Digital photography has come a long way in the past few years. With chemical labs being replaced by powerful computers and photo editing programs at a rapid pace, artists are adopting recent advances in computer software. Adobe Photoshop has remained the premier photo editing software package, with hundreds of tricks. The latest version of Photoshop is CS2. This version is mainly used by professional photographers, and serious enthusiasts and hobbyists. Adobe has a toned down version of the program, called Elements, for not so serious photographers. This excellent book discusses some of the tricks of Photoshop CS2. If you do not have CS2, but want to try it out, the book is ideal; it contains a demo version of the software, and all of the tutorials and sample images described in the book.

Burns concisely describes what is required. After reading the first three chapters, on fundamentals and composite images, the rest of the chapters can be read independent of one another. For example, I was interested in integrating people and backgrounds, so I skipped to chapter 7, which provided information on the topic. Other chapters discuss integrating three-dimensional (3D) objects, custom created concepts, and fine art approaches.

True to the nature of the subject being discussed, a picture is worth a thousand words. Many books on digital photography present their photos in black and white. While black-and-white photos are definitely artistic, they are not ideal for presenting material that should be in color. The author understands this, and includes numerous color images and software screen shots, so that the reader can put the material into perspective. The book provides several step-by-step tutorials on how to manipulate images to produce stunning end results. I would recommend that readers use their own images (preferably taken in a raw or tagged image file format (TIFF) mode on their digital cameras), and go through the steps in the book.

I should mention that though the book mentions several approaches, Photoshop CS2 is only a tool, just as a canvas is to an artist. The sky is the limit on what can be achieved with CS2, and understanding the tool will help readers to better understand the techniques that can be used in the digital darkroom. This book takes the reader one step closer to the goal of producing great photos.