Is there a good book to learn how to use Photoshop?

[MikeFromMesa]

There are a lot of Photoshop books available in the Amazon Kindle Store, but the ones I have looked at don't provide the information I need. I am new to Photoshop, but I am not new to photo editing, having been using other photo editors (mostly PhotoLine and Affinity Photo) for some years, so I know what layers are and I know (mostly) how to use the individual layers and masks to do what I want to do. What I need help with are some of the more Photoshop specific concepts - when and how to best use smart objects and smart filters, scripting in Photoshop, perhaps some information on automation and the like. What I generally see when I look at the Amazon Kindle store are books for beginners and books about specific topics, but what I want is a middle to advanced book on Photoshop concepts and usage.

Some of the YouTube videos poked around at some of these ideas, but I did not see anything that really addressed my needs. I also thought about trying to read through the Adobe documentation thinking that it would provide what I need, but what I have looked at is generally at too high or too low a level for my current knowledge.

Can anyone recommend something like that?

[jane-e · Accepted solution]

@MikeFromMesa 

Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book (2023) by Conrad Chavez is the only book to get.

Adobe Press:

 https://www.adobepress.com/store/adobe-photoshop-classroom-in-a-book-2023-release-9780137965892

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photoshop-Classroom-Book-Release/dp/0137965893

In addition, Julianne Kost and Deke McClelland each has a good series of videos on LinkedIn Learning. You can get a free month if you have not subscribed before.

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/subscription/topics

There was a recent thread by the scripter where they talked about the best material to get started. They will catch this thread and post the link. They are also good with answering questions when you get stuck on a line of code.

Jane

[MikeFromMesa]

I downloaded the Kindle book sample to take a look and see what topics are covered. 

I logged onto LinkedIn, but they don't give any information about what is in the courses that they have for Photoshop beyond saying that they have 4 courses and 90 video tutorials. Still, free is a pretty good price to pay for the ability to check them out. Thank you for the link. I have not paid much attention to LinkedIn since I retired. 

I will keep an eye open for any link from the scripting people. Scripting is one of the things I wanted to know about since I have a background in software development, just not scripting languages.

Thank you for posting. That is a lot of very good information.

[jane-e]

You might also filter to Scripting and read a few of the scripting threads. Filters are sticky, so turn it off when finished. The thread I'm thinking of was just in the last week or two. 

Jane

[Trevor.Dennis]

The Classroom in a Book series work well because of the way they are structured.  You have to practice what you have learned chapter by chapter. and as with all things of a potentially complex nature, Photoshop can be 'Use it or Lose it'.

I am going to suggest any of the Scott Kelby books.  Think about how you'd like to use Photoshop, and choose a title that best suits that use.  i.e.  Photography, Ilustration, Graphic Design.  The reason Scott's books work is because he keeps things light and humourous, so you are less likely to get bored.  

https://scottkelby.com/category/books/

What I also suggest is that you learn one aspect at a time, and make it something that will be the most use to you.  That way you'll cement that workflow and remember it.  Learning clevcer tricks — and Photoshop can do some VERY clever tricks — is not going to help unless you'll be using those tricks on a day by day basis.

Good luck and enjoy your new journey into a fascinating and highly rewarding passtime.  You'll soon become addicted to using Photoshop.  And btw, please ask on this forum if you get stuck.  The regulars here love to help. 

https://scottkelby.com/category/books/

[jane-e]

Speaking of Scott Kelby, he also runs the site KelbyOne with an impressive list of instructors in addition to live conferences including Photoshop World.

https://kelbyone.com/

Jane

[MikeFromMesa]

Thank you for the reference.