Books Kelby against Phillip Andrews

[Ronny]

The two books I am looking at are:
1. Scott Kelby - Photoshop Element 9 for photographers
2. Phillip Andrews - Adobe photoshop Elements 9 for photographers.

A lot has been written about Scott Kelby, but I noticed on the internet reviews that Kelby's book is more for the advance users of pse 9. Is that true?
And who has experience with pse 9 from Phillip Andrews? and is this book more for beginners and/or moderate in comparing to Kelby?
Price wise they are similar.

Thank you for the comments/advice

[rpcrowe]

I have not specifically used either book but, I have many of the Kelby Photoshop and Lightroom books and think that they could be appropriate for all levels of user from beginner to expert. There is no reason for me to think that his PSE-9 book would be any different.

BTW: I do have the book, Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks for Adobe Photoshop CS5 and think it is great. I have thumbed through the equivalent PSE book and think equally highly of it...

http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-Elem...9833998&sr=1-2

[Colin Southern]

Hi Ronny,

As an alternative, I'd suggest popping along to www.kelbytraining.com, and signing up to their online training program for a month ($24.95) - that was you can go through their PSE programs (they have about 4 current ones, and some older ones).

[jonjdoe]

I have (and am currently working on) the Elements 9 book. I am DEFINITELY not advanced, and his book is quite understandable without putting the novice down. Richard? .... I am considering "upgrading" to CS5*........if I have used Elements 8, 9, and now have 10, do I have a LOT more to learn (to get STARTED with CS....?)

[jonjdoe]

sorry....the KELBY Elements 9 book.

[russellsnr]

Hi, Not to put a spanner in the works but if you want to learn about PSE or photoshop CS5 why do you or we need to buy books? There is so much information available for free on the internet, from Adobe themselves, from web sites like this one there are even video tutorials if we are prepaired to search a little online, then there is the library again where you can get info for free. I no Mr Kelby and Mr Andrews need to make a dollar here and there but why pay for the info if you don't have to? would you not rather put the money towards a new lens? or take the woman in your life out to dinner?
Or even try http://www.lynda.com/Photoshop-Eleme...g/69086-2.html
over 11 hours of video tutorial.
JMO
Russ

[rpcrowe]

Not a "LOT MORE TO LEARN" but, ask yourself what you want or need to do in CS5 that PSE-9 or 10 will not allow you to do. For a photographer, the Elements programs are pretty powerful.

I had a corrupt version of Photoshop which worked fine but would not interface with Bridge. I have been taking both CS5 and PSE courses at the San Diego Community College. These courses in their Adult Education Department are free of charge and qualified me to purchase Adobe and other programs at an educational discount.

I ended up using Lightroom 3, Photoshop Elements AND NIK Complete Software suit which I purchased for less than the cost of Photoshop CS5 even at the educational discount. So far I am very happy with this combination and think that I can do a better and quicker job of editing my images than I could do with Photoshop CS-5.

I love Lightroom 3 and the NIK software such as Viveza, D'fine, Color Efex Pro, their B&W program Silver Efex Pro, Sharpener pro and their HRD Efex Pro programs are absolutely the best things since sliced bread...

I don't doubt that everything I can do with NIK software can be sone with Photoshop CS-5 by a Photoshop Guru like Colin, but I an not a guru and I seek the easiest and most efficient (for me) route...

[Harpo]

Hi, Not to put a spanner in the works but if you want to learn about PSE or photoshop CS5 why do you or we need to buy books? There is so much information available for free on the internet, from Adobe themselves, from web sites like this one there are even video tutorials if we are prepaired to search a little online, then there is the library again where you can get info for free. I no Mr Kelby and Mr Andrews need to make a dollar here and there but why pay for the info if you don't have to? would you not rather put the money towards a new lens? or take the woman in your life out to dinner?
Or even try http://www.lynda.com/Photoshop-Eleme...g/69086-2.html
over 11 hours of video tutorial.
JMO
Russ

I for one cannot benefit from any of the "free" video tutorials available on line because they are all audio. This is no good for someone who cannot hear. Its a real bummer because I understand alot of those free tutorials are excellent and by including the visual part while explaining is the best way to teach something. So Im stuck with the written form. If I want more hands on, I have to take some classes somewhere. If those videos were captioned, that would be the best, then yes, I wont need to buy books and add to Mr Kelby and Andrews pockets but new lens for me!

[Ken Husveg]

I believe the videos at http://www.lynda.com use closed captioning text.

[DH59]

I agree with Richard regarding Elements. It's a lot better than it used to be. I had to get it when my old computer died and CS4 was lost, as I did not have the disc. I also bought Lightroom 3. To be honest, LR does most of what I need, and Elements does the rest. I don't think I've needed any of the features of CS4 that Elements doesn't have.

Regarding the books, I have the Kelby Elements 9 book (and his Lightroom 3 book) and it's excellent.

[Mark von Kanel]

i have scott's book on lightroom and its clear and concise a good book for beginners i also found it easier to learn than with the online stuff, and didnt have to waste huge amounts of time searching for the appropriate video on line

[HMW12]

I have Kelby's book on Elements 5 and had an Andrews book as well for Elements 5. The Andrews book is good if you have never used Elements but I think you may outgrow it in short order - What I liked about the Kelby book is it gives you step by step guidance on doing mini projects that you can apply to your own work and includes helpful hints on what settings to use . Another complimentary book is 'The Missing Manual' series by Barbara Brundage - it gives more detail on all the individual tools and shows examples of how to use them. If I had to pick one only I would go with Scott Kelby's . Another more advanced book is Mark Galer's Photoshop Elements 9 Maximum Performance - It too uses a series of projects but it can be a bit overwhelming and really requires taking the time to go through step-by-step . I am not a fan on online tutorials. I like having the books to browse through even when I am not sitting at the computer - you can get lot of ideas by just browsing the books and then have them by your side when you want to get creative. I would go with the Kelby book - it is suitable for beginners there are introduction sections that will cover the basics and get you up and running

[Ronny]

Thank for responding. I go for the Kelby book and will order it soon.