects. There are many photographs and images provided to illustrate the points emphasized in the book. This is a book you will want to return to when you are looking for answers to questions, are unsure of what you are doing, and trying to decide what to do next. This book was a pleasure for me to read and it gave me a solid foundation from which to begin my experimentation with Photoshop. Finally, the book is lightweight and a nice size for handheld reading and for keeping next to you while working on your computer. In all, this book is highly recommended!

Great book for a beginner
First I must disclose that I know Brad personally and we teach at the same non-profit organization. So this means 2 things -- one, you could consider my review biased because of personal familiarity; or two, becasue I know Brad, I know the quality of his teaching ability, his knowledge of subject matter, his enthusiasm for digital photography, and his ability to talk and write in plain English. I hope readers will consider #2 as the dominant reason for my writing this review.

I know close to nothing regarding digital photogrpahy and Photoshop in particular. I have been a film user for all my photographic life (since 1977), and I have always preferred the wet darkroom for black & white, and platinum/palladum printing. So when I decided to start learning Photoshop I bought several books, but they were all too advanced for me and they did not provide a foundation of knowledge and theory to help me understand how to begin. I came across Brad’s book on Amazon and decided to purchase it because it seemed to be just what I needed. I was right. It is organized well and it is written in plain English. It flows logically from the Introduction to advanced techniques chapter. The book also gave me a good introduction to color management theory and practice -- something I never studied. I especially like the book’s emphasis on developing a workflow in Chapter 3, and Brad is very generous in sharing his ideas and approach to a reliable image-editing workflow . The information in the chapter on workflow is provided in a clear step-by-step fashion. The Fourth chapter covers how to print images and it gives good information about color management and steps for printing a final image. The fifth chapter provides information about advanced techniques for blendiing layers, tonal adjustments, color correction, B&W image management, and filter effects. There are many photographs and images provided to illustrate the points emphasized in the book. This is a book you will want to return to when you are looking for answers to questions, are unsure of what you are doing, and trying to decide what to do next. This book was a pleasure for me to read and it gave me a solid foundation from which to begin my experimentation with Photoshop. Finally, the book is lightweight and a nice size for handheld reading and for keeping next to you while working on your computer. In all, this book is highly recommended!