Photoshop CS3 Photo Effects Cookbook is a wonderful book loaded with fun, easy to do and useful photo effects. The book is broken down in to themed chapters like Tonal and Color Effects, Lighting Effects, etc. Within each chapter are step-by-step tutorials on how to create some really nifty effects like watercolor, oil painting, rays of light, starry skies, simulating candlelight, creating frames and painterly borders and more.

Some of the most often asked for effects are in this book and even some that I have never seen asked for but have some really great creative possibilities are here too. Each of the effects includes step-by-step instructions and sample photos all in color. Most importantly the effects look really nice. I have seen many tutorials on creating a watercolor or oil paint effect and very few of them look all that real. The effects in this book look very real and they are all pretty easy to do, only basic skills are required.

To help those that are new or fairly new to Photoshop the first chapter covers the basics like making selections, working with layers, paths and the like. So if you are new you will get to learn about some of the real meat and potato features of Adobe Photoshop and learn how to create fun and useful effects to boot.

Photoshop CS3 Photo Effects Cookbook is very nicely designed and laid out, the table of contents not only lists the main chapters with their theme but also the effects contained within that chapter so finding the effect you want is quick and easy.

Chapters:

Chapter 1: Ready To Cook

• Introduction
• CS3 improvements
• Making selections
• Working with layers
• Sharpening
• Paths
• Lighting effects

Chapter 2: Tonal and Color Effects

• High-key and low-key effects
• Psychedelic poster effects
• Creative black and white
• Selective coloring
• Tone separations

Chapter 3: Graphic Art Effects

• Art nouveau
• Warhol screen-print
• Watercolor
• Oil painting
• Pencil sketch
• Pen-and-ink drawing
• Woodcut and linocut

Chapter 4: Lighting Effects

• Adding rays of light
• Simulating studio lighting
• Creating a neon sign
• Creating a star-filled sky
• Adding fire and flames
• Simulating candlelight
• Stage lighting
• Chiaroscuro

Chapter 5: Natural World Effects

• Summer to autumn
• Simulation rain
• Adding water droplets
• Adding rainbows
• Simulating lightning
• Creating snow
• Adding reflections
• Simulating sunsets
• Day into night

Chapter 6: Traditional Photographic Effects

• Vintage Hollywood portrait
• Sabattier and solarization
• Adding film grain
• Infrared photography effect
• Cross-processing effect
• Hand tinting
• Duotones

Chapter 7: Distortion Effects

• Caricatures
• Soft focus and selective depth of field
• Movement and motion blur effects
• Cloning with perspective
• Creating panoramas
• Adding tattoos

Chapter 8: Texture Effects

• Using texture overlays
• Turning a figure to stone
• Wood textures
• Stone textures
• Metal effect
• Glass effect
• Plastic effect

Chapter 9: Presentation Effects

• Frame effect
• Vignette effects
• Painterly borders
• Out of the frame

This is a wonderful book and one that every Photoshop CS3 user should have, no matter their skill level. It is easy to use, the effects are very nice and authentic looking and the step-by-step instructions are easy to follow. A real treasure trove of useful effects.