Now in its tenth release Photoshop is undoubtedly the King of photo-editing software and, considering the host of new and revamped features included in the CS3 version of the program, its position at the top of the heap is assured.

The software is so popular with photographers, designers and illustrators that it is truly hard to recall a time when we didn’t have Photoshop at the centre of our creative endeavors. With the massive upsurge of digital camera owners there is now a host of new photographers who are just discovering the pure editing and enhancement power afforded by the program.

Given the success of previous editions it would have been easy for Adobe to sit back and bask in the reflected glory of the program’s popularity but instead Adobe has been hard at work improving what was already a great product. The CS3 version, just like the releases before it, is a state-of-the-art image-editing program full of the features and functions that digital photographers and desktop image makers desire the most.

In fact, the program has become so comprehensive that producing an illustrated A-Z book like this one is not just to you an easy, approachable style rarely found in software instruction. My respect and trust for Philip’s work were never more obvious to me than the last time I saw him at Photo Plus East in New York. There I was, on the busy tradeshow floor, inundated with a litany of very technical questions, and I looked up to see Philip, patiently waiting for me to find a pause. Realizing that I wasn’t likely to be free anytime soon, I invited Philip to step into the pod and help demo some of his techniques to the eager folks around us. Watching and listening to Philip was like reading his books, I was quickly put at ease by his confident and easy going style. a nicety, but has become a necessity. The software covers so many areas that Photoshop users needed a quick ready-reference guide to all the major tools and features. Peter Bargh, in the first few editions of this text, provided just such a comprehensive guide to the program and here I add to his excellent work. As was Peter’s approach, I haven’t stopped at simply describing the tool or feature; I accompany the text with illustrations of the software in action together with before and after pictures of the applied changes.

All entries include shortcut keys, menu locations and are cross-referenced to other Photoshop features that relate.

Many features also include step-by-step guides to their usage and extended visual examples of the effects of using different settings on your pictures.

Keep this ready reference handy for all those occasions when you ask yourself ‘What does that do?’

But most of all keep enjoying your digital image making!

Philip Andrews