This is the third Photoshop book I have bought from the ‘guru’ himself, Scott Kelby. The first one was CS2, closely followed by CS3.

I didn’t bother to get his CS4 book because I also didn’t bother to upgrade to CS4, you have to draw the line somewhere.

However, when CS5 came out I knew I had to have it, and I knew I had to have a good book which explains, in practical words and pictures, how to use it. Enter Mr Kelby’s latest PS book, The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter).

Now, if you’ve been around the photography and/or Photoshop scene for any length of time, you will, no doubt, have come across Scott Kelby already.   

He is an award-winning author of more than 50 books, so he’s out there, big time! That’s because of only one thing: he’s GOOD at what he does!

And what he does best is show you how to get the most out of Photoshop, in simple language, with lots of real-world examples and pictures, and from a photographer’s point of view. Isn’t that what we all want?

So what will you get from this book?

Entertainment, knowledge and power!

Entertainment because Kelby is a bit of a nutter, he freely admits that the introduction pages of each chapter are there purely as a bit of a laugh between the ‘meat’ of what you are learning. Some people are annoyed by this, and have said so most forcefully in their reviews, but maybe they ought to lighten up a bit! It’s his style, you either love it or not, personally I love it, the world is a miserable enough place as it is so a bit of humour now and again is a welcome diversion.

Knowledge because he is quite possibly the most clued-up guy out there when it comes to Photoshop for photographers, and he has that rare ability to share his knowledge of complex processes clearly in an entertaining and enjoyable way. These explanations are backed up by a hoard of illustrations which are large, clear and show you, step by step, what you need to do.

Power because, once you’ve mastered the art of Photoshop, you can go on to conquer the world, bring down oppressive regimes, free the people and foster world peace… You see, some of his wierd humour is already having an effect on me! Seriously though, there is nothing quite like the creative freedom you get once you’ve harnessed the awesome power of a great program like Photoshop.

Step by step to the results you want

This latest update to his series of Photoshop books shows you exactly how to do it. It’s not a load of dry theory and it doesn’t assume you have any previous knowledge. Instead, he shows you step by step the exact techniques used by today’s cutting-edge digital photographers. Best of all, he doesn’t expect you to come up with your own settings, or figure anything out on your own, he shows you exactly which settings to use, when to use them, and why.

As you might have guessed, I’m a bit of a fan of Scott Kelby’s books, they are entertaining from start to finish. They are also well presented, easy to follow and, with his slightly off the wall sense of humour running through them, a real joy to read. If you’re looking for a photography ‘bible’ on how to be creative in Photoshop CS5 then look no further, you’ve found it!

Go to Scott Kelby’s Photoshop CS5 Book on Amazon if you want more info, a look inside the pages and customer reviews. Or check out what else is available on this subject by looking at the selection in the carousel below. Go here for our disclosure notice.

PS: There is another excellent work by Scott Kelby that I bought recently, and that is his Lightroom 3 book (because I bought LR3 at the same time as I upgraded to CS5). Watch this space for a review of that one fairly soon.