Book Recommendation

I teach some PS as part of a studio art graphic design course. Although Fraser's book is invaluable as a reference, I think Ben Willmore's book ("Studio Techniques") may be less intimidating to a beginner and cover overall concepts and capabilities of Photoshop in user-friendly "non-tech" lingo. Also check out the pdf tutorials from Julieanne Kost at: adobeevangelists.com
cb

If just starting out, get comfortable with the fact that you're eventually going to spend way more on self-study material than you spent on PS itself. Why? Because the more you learn, the more you're going to want to learn and the learning is endless. A compete book on Photoshop would be at least a mile thick - I'm not kidding... it's hands down the coolest app in the world ever.

If you're brand new to PS, I recommend you buy the DVD training series here > <http://www.totaltraining.com/store/2003/tt_products/Photoshop7Complete.asp?mscsid=> and definitely buy the CLASSROOM IN A BOOK "book" from Adobe at your favorite book store. Both are indispensible aids that'll get you off to a quick start.

However if you're like me and you aren't brand new to PS but still see yourself on the bottom rung, Google some filter searches, go to Russell Brown's website and download his free QT tutorials, visit yet the many other PS tutorial websites and print them out.

I also have books by Kelby, Eismann, Jack Davis, Willmore, McClelland, etc that I go back to over and over again. Yes, it's a bit nuts but its fun too. I might have saved myself a few bucks at the beginning by taking out a second mortgage on my house and negotiating a deal with Amazon.com/books. = ^ )

I second Oh2's advice. Photoshop is a learning process from day one to the end and I never get tired of it. I have books by Kelby, Eismann, and McClelland and hve gone through CLASSROOM IN A BOOK. All excellent help. I have been using computers since 1981 and i think Photoshop is the most fantastic piece of software on the market today - it has no peers!