It's disappointing when a photo of a loved one is marred by "red eye" or the wrong exposure, or a cherished picture from long ago cracks and fades. Luckily, Katrin Eismann seems to know every trick available in Photoshop for making photographs--film or digital--look just how you want them to, whether that means restoring what has been lost, fixing incorrect exposures, erasing dust and scratches, or even re-creating reality. (Who wouldn't want to lose a few wrinkles?) Eismann has the artistic eye to appreciate good photography, the technical savvy to be able to offer numerous solutions to any given problem, and the writing and teaching skills to walk readers clearly through them.

Photoshop Retouching and Restoring assumes readers have a working knowledge of Photoshop; it does not go through the basics or cover complex selections or masking, although it does quickly explain essentials such as shortcuts, context-sensitive menus, quick image-navigation tricks, the varieties of layers, and smart file management--all issues that expedite workflow and distinguish regular and power users. It even outlines what it takes to set up shop as a professional retoucher--equipment, studio arrangement, and working with clients and contracts.

The author strongly advises reading from start to finish, and she's structured the projects so that they build upon each other. The book is divided into three sections: correcting tone, exposure, and colour; restoration, repairing, and rebuilding; and portrait and glamour retouching. Each page is filled with plenty of before-and-after images, along with screen shots of palettes and dialogue boxes.

This book makes tackling each flaw look easy--it seems like even the worst photo can be saved. Also, by the end, readers will have an appreciation for those who do retouching for a living--it takes planning, a good eye, consistency, and a lot of organisation, or you're just flailing away with adjustment layers. You can get a look at a sample tutorial and chapter on the companion Web site, digitalretouch.org, which also includes all project images and other resources. --Angelynn Grant

From Library Journal

Everyone has old photographs stored in a shoebox or album. Storing them electronically allows for the preservation and, in some cases, the enhancement of these irreplaceable mementos. Both of these works feature a new angle on Adobe Photoshop training by focusing on retouching. Although the majority of techniques discussed here are found in every other Photoshop book (e.g., Carla Rose's SAMS Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop 6 in 24 Hours, Computer Media, LJ 4/1/01), both authors do a good job of walking readers through the process. Kiteley's volume is an e-book available for Macintosh and PC. It comes only as a CD-ROM in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat to read (a free download from the Adobe site). Eismann's book is an attractive, paper equivalent of Kiteley's work, covering almost exactly the same techniques. Pass on both if you already have a Photoshop title; if not, I prefer the presentation of Eismann's volume.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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61 Reviews

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4.7 out of 5 stars (61 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent job writing this book., Feb 7 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Photoshop Restoration and Retouching (Paperback)

I'm a novice who wanted to restore a whole bunch of all photos from family that my grandmother had in her atic, so I decided to buy Photohop by recomendation of a friend of mind. I have no previous experience in this field, but this book was everything I needed it.
The author is so detailed and the practices so well prepare that it took me no time to hands of it, and look like a profesional in front of my entire family and friends. I would recommend this book to anyone, experts or novices like me.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Gift for the Flaw-Plagued Photographer, Nov 11 2003

Craig L. Howe "The Pointed Pundit" (Darien, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Photoshop Restoration and Retouching (Paperback)

I will admit it. Many of my photos have flaws. Many have not been preserved properly.

They represent memories, however, so I am reluctant to toss them in the trash. Katrin Eisman's book equipped me with the skills to restore them to a state to which I can be proud. This book has helped me take my well-intentioned, yet poorly executed photos, correct the color, contrast and tone. Mold, cracks and torn edges mystically disappear.

The moments I attempted to preserve were precious to me. The beautiful images that result from her easy to find, easy to follow, step-by-step instructions are a gift.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book of Photoshop Knowlege, Aug 18 2003

Douglas Kohn "Djanvk" (Freeport, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Photoshop Restoration and Retouching (Paperback)

I've been thru this book, was not able to put it down. After going throught the tutorials and reading through the chapters I feel very confident that I will be able to really bring poor pictures back to justice. Katrin really knows how to explain the subject along with showing very good examples of work done, this is a must have for anyone wanting to step their feet into photo restoration and retouching, and not just switching a monkey head for a real one. I have actually read through this book twice since I've had it.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
This is a deep, professional treatment of it's topic. I've seen several nice books on retouching, but none that treat restoration with such skill. Read more

Published on May 6 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Do Yourself A Favor And Get It
This is a fantastic book for photographers who wish to gain greater facility with Photoshop. It is (appropriately enough for a photography book) written in a pellucid style, and... Read more

Published on April 16 2003 by leeyo