| A member of the retouching
forum of dpreview.com recently asked whether it was possible
to copy a layer mask stored as a channel to an adjustment
layer mask. It took nearly an hour for someone to respond. This atypical delay was caused, I think, because two kinds of
people read it: those who didn't know the answer and those
who think everybody does.
This book by the wisecracking,
prolific editor-in-chief of Photoshop User magazine is aimed
at those in the former camp, but I would be surprised if the
jaded experts don't find something new. It is Kelby's
best effort in years, which is saying something, since he
has nearly sixty books, DVDs, audio tapes, or editions to
his credit. (Even one for new dads!) |
|
|
Kelby begins by assuming you know nothing
about channels, which will seem pretty tedious to those who do. But
hang on. There's a method here. His next chapter builds on
what he's taught in the first, and the third on the second, etc.
He shows you how channels can be used for selections, masking,
for black and white conversions, for color correction, sharpening,
and web optimization. Much of it is pretty standard stuff, but those
of us who know what to do but forget exactly how to do it will
benefit from the step-by-step approach Kelby employs throughout the
264 pp. of text, all of them generously and well illustrated.
One might ask why we need a book that is so specifically built
around one Photoshop tool—or set of tools. The answer is that using
channels are a very powerful way to get things done, yet the
questions we see in forums suggest that many users neglect them.
There are better books on masks and selections (and Kelby
acknowledges it by pointing users to Katrin Eismann's book on the
subject.) There are better books on color correction. There are more
complete treatments on sharpening. But if you want to learn your way
around channels, this is your guide.
For those of us who already use channels, the best sections will be
several techniques Kelby borrowed from Dan Margulis, the guru of curves and the LAB color
space. It alone is not worth the price of admission, but the
refresher in all things Channel will keep this volume nearby in my
bookcase and often on my desk.
—Jim Lewis, Action Central |