Almost excellent - Rated 
As other reviewers have stated, this book contains a wealth of information and you get a strong impression that you are being coached by a top pro. The tips and techniques that Kevin shows are probably not easy to find anywhere else, certainly not in other turorials that I have come across. In addition the book is laid out very nicely with lots of notated pictures and coloured type.
However, I have one major criticism and it is this. The author tends to lead off into long descriptions of technique (albeit in small manageable chunks) without describing what you are achieving at each step. The result is that you are often blindly following his commands, until you eventually see the point as the desired effect is eventually achieved. This is fine if you do not miss any of the instructions (don't forget to turn a layer on, or select a path), but bad news if you do make a mistake, since you end up starting all over again and becoming frustrated.
And, even if you do get everything right first time, there will be plenty of occasions when you are not really sure what you just did. This puts you in a situation where you end up having to review each section several times to work out how things were achieved - very time consuming.
The result of this blindly-follow-me approach was that I often found myself getting annoyed and dropping the book for short periods.
If the book was made into a DVD it would be fantastic and much faster to learn from. As it is I definitely recommend it to serious students as possibly the best book out there, but don't expect to cruise through it in a few days.
Complexity made fun - Rated 
The title of this book belies just how much ground is actually covered. Thus this is a book that is a `must-read' for all graphic designers and photographers working in the digital domain. The author uses an attractive and demanding subject (women) to illustrate how to achieve stunning, high quality images. Essentially, the techniques that the author explains are applicable to most subjects.
The central topic of the book is how to use Photoshop to achieve image excellence. Photoshop is arguably the most complex program in common use. Of necessity, Photoshop uses a largely numeric approach- which creates a mental block for many users. The author explains how to use Photoshop's numeric tools in a precise but light manner. And because Kevin Ames makes available for download all the images he uses in the book, it's so much easier to work through the tutorials. So learning the complex becomes fun!
I did stumble across a problem when running through a tutorial. A series of keyboard commands had no effect in Photoshop. An email to the author brought a rapid and clear solution. My Mac had already been configured to use the Photoshop command sequence for another purpose. Assimilate this book and your images will benefit. They'll also be more secure and your presentation will be even better.
Excellent and modern - Rated
I like portrait photography as a hobby and do software as a regular job, so this book was probably really something for me. Still, modern photographers WILL need to use programs like Photoshop to do some post-processing, especially if you're shooting raw, in which case you'll more than likely use software to get the most out of raw.
Explaining in detail, with lots of images to help in following what's going on (in case you're not reading behind your laptop), this book really offers in-depth information on getting more out of Photoshop, and more out of your photographs. I now also own the Photoshop CS2 version (both books are more or less the same material). Highly recommended.
Photoshop Book Review - Rated
I work as a semi-pro photographer and since moving to digital, I have beenlooking for a good book to help me developed my skills around Photoshopand the women I photograph.
There are many books on Photoshop, but Ireally wanted one that was specific to the type of work I do. And recentlyI came across this book and it was right up my street as I shootfashion/glamour.
If you shoot this type of work and you use Photoshopthen, I highly recommend this book as part of your library.
Dee
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