"I just received my copy of the Third Edition Restoration and Retouching from Amazon. I have devoured your first two editions. I have been bouncing back and forth reading sections, especially the portrait and glamour chapters. Thank you and congratulations on a very good and important book in restoration and retouching. It appears to be an entirely new book and not just a re-hash of previous editions. That is nice. I personally appreciate your efforts as will many others."

"I just purchased your new 3rd edition of Restoration and Retouching to go with the 1st and 2nd editions on my bookshelf. It appears to be a nearly complete re-write so should keep my interest in working through it yet again."

For someone new to this field, how would you describe the learning curve for being able to perform some basic repairs and retouching?
Basic corrections such as cropping, improving tone with Levels, and repairing scratches with the Spot Healing brush isn't that difficult to do well. In fact, many times doing these three steps can make older, faded images pop back to life very quickly.

Do you think that the biggest mistake absolute beginners make is overdoing the retouching process?
I feel that the biggest mistake beginners make is being overly ambitious, as they scan in the entire shoebox of images in the hope of fixing them all. It is very important to prioritize your time and effort by sorting the images into categories of importance and damage. Start with the most important images with the least amount of damage and as you learn the more challenging ones will be easier to repair.

What's the most important piece of advice you have for someone new to this?
Find a project that excites you and go for it!

What improvements or new features in CS2 will benefit the photo retoucher the most?
There are quite a few including - Lens Correction, Smart Sharpen, Vanishing Point, Surface Blur and of course the Spot Healing brush.

What is your favorite new feature in CS2?
SMART OBJECTS...sorry for the yelling! The flexibility that Smart Objects entails offers a brand-new way of thinking about and working with images.

Every Photoshop expert has that one signature trick that they use over and over again. What is yours?
Well there are really two... first of all I always see if blending modes can do the work for me and secondly I love experimenting with the 'Blend if' sliders when compositing images to see how the layers interact to create surprising results.

Please tell us about your current and future projects, and other publications you might have in the works.
I just released a DVD with Software Cinema with 8 hours of materials on Image Restoration. In January I'll start working on a new book that addresses advanced digital darkroom techniques; continue teaching classes at the School of Visual Arts in both the graduate and undergraduate programs; and continue working on a photographic series about the NJ Meadowlands.

Thanks Katrin, and we wish you continued success in your endeavors.

Visit the companion website for the book.
Read the full Press Release for the book.
Download a PDF of chapter 6 "Damage Control and Repair" (2.5 MB)
Find out more about Katrin at KatrinEismann.com.
Buy Photoshop Restoration & Retouching at Amazom.com for $29.99 - 34% discount.
See Katrin's 2006 Teaching Schedule. While there, scroll to end of the page for some PDF tips and tutorials you can download, including:
• Working with a Wacom Pressure Sensitive Tablet
• Ten Reasons to Love Adjustment Layers
• Advanced Selection Techniques
• Black & White and Color Effects
• Professional Retouching Strategy

posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

Photoshop Elements Techniques Offers New Course, Gift Subscription, Plus Signup Bonuses

Photoshop Elements guru Matt Kloskowski has created a new 21-day online course, Organizing and Sharing Your Photos with Photoshop Elements. These lessons will show you everything about keeping your photos in order and the best ways to share them with other people. You'll even learn how to back up your photos and keep them safe in case you ever need to reload them.

Photoshop Elements Techniques newsletter now offers a "GIFT" Subscription option for holiday shopping. This is a great present for anyone who uses Photoshop Elements. Packed with illuminating tutorials from leading instructors, each issue offers secrets of this amazing program and teaches how easy it is to do everything from color correcting and sharpening photos, to creating the most requested photographic special effects and how to turn all of this into creative new projects.

Today through December 31, 2005 get Six Images from iStockphoto.com plus the new Photoshop Elements 4 Bonus Issue free with all new subscriptions.

posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | send comments

Photoshop CS5 & Photoshop CS5 Extended - Best Deals From Adobe
Adobe Photoshop CS5 delivers breakthrough capabilities to help you create images with impact. Refine your images with reengineered photography tools for removing noise, adding grain, and creating high dynamic range (HDR) images. Get precise results when making complex selections. Remove any image element and see the space fill in almost magically. Paint with naturally textured brushstrokes and realistic color blends. Learn more about Photoshop CS5.

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Find CS5 upgrade options and Creative Suite 5 deals at the Adobe Store. See CS5 pricing in UK currency at the Adobe UK Store. Visit the Adobe Special Offers page to find the latest deals. Save 80% on Adobe Student Editions. Try before you buy — download a free Photoshop CS5 trial.

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Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium software gives you fresh new creative tools, along with the ability to deliver ideas faster in print and create interactive content without writing code. Plus Design Premium integrates with Adobe CS Live online services to maximize your design time by streamlining critical nondesign tasks.

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See our Photoshop CS5 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS5 Tutorials, and the Free Photoshop CS5 Trial Download. See our Photoshop CS4 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS4 Tutorials.

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Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - PSSPPT06 - during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 15% discount on any onOne product. This includes Genuine Fractals and their amazing Photoshop Plug-In Suite.

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Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - NIKPSS - during the checkout process at Nik Software for an instant 15% discount on any Nik Software product. This exclusive discount coupon code can be applied to all the latest Nik Software Photoshop plugins, including Silver Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Viveza, Sharpener Pro, and Dfine.

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Topaz Adjust
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The fastest and most effective masking and extraction program with one-click mask refining.
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Did You Know You Could Create An Entire Website In Photoshop?
SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly

There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.

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Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, SiteGrinder turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, SiteGrinder is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks. Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download.

Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews

Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS4. If you are an aspiring professional or a student learning photography, digital imaging, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.

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Read 2 free sample chapters:
Skin Retouching Tips In Photoshop CS4
Transforming Smart Objects In Photoshop CS4
Find more Photoshop CS4 tutorials on our Photoshop CS4 Tutorials Page.

Read 2 free sample chapters from the Adobe Photoshop CS3 version:
Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range

Find More Adobe Photoshop Books at Amazon.com
Find all the latest bestselling Photoshop books at discount prices at Amazon.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: Full moon as seen from the International Space Station.