Photoshop Masking & Compositing by Katrin Eismann: Review

Masks and layers are two concepts that new users of Photoshop or other imaging software have a hard time grasping. They are complex tools and their use is not obvious at first glance. However, the power of these tools is incredible - once you know how to use them. There are many books to teach aspects of these tools; this book by Katrin Eismann is without any question one of the best.

The Bottom Line

This is a must-have, “gotta get” book for the Adobe Photoshop user who wishes to master layers and masking techniques. This publication guides the reader through step-by-step examples of using the most powerful and appropriate methods for achieving stellar results.

The rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Summary: If you want to use the full power of Photoshop in your digital imaging work you should have this book. Go buy it now.

Detailed Review

Katrin Eismann is a prolific author of technical books involving the creative use of technology. Photoshop Masking and Compositing deals specifically with Adobe Photoshop. It is an anthology that can be used as a reference or as a series of tutorials that covers everything a reader needs to know about masking and compositing.

Photoshop Masking & Compositing guides the reader through everything needed to create simple or complex masks, as well as using these techniques to perform composite images. The book includes many sample images and screen shots of menus and dialog boxes to aid the learning process.

Nearly all of the example images used to illustrate the book are available on line at www.photoshopmasking.com. This is a great feature as it allows you to experiment and follow along with the text. Additionally, the website includes as some sample chapters and excerpts for those thinking about purchasing the book and are not sure it's a good reference. (It definitely is - go and buy it now.)

This is a big book that is not an easy or fast read. Eismann covers many methods in achieving similar results. This could be a disadvantage to the reader who is looking for a quick solution as the book is loaded down with repetition, similar methods for achieving similar end results.

Eismann's 500+ page book is organized into four sections: "Selection Tools & Techniques", "Layers and Masks Exposed", "Selecting and Preserving Fine Detail", and "Subjective and Objective Compositing".

• Chapter 1: "The Creative Process Configuring Photoshop" is really two distinct chapters in one; it isn't clear why the author has lumped these two topics together in this way (perhaps the publisher said "no more than 13 chapters!"). The first half of the chapter provides a brief history of combining and compositing images and some of the author's philosophy on the topic. The second half is the more nuts-and-bolts discussion of Photoshop setup practices. There really isn't anything too new here; it seems that every author feels obligated to express their settings. Most of what Eismann includes here matches industry standard practice and should not be a surprise if you have spent any time working with Photoshop or reading other Photoshop (or color management) books.
  

• Chapter 2: "Selection Strategies and Essentials" provides a detailed introduction to the use of a variety of selection and masking tools within Photoshop. If this book gave you proficiency in only the material in this chapter, it would make the book well worthwhile.
  

• Chapter 3: "The Essential Select Menu" expands on the material from the second chapter to include the use of various modification techniques for selections. This includes blurring, transforming, and feathering. Additionally, the chapter includes the use of the color range selection tools (which could have been included in the second chapter). Eismann also discusses the tradeoffs between saving selections explicitly and creating alpha channels with the selections. Again, good material that makes this book a great value.
  

• Chapter 4: "Pen Tool Power" introduces the very underused (and under appreciated) pen tool and the use of paths for selecting within images. This tool is difficult to use without some guidance. As Eismann correctly points out, you have probably fought with this tool in the past but still do not know how to use it. This chapter gives some good examples to get started. It is only an introduction, however; more work will be required to truly master this powerful tool.
  

• Chapter 5: "Masks are Your Friends" sets the stage for complicated image modifications (and compositing) using alpha channel masks and vector masks. If you are not doing the example exercises in the book, you will be getting lost at this point. This is complex stuff to read about and understand; it is far easier to make sense of this material by actually doing the examples for yourself. Again, Eismann provides numerous example images to follow along with the exercises.
  

• Chapter 6: "Layers are Your Friends" introduces all the basics of layers and how to use them. This includes the different types of layers, blending modes, opacity, and masking. This material is present in other Photoshop books, but this is a good introduction with Eismann's great step-by-step tutorials, downloadable example images, and Eismann's skilled writing.
  

• Chapter 7: "The Power of Layer Masking" motivates and provides examples of using basic layer masks for combining images and improving exposure and color. The chapter closes out with some extended discussions of combining multiple exposures of the same image to reveal new detail in shadow and highlights or to adjust for different lighting color tempetures. With the advances in combining multiple exposures (and inclusion of tools to aid the process in recent Photoshop versions), you might think that this material is now dated. The information presented here, however, is still very relevant because it focuses on proper use of layer masks to achieve the results rather than automated (or semi automated) multiple mage combination. Good material to drive a desire to make full use of masking and layers even if you are not doing compositing or multiple exposure work.
  

• Chapter 8: "Selecting Hair and Fine Detail", Chapter 9: "Advanced Selection Techniques", and Chapter 10: "Selecting Translucency and Green Screen Techniques" go into more detail on complicated selection techniques, including the use of green screen techniques when capturing images intended for compositing. You might not find this material useful, but it is definitely worth reading because there will be some material applicable to almost every use of Photoshop.
  

• Chapter 11: "Image Execution and Photography" discusses planning and executing images with an eye toward composition. The discussion includes matching perspectives and props as well as "photographic essentials" such as lenses, exposure, shutter speed, DOF, light quality and backgrounds. This is all useful information, but is not terribly detailed and doesn't have the hands-on elements that make the earlier parts of the book such a joy.
  

• Chapter 12: "Photorealistic Compositing" discusses various details required for making realistic photo compositions. The discussion of matching perspective includes some hands on work with Photoshop to measure (using the line tool) and adjust perspective (using the transform tool). Examples of modifying depth of field (using a selection to blur only the background of an image) to focus a viewers attention on the desired subject are excellent tutorials that use a wide variety of tools. The section on "harmonizing light and shadow" goes farther than I normally would consider for my own work (for example, adding beams of filtered sunlight); however this is a very useful example that teaches the use of a variety of tools and techniques. Like other parts of the book, this chapter may not match your goals with digital photography. But the tools and techniques are useful in many contexts.
  

• Chapter 13: "Creative Compositing", the last chapter in the book, is a more touchy-feely than the rest of the book. In the end, however, Eismann finishes with several hand-on examples. This is a fitting close to this book.