Digital Darkroom

Printed Primers On Tips, Tricks, And Effects
Hitting the books again, you can mine Scott Kelby's witty expertise in print in The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers; 464 pages, $39.99. It covers the Bridge, Camera Raw, re-sizing, color management and correction, retouching, special effects, sharpening, copyright, and presentation. Coauthored with Felix Nelson, Kelby's Photoshop CS2 Killer Tips runs 288 pages for $29.99. Both are fully illustrated in color from New Riders.

O'Reilly has launched a Digital Studio series of 9.25x10" books packed with step-by-step illustrations and screen shots covering CS2. The Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook by Tim Shelbourne, the Photoshop Filter Effects Encyclopedia by Roger Pring, and the Photoshop Blending Modes Cookbook by John Beardsworth, offer good value and inspirational images to get your creative juices flowing; $29.95 each.

Artful Guides
A new entry from Katrin Eismann is the comprehensive and authoritative Photoshop Masking and Compositing; 544 pages, $54.99; New Riders. Another excellent book on this subject is Adobe Master Class: Photoshop Compositing with John Lund; 320 pages, $45, Adobe Press. A top advertising photographer, Lund shares his techniques for a number of impressive assignments. Creating Photomontages with Photoshop: A Designer's Notebook translated by William Rodarmor showcases the work of eight photographers through step-by-step examples; 96 pages, $24.95, O'Reilly. Part of the same series, Illustrations with Photoshop: A Designer's Notebook, also translated by Rodarmor, encompasses the work of nine photo artists; 96 pages, $24.95, O'Reilly.

Digital Photo Art, by Theresa Airey, explores a wide variety of digital techniques and mixed media to show you how to "transform your images with traditional and contemporary art techniques"; 8.5x11", 208 pages, $29.95, Lark Books (www.larkbooks.com). The informative and amusing How to Cheat in Photoshop: The art of creating photorealistic montages has been updated by author Steve Caplin for CS2; 8x9.5", 384 pages, $39.95, Focal Press. Daniel Giordan has updated his excellent The Art of Photoshop for Digital Photographers: from Image Capture to Art. Filled with elegant examples of painterly and traditional graphic art effects, it is 280 pages, $39.99, from Sams.

If you like your art on the wacky and wild side, try the new work from Sherry London, Photoshop CS2 Gone Wild; 8x10", with CD, $34.99, Wiley. On another wild side, Photoshop techniques for both realistic retouching and elegant creative painterly effects are presented in Roderick MacDonald and Minnie Cook's Erotique Digitale: The Art of Erotic Digital Photography; 9.25x10", 176 pages, $29.99, Thomson Course Technology (www.courseptr.com).

For top tier images and inspiration with minimal technical text, check out Digital Art for the 21st Century by John Grant and Audre Vysniauskas; 9.5x11", $29.95, Harper Design International (www.harpercollins.com). To see step by step how 17 international digital artists created their works with Photoshop and other programs, pick up Going Digital: The Practice and Vision of Digital Artists by Joseph Nalven and JD Jarvis; $39.99, Thomson Course Technology.

Reach Out And Retouch Someone
Katrin Eismann's excellent Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, now in its third edition, remains one of the most comprehensive and authoritative tomes on the subject; 8x10", 472 pages, $49.99, New Riders. Also check out a new one from O'Reilly: Photoshop Retouching Cookbook for Digital Photographers by Barry Huggins. About half of the book is devoted to retouching with the rest covering special effects and corrective techniques; 9.25x10", 176 pages, $29.95. From restoring old photos to creating cutting-edge looks for advertising, O'Reilly's Photo Retouching with Photoshop: A Designer's Notebook, translated by Marie Laure CLEC'H, covers a wide range of techniques with case studies from nine photographers; 96 pages, $24.95.

Workflow And Asset Management
As more and more photographers move to digital, resources such as Tim Grey's Photoshop CS2 Workflow: The Digital Photographer's Guide become indispensable. Grey details the processes from downloading, sorting, raw conversion, image correction and enhancement, through output, including workflow automation options; 290 pages, $39.99; Sybex. Bruce Fraser takes on the same issues in Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2: Industrial Strength Production Techniques, including shooting and processing, the Bridge, workflow, mastering Metadata, and exploiting automation; 316 pages, $39.99, Peachpit Press/Adobe Press. "Shooting in the raw format gives you greater flexibility and control to the editing process--if you know how to use it...Adobe Photoshop CS2 has emerged as the best way to edit raw images," and Photoshop CS2 RAW, by Mikkel Aaland, is dedicated to explaining how to work with raw in CS2; 256 pages, $34.95, O'Reilly. In Adobe Camera Raw for Digital Photographers Only, author Rob Sheppard uses his experience working with pro photographers on two photo magazines to explain how to get the most from raw; 352 pages, $39.99; from Wiley. If you're new to the raw format, look at Ben Long's Getting Started with Camera RAW, for beginners to the intermediate level; 282 pages, $24.99, Peachpit Press.

In Secrets of Adobe Bridge: Making the Most of Adobe Creative Suite 2, Terry White shows how to master organizing your files using the Bridge while customizing views and your work space; 73/8x91/8", 120 pages, $24.99, Adobe Press. In The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, Peter Krogh presents a solid plan and practical advice on how to file, find, protect, and re-use your photographs; 296 pages, $34.95, O'Reilly. When you get stuck anywhere in your workflow, you might want to consult Dave Cross of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). The Photoshop CS2 Help Desk Book is a compilation of answers to the most frequently asked Photoshop questions and "strategies that can help avoid problems in the first place"; 262 pages, $34.99, Peachpit Press.

The gurus from KW Computer Training and Software Cinema often tour the US with live presentations. I highly recommend these as a way to learn the latest Photoshop techniques, ask questions, and network with fellow photographers.

Check the publishers' websites frequently for live seminars, for new CS2 titles that will still be appearing, and for special pricing and bundles. Armed with a few selections from the above, appropriate for your skill level, you'll take control of the powerful features of CS2. These resources can both boost your productivity and inspire new creative paths.