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Author: Jennifer Smith and the Aquent Graphics Institute Creative Team

Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.

Edition: First - July 2007

ISBN 10: 0-596-51061-6

ISBN 13: 9780596510619

Pages: 360

Price: $44.99 US, £27.99 UK

I enjoy the name of this series of books from O'Reilly; Dynamic Learning. See, I've always been much better at learning things by actually doing them. It's not just enough to read it or see it, I have to do it. I'm guessing many of you are the same way, and isn't good to know we learn "dynamically?" We're dynamic, you and I. How about that?

The thrust of this series, after all, is to not just tell you what various programs can do, but to give you projects that guide you through these capabilities. It's like taking a training seminar, only you're the only one there and you can take your lunch break whenever you want.

The first book I've tried out in this series is Dynamic Learning: Photoshop CS3 (DL:CS3), which is a great place for me to start. Of all the programs I use on my Mac, I'm probably most familiar with Photoshop. I've been using it since version 3, and it's followed me across three jobs and a lot of freelance work since that time. The trouble with such familiarity, however, is that I tend to get stuck in a single way of doing things, thereby missing some new features and capabilities that could help me out. This is why I was pleased to see that Lesson One in DL:CS3 is titled "What's New in Adobe Photoshop CS3?" There is a Starting Up chapter at the beginning, I guess, to introduce people to Photoshop basics and the structure of this book, but the meat begins with that introduction to Photoshop's new features. And because the chapter is split into easily accessible sections, you can skip to the new feature you want. Interested in the Quick Selection tool? Fine. Bypass the workspace, interface and dock palettes sections on your way to page 15. And, if you're new to Photoshop, you can skip the first chapter altogether...although some of the topics covered in later chapters may make no sense at first.

Of course, the thing about Photoshop is that there are a dozen methods of doing just about everything. Some methods should be chosen based on the subject, while others can be a matter of personal preference. By virtue of running you through examples, DL:CS3 serves as a great reminder of the various methods available and making sure you know how to use them, thereby helping you determine when to use them. Along the way, you're likely to realize you've been using a favorite tool incorrectly, or at least inefficiently. With the samples provided, DL:CS3 can get you back on track. This certainly applied to me in Lesson 7: Making the Best Selections and Lesson 11: Using Smart Objects, but pretty much every lesson had its own gems of information that helped me get better results more quickly.

The true benefit to DL:CS3 is the included CD, which contains the images covered in the lessons detailed throughout the book. In addition, the CD contains a Flash video for each lesson. These are kind of abrupt, though, and the sound quality is pretty bad, making them fairly useless for anything other than introductions to what you're about to learn in the book.

The lessons covered in the book are:

• Starting Up
• Lesson 1: What's New in Adobe Photoshop CS3?
• Lesson 2: Exploring Adobe Photoshop CS3
• Lesson 3: Getting to Know the Workspace
• Lesson 4: Using Adobe Bridge
• Lesson 5: The Basics of Photoshop CS3
• Lesson 6: Creating a Good Image
• Lesson 7: Making the Best Selections
• Lesson 8: Painting and Retouching
• Lesson 9: Getting to Know Layers
• Lesson 10: Taking Layers to the Max
• Lesson 11: Using Smart Objects
• Lesson 12: Using Adobe Photoshop Filters
• Lesson 13: Creating Images for Web and Video

For details of the subcategories, you can visit O'Reilly's website. Before you do, though, I want you take note of what's missing, there. The writers of this book apparently aren't photographers, as there's precious little in here on importing photographs from your camera and preparing them for print. Indeed, most of the topics in this book seem to have a web or digital distribution bent, as opposed to offering good tips for getting the most out of your prints. Perhaps that's because printing from Photoshop could get half a book on its own, but it would've been nice to see at least something in here.

Another minor complaint stems from the very element I praised earlier. Looking specifically at the lesson on Photoshop filters, we're given a good look at how to create some interesting effects. This lesson is probably too short, but that's not my complaint (again, to adequately cover Photoshop filters would require a book devoted entirely to that subject). My complaint stems from the fact that the instructions included are clear and concise for the sample image provided, but the lesson doesn't extend past that immediate sample. You'll learn how to use that filter on that, but applying what you've learned to a different image is another matter altogether. The authors do a good job of teaching you about the tool, but no so much about other uses for it beyond the image provided in the lesson. Each chapter does end with a review and self study suggestions, however, so that does help bridge the gap between what you've learned and where you want to go with it.

Speaking of the authors, the instructions are laid out in a clean, efficient manner. There's not much fluff, which keeps the lessons tight and easy to follow. I agreed with that approach for a manual of this type, but those used to books where the author tries to engage the reader with jokes and anecdotes may find DL:CS3 to be a bit impersonal. Graphically, copious Mac OS X and Windows color screen captures are included to illustrate what you should be seeing on your screen. This gives the book a strong visual appeal while clarifying the lessons being taught. You'll have no trouble following along.

Dynamic Learning: Photoshop CS3 ends up being a great resource for those looking to take advantage of the new features available, with the added bonus of helping users refresh themselves on what Photoshop already could do. Even better, it'll remind users that other—perhaps better—methods are available. It does this with real world lessons, involving images included on the provided CD. New users can also benefit from these lessons, but not without first going through another book that'll better introduce them to Photoshop. Photographers should look elsewhere, though, as there's little here to help them use Photoshop as a bridge between the camera and the printed photograph.