What books are available for photographers who want to develop their Photoshop skills? The digital photography section of the local bookstore can be overwhelming with hundreds of titles available. Which books are worth owning? Which ones should be avoided? This month I provide a list of some of my personal favorite Photoshop books, along with a brief description of what each book covers. In general, Photoshop books can be broken into two categories: general books and specialty books. General books address a large audience and try to cover a little bit of everything. These books usually spend a lot of time discussing the theory about why Photoshop does things and less time on how to apply individual tools. The sad truth is that most general books are failures because Photoshop is too big a program to be addressed in a single text. Fortunately, however, a few gems do exist. I do my best to identify them for you. The specialty books, on the other hand, focus on a single topic without trying to cover anything else. In most cases, these books assume a certain level of knowledge about how Photoshop works, but once you have that knowledge they are an excellent source of information.

The following list has been broken down into several categories based on subject. As you will see, I have not limited myself to nature photography books because very few Photoshop books fit in that category. Instead, the authors expect you to learn the skills being presented and apply them to your own source of images.

Finally, a word of warning. This list is not comprehensive. There are excellent books out there that are not on my list. If you have a favorite book that teaches Photoshop or digital imaging skills, share it with the PhotoMigrations community. If not, perhaps the following list will help you begin your new library.

John Shaw's Photoshop Field Guide. By John Shaw.
An excellent overview of the skills needed by digital nature photographers to produce beautiful prints using Photoshop. This is an e-book that can be ordered directly at www.JohnShawPhoto.com. The quality of this book is equal to all of John's pervious books.

Beginner's Guide to Adobe Photoshop: Easy lessons for rapid learning and success. By Michelle Perkins.
A very good book for the beginner. Covers the basic techniques and tools of Photoshop, but does not move into more advanced materials.

The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers. By Scott Kelby.
Good overview of a wide variety of Photoshop techniques commonly used by digital photographers.

Adobe Photoshop for Photographers: a professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC. By Martin Evening.
Excellent book providing a general overview of Photoshop, specifically geared towards the photographer.

Secrets of the Digital Darkroom. By Peter Cope.
Very good overview of a variety of digital techniques.

Real World Digital Photography. By Katrin Eismann, Sean Duggan, & Tim Grey.
Excellent overview of digital photography, including cameras, photographic skills, printing, color management, and Photoshop. Probably the best comprehensive book on the subject.

Digital Imaging for Photographers. By Adrian Davies & Phil Fennessy.
Decent information on digital imaging, but somewhat technical at times.

Color Confidence: the digital photographer's guide to color management. By Tim Grey.
The best book available on color management. Easy to read and very clear explanations of a confusing topic.

Real World Color Management. By Bruce Fraser, Chris Murphy, & Fred Bunting.
Excellent overview of color management issues. Dense reading at times. Think of this as a reference book rather then to read it cover to cover.

Photo Finish: the digital photographer's guide to printing, showing, and selling images. By Jon Canfield and Tim Grey.
Provides excellent coverage of different ways to output images including printing (using inkjet printers or labs), web site creation, digital slideshows, and selling images. This book is a must have for any digital photographers who want to do more then look at their images on the monitor.

Epson Complete Guide to Digital Printing. By Rob Sheppard.
Very straightforward overview of the art of digital printing. Main focus is on using Epson inkjet printers.

Mastering Digital Printing. By Harald Johnson.
Broad overview of the printing options available to digital photographers. Goes well beyond inkjet printers.

Photoshop Masking & Compositing. By Katrin Eismann.
An in-depth look at the art of compositing. Excellent book.

Photoshop Compositing with John Lund. By John Lund.
Good look at digital compositing. Focuses on more advanced techniques, assuming readers already know the basics.

How to Cheat in Photoshop: the art of creating photorealistic montages. By Steve Caplin.
Another good book covering digital compositing techniques.

Jim Zuckerman's Secrets to Great Photographs: Digital Effects. By Jim Zuckerman.
Interesting guide to some of the creative effects that can be applied in Photoshop. The book's style is based on showing an effect and then describing how it was produced. This book contains a number of very inspiring images.

Photoshop Restoration & Retouching. By Katrin Eismann.
The definitive guide to portrait retouching and restoration techniques. I highly recommend this book.

Adobe Photoshop CS The Art of Photographing Women. By Kevin Ames.
This is the best, most extensive guide on portrait retouching for women. Purchase of this book also provides access to Kevin's website where practice images may be downloaded. This book also contains the best step-by-step tutorial I have seen on how to use the Pen Tool to make selections.

Photoshop's Guide to The Digital Portrait: start to finish with Adobe Photoshop. By Al Audleman.
Good introduction to portrait retouching.

The Glitterguru on Photoshop: from concept to cool. By Suzette Troche-Stapp.
Covers the skills needed to be a professional portrait retoucher. Emphasis on producing unique images that often fall into the realm of fantasy.

Commercial Photoshop with Bert Monroy. By Bert Monroy.
Covers a variety of advanced Photoshop techniques that can be used to produce stunning images. Excellent book for the advanced Photoshop user.

Photoshop Color Correction: the essential guide to color quality for digital images. By Michael Kieran.
One of the best books available on color correction techniques.

Classic Photoshop Effects: the essential effects every user needs to know. By Scott Kelby.
Lots of interesting techniques. Focus is on the most commonly used Photoshop effects used by Professional photographers.

Design Graphics Photoshop Studio Skills. By Design Graphic.
Lots of interesting techniques.

Photoshop CS Down and Dirty Tricks. By Scott Kelby.
Contains lots of tips and techniques presented in a step-by-step manner.

How to Wow Photoshop for Photography. By Jack Davis & Ben Willmore.
Another book containing a wide variety of techniques.

Creative Photoshop Lighting Techniques. By Barry Huggins.
Contains Photoshop tips that focus on producing unique lighting effects.

Chris Gamel has been an active wildlife photographer for the past 14 years. The combination of his biological research and photographic interests has taken him around the world. In 2001, Chris discovered the joys of digital photography and he hasn't looked back. Chris lives with his wife and daughter in Salt Lake City where he teaches courses at Weber State University and Salt Lake Community College. To see more of Chris's photography, visit his web site at www.Animal-Antics.net.

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