Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 is truly a unique book on a number of different levels. First, it presents a system for correcting photographic image problems using seven main areas of focus within Photoshop. This means that you don't have to become an expert in all things Photoshop, rather only seven basic techniques.
Second, this is not a book in which you learn technique “A” in lesson one, “B” in lesson two, etc. It is more of book in which each lesson you explore a photo with problem “A” and you see the steps to fix it. Then the next lesson you go to photo “B” and see the problems and learn how to fix them.
This may confuse some people. If you are looking for a book that teaches you how to use curves, or channels, or masks, this may not be the book for you. Yes you will learn how to use each of these techniques, but indirectly. What this book will teach you more of is a workflow for fixing photographic problems.
So in essence Scott Kelby's 7-Point System is a training manual that explains how Scott Kelby manages to work with images. It is laid out into 21 lessons covering 264 pages.
One side note, I said that this contains 21 chapters. In the realm of the NAPP world this is a significant number; no, not because 21 divided by 3 is 7 which equals the number in the title, rather that is the number of lessons contained in all of the training videos that I have review in my column, so therefore, I predict that there will be a Scott Kelby's 7-Point System training video one day soon!
One thing to note, you must read the introduction. Quite cleverly, Kelby inserts critical information that you cannot successfully succeed without it. He seems to want people to read the introduction. It also covers the general reason he developed this method and how the book in general works.
Since it doesn’t make much since to cover each lesson; I mean if I said “Lesson 10, Porch Silhouette, Bar Harbor, Maine is about a Porch…” it would get rather boring so instead, I will highlight the seven points. No I am not revealing any secrets from the book here since how each step is implemented can be different for each photographic situation.
With Point 1, you start off in "Raw" mode. This can be from Photoshop with the ACR plug-in or from Lightroom where you work with just some basic adjustments. These adjustments are easier and faster to do in Raw as opposed to Photoshop. Point 2, you will work with "Curves Adjustments"; most of it is very basic and does not require advanced technical skills.
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