reviewed by: Jen deHaan

Version: Photoshop 7

Photoshop 7 Savvy is a thorough text that provides solid instruction in how to use one of the best graphic tools out there. Photoshop is not an easy program to master, since there so much crammed into the software. However, this book breaks it down into useful tutorials, reference and workshops that allow you to learn the software at your own pace, intuitively.

The Savvy series targets the beginner. It assumes that you have not used Photoshop before, and are just starting out and learning your way around the tool. Photoshop 7 Savvy hits this mark - so beware if you are an experienced user wishing to upgrade. If you are upgrading to version 7, this probably isn't the book for you, despite covering most of the new features found in version 7. It'd probably be best to seek out a more advanced title for that. However, if you don't have any "formal" training in Photoshop or you are brand new to the world of image editing, Savvy is a great book to check out. The thing with Photoshop is that there are so many "hidden" tools within the interface that you might not otherwise pick up at all if you don't check out a book.

This book delves deep into the interface as well, which I found quite impressive for a beginner book. However, it doesn't over complicate the program either - you still feel like you are easily following what is going on for each tutorial. For example, each different task is given a new title that explicitly explains what you are doing in that particular step. Photoshop 7 Savvy seems to strive for clarity, and it does achieve that in most chapters.

Some room for improvement is in the way the book is instructing the reader. At times, the book seems to move a bit quickly, and I at times fear that the readers might get lost. It is a linear kind of book, that once it teaches you something, seems to assume that the reader has learned that task for the next tutorial. This is fine, but if you do any skipping (I tend to do this a lot!), then you might get confused. This is not really anything that necessarily takes away from the book, but it is definitely something that takes some thought and planning to do well.

Useful features: The book comes complete with a CD-ROM, which includes exercises/tutorial files. I also find the appendix on Tool Descriptions quite useful for new Photoshop users. It's great to be able to refer to a complete description of what each tool is used for.

Overall, I found this book an excellent start for new users of Photoshop. It provides useful lessons on how to get oriented in the program. The choices for what is covered were wise, and the tutorials are generally well organized and clear, and the topics are very well explained to the reader. Other than a few typos (and what book doesn't have them), things are really well done in this book. Photoshop 7 Savvy gets a solid 5/5.