Picture Yourself Learning Corel Paint Shop Pro X2 [Paperback]

How many times have you thought you took the perfect picture only to discover that there were flaws in the photo I recently tried out Corel's Paint Shop Pro X2 software which retails for $ 99.99. One disclaimer, I have used the various earlier Paint Shop versions in the past. This software is economical to purchase and fairly easy to use. The learning curve is too not difficult to grasp.

The included Photo X2 printed manual provided is complete, but has no illustrations. Photo editing is very color intensive and in some ways your finished photo is artwork. Fortunately, I had assistance learning Paint Shop Pro X2. Two excellent books are Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 by Ken McMahon published by Focal Press and Picture Yourself Learning Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 by Diane Koers published by Cengage Learning. These both retail for $29.99 each. Ken McMahon's book is very complete and a great tool for a beginner to intermediate photo edit. Ken's book has numerous graphics and is an easy read and lays out different options a photo editor can implement. Diane Koers book's is 392 Pages and written as a text book for a classroom, it is for more intensive learning and it comes with a sample CD. Both books bring added information to the Pro X2 software and a different point of view on how to use it.

There are multiple things you can do to enhance your photo with Photo X2.
The number one reason is a one step photo fixer which is like taking your photo to a lab. I was somewhat skeptical of this until I used the photo fixer. I tried this option on a group photo, where the lighting was all wrong. There were dark areas and areas with too much ambient light. I clicked on one step photo fixer and corrected the lighting of the photo and the result was spectacular. The other problem I had was the group of people were in a semi-circle in the photo not in a straight line. I used a tool called a perspective tool and adjusted the group to a straight line. I now had the perfect photo with a lot of help from Paint Shop Pro Photo X2.

The hardest concept to understand with Photo X2 photo software is the use of layers. The first layer is the background and then additional layers are placed on top of the first. The photo editor has the option to change layers around and make them more transparent or opaque. A good visualization of this is a group of transparent plastic sheets with designs on them. They layers are all stacked on top of one another for a finished photo. A use of this if you want to add text to a photo, another person to the photo or item. The photo editor will allow you move the layers around much like shuffling a deck of cards.
For a Cub Scout function, I needed to print out some special photos. I didn't have a matt for the photos but X2 has a photo frame option which became my matt. The next step I used was adding the names of the Scouts in color. The finished photo was a big hit with the parents and the Scouts. Parents complimented me and asked me how I was able to make the photo.
My last project was one of field expediency. I needed wrapping paper for my wife's Valentine Day gift. I opened X2 and selected a red background for the paper. I typed in Happy Valentines in different font sizes and type faces. I used the picture tube options for added effect. . There are different designs of tubes. I used the flower tube and laid down different flowers on the paper and printed it out. By the way, my wife liked the paper and thought I bought it at the store.

There are more things that X2 can do like coloring black and white photos, removing red eye, scratches in photographs, 3D effects, and painting your own photograph than I have space to write about.
If you are the market for fairly reasonable and easy to use photo software Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 is well worth the investment. To get the most out the software I would recommend Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 by Ken McMahon and Picture Yourself Learning Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 by Diane Koers.

MAJ (ret) Eric Shuler NJARNG

My experience with "Picture Yourself..." is that it provides a lot of general information regarding Paint Shop Pro X2, and very little that's "hands on." I primarily purchased the manual to assist me with learning about layering; and, although it provided an extensive explanation about layers, it gave very little in the way of taking you step-by-step through the process. There was one exercise, and that was nice, but much more needed to be included. Consequently, I purchased a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS3 and a wonderful book that is completely dedicated to layering; this has changed everything for me, from creating artwork to editing my photos. Hopefully I will be able to transfer my learning to Paint Shop Pro at some point.

It's hard for me to review this book without also discussing the book's topic, which is Corel's Paint Shop Pro Photo X2. Fortunately, I like them both. PSP Photo X2 is an admirable substitute for Adobe's Photoshop (at a fraction of the price). As such, the array of options and terms and icons and toolbars and palettes is potentially overwhelming, even for someone who may otherwise be technically astute. Diane Koers's book has just enough theory and background thrown in with the practical "how to" aspects to strike a perfect balance, and to help make sense of PSP Photo X2.

The book is well organized, and it has a fair index and a very good table of contents, so it can either be read from cover to cover, or used effectively as a reference. As is fitting for a book about graphic images, the book itself is of the highest quality, attractively laid out, with pages of coated paper that faithfully reproduce the many illustrations. It is well edited and essentially free of typos and grammatical errors (which is to be expected from a book published by Course Technology). In short, I highly recommend both the software and the book about the software. My only suggestion would be that Ms. Koers write a separate companion volume consisting of a series of tutorials. I find that nothing completes a learning experience better than a set of case studies and some directed hands-on practice.

I should probably add, just in case the point isn't obvious from the comparison to Photoshop, that in addition to photo editing, PSP Photo X2 has also has a robust set of web-centric features. Support for layers, which are essential for creating and maintaining computer graphics, and for GIF, PNG, and BMP formats is part of the core functionality of the software. Both the RGB (for computer graphics) and CMYK (for printing) color models are supported (the index of the book refers to CMYK as "CMTK", which is the only typo I've found in the book thus far). Ms. Koers's book gives this web-centric functionality a fair amount of coverage. I would recommend this book (and PSP Photo X2) to web developers and designers as well as to photography buffs. Paint Shop Pro Photo X2

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