Product Description

This book/DVD package will stretch your digital images and Elements 5.0 to the max!

Produce superior, high-end professional results that until now were not possible without the full Photoshop program. With this package, you will discover insider secrets that you can use immediately to solve common problems that even the pros have to overcome. Now you can achieve effects only dreamed of by casual users. Beginning right away with these full-color, real-world projects, you can transform your shots into professional images that look as if they belong in glossy magazines-without commercial lighting, studio equipment, or breaking the bank.

Uncover the hidden techniques to create photos that look they were shot by a pro. And best of all, there is no need to upgrade to the full version of Photoshop to make it happen.

Packed with dynamic hands-on projects, this book/DVD package reveals the tools, advanced techniques, and loadable presets that unleash the creative potential of intermediate to advanced photographers. From editing your shots to correcting flaws and using advanced options for more power, you will find out how to combine all the features of Elements with clever workarounds that will give your shots the 'wow' factor.

New: Maximum Performance Action Files fast track your editing workflow when you have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of shots.

You get everything you need at your fingertips with the accompanying DVD, packed with bonus extras so that you achieve the results you want:

* 5 hours of video tutorials
* Over 200 royalty-free, high-resolution images
* Raw and 16-bits/Channel files
* Stock library
* Keyboard shortcut reference guide
* And more.

Now you can unleash the full power of Elements 5.0 to produce creations that will astonish you. Author and imaging guru Mark Galer puts the thrill of digital photography for your most important shots where it belongs-directly in your hands. With this thoroughly updated book and DVD package, you can finally make the most of hot new features like how to.

. Adjust sharpness and curves
. Convert to black and white
. Correct camera distortion
. Use Motion Blur to render the static image more dramatic
. Remove unwanted elements from your photographs
. Adjust exposure in Adobe Camera RAW to create classic Low Key images
. And more.

Mark Galer is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Imaging at the RMIT University. He is a Photoshop Elements Ambassador for Adobe Pacific and author of seven books ranging from digital capture to Photoshop editing skills.

Get the most out of your digital camera, maximize the power of Adobe Photoshop's Elements 5.0, and unleash your own creativity to make your once-in-a-lifetime photos look like a pro shot them!

Praise for the previous edition:

"Well written, well illustrated, with a good knack for explaining complex issues in a non-threatening and comprehensible manner." -Steve Caplin, digital artist and author of "How to Cheat in Photoshop".

"Stunning images without breaking the bank! Using techniques normally associated with Photoshop, Mark Galer proves that this often-belittled program can produce truly remarkable results."
David Asch, photographer and digital artist, UK

"Truly Maximum Performance! This book has propelled my knowledge of Photoshop Elements to a very high competent professional level. I cannot express my absolute delight with my new skills."
Richard McWhorter, author, USA

"A great book to learn with...Stuffed with expert performance tips" Tim Daly, photographer, UK

A Great Book and DVD Combination!
"I have learned more from watching (and rewatching) the videos than I did at a $400 two-day Photoshop Workshop" V. Hutson, USA

* DVD includes FOUR HOURS of tutorials, image files, RAW and 16Bits/Channel files, a stock library and a keyboard shortcut reference guide
* Updated with new images and 3 new cutting edge projects: lens correction, hair extraction, and motion blur
* Vital sections on Camera Raw, Black and White, and High Dynamic Range have all been extended

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #288495 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

Review
" I was impressed by the variety of techniques discussed that I thought could only be done in Photoshop. This book is well written with carefully planned-out tutorials that explain each step with illustrations to go along. The book also comes with a DVD. If you doubt that Elements might be a cheaper but just as effective alternative to Photoshop, you need to see Mark Galen's book..." - Apogee Photo Magazine, November 2006

"In less than a week of 'playing' (learning), I was getting great real-world results with my images, and was having a blast going back to my original files and seeing just how much more quality I could coax out of them...which was considerable...

...I thought the book and DVD were terrific, and were a bargain at the price I paid." - Amazon.com reviewer, March 06

Galer's writing is not only easy to understand but a pleasure to read, as he explains how and why to utilize a feature, always keeping the art of photography clearly at the forefront.-Digital Photographer, Feb-Apr 2007

About the Author
Mark Galer is a Senior Lecturer in photography at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia. He is also co-writer and teacher on their new online photography courses. He has lectured in photography in the UK and Australia and has worked commercially as a freelance photographer on corporate and editorial assignments. He has written numerous top-selling photography books, including Photography Foundations for Art & Design, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Maximum Performance and Digital Photography in Available Light. He is an Official Adobe Ambassador for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Maximum Performance
This latest book by Mark Galer "Photoshop Elements 5 Maximum Performance" is a real cracker. It is aimed at those who, having learnt the basics, want to go on and harness the full power of the software. Using the techniques that Mark Galer describes, this book will show you that you don't need the full version of Photoshop to achieve professional looking results - Elements has all the capability required. It certainly lives up to its title, with lots of clever workarounds, tips and tricks to satisfy the most demanding user. Mark has an easy to read, informative and friendly style, with a light sprinkling of humour now and then to relieve the technicalities. The book is divided into 3 parts: Optimise, Enhance and Montage, each with 8 projects. In the Optimise section the projects are: Crop and Correct, Levels, RAW files, Target Zones, Contrast, Hue and Saturation, Sharpening, and Printing. These projects provide the reader with an in-depth knowledge of a typical digital workflow. In the Enhance section the author goes on to various techniques such as Depth of field, Black and White, Low Key, Shafts of Light, Toning, Motion Blur, Glamour Portrait and Character Portrait. In the final section, Montage, there are projects covering: Replacing a Sky, Creative Montage, High Dynamic Range, Creative Text, Panoramas, Hair Transplant, Preserving Shadows and Displacement. All the projects are easy to follow, even though they are sometimes extremely involved. The accompanying DVD, which contains video tutorials for each of the projects, all the images used in the book and other resources is most useful. It's great to see a publisher like Focal Press producing consistently high quality photographic books that are not only attractively presented but also exceptional value. Full colour screenshots are used throughout the book as well as clear step-by-step instructions. In summary, anyone wanting to extract the maximum performance from Photoshop Elements should place this book on their shortlist.

Sensational... that's the only word to describe it
Well I tell you now if you want a book on Photoshop Elements v5.00 that is `par excellance' then this is the book for you. That is to state without any contradiction that Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Maximum Performance: Unleash the hidden performance of Elements: by Mark Galer, is the best thing since sliced bread. This book is simply fantastic and you will never be bored or intimidated reading it. It is jam packed with information and has tutorials that simply cannot be surpassed, even to the extent of giving a practical video tut on how to set up your printer for maximum resolution and accurate colour printout/management. This is how a learning book should be presented. It has a Dvd attached to the back cover with around 24 free detailed video tutorials in it. Hundreds of free pictures, links to sites, AND a free version of Quicktime v7.00, (a video viewer program) which you will need to install on your computer to watch his tutorials. The tuts on Character Portrait and Gradients are simply astonishing. You do not even begin to relise how powerful this Photoshop Elements 5 software is until you see this guy in action. If I learn only 50% of his knowledge then I shall already consider myself an 'expert'. With practical written instructions AND videos that relate to the exercises in the book, what he does when he TALKS and EXPLAINS to you as you sit there spellbound watching his tutorials, has to be seen to be believed. Listen all this for £ 12.53p !!! (at today's date) Are you kidding??. If I could give this 10 stars I would. This book is, as they say, simply the best -- better than all of the rest. We loved the book and it sits next to my computer as a fixture. I am so glad we bought it which was initially due to the recommendations already here. Highly, highly recommended.

You don't have to have full Photoshop savvy to read this book. If you want a sensational book on Elements 5 that even a complete novice like me can understand, then this is, without question, the book for you. It's fantastic to actually be able to read and SEE what you are supposed to be doing. 5 stars plus from me. (read 10 stars) All IMHO of coarse.

not bad
This is a handy book if you you want to learn more about PS 5. However it is not perfect. The writing style is a bit quirky/irritating at times, also the videos on the DVD were made using PS 4! As does some of the text.