I really enjoy reading and keeping up to date with the latest Photoshop books - it helps me to learn new techniques and also to examine different ways in which authors approach the teaching of Photoshop.

Whilst there are lots of online tutorials related to Photoshop, you can't beat having a nice high-quality book that can take you through everything from start to finish, and that can be easily used as a reference again and again!

This article provides an overview of my top 5 adobe Photoshop help books - these are all books that should be part of any Photoshop user's book collection.

Reading these books and practicing the techniques they teach will help you significantly improve your skills and you'll have lots of fun in the process!

My Top 5 Adobe Photoshop Help Books

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom In A Book

This book is primarily aimed at complete newbies - it assumes that you have no prior experience or knowledge of using Photoshop and covers a wide range of material.

This includes many of the basics such as using the workspace effectively, layers, masks, cropping, resizing, retouching photographs, and also an overview of the latest features that have been added to the new version.

The presentation of this book is absolutely fantastic and there is a DVD that contains lots of useful content and is definitely worth watching.

This is must-have book for those just starting out - it really will save you lots of time!

Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Up To Speed

This book is perfect for those who are looking to make the upgrade from Photoshop CS3 to Photoshop CS4.

It shows you all of the new features in simple and easily accessible steps that allow you to get "up to speed" as soon as possible.

The book is also very good at explaining why particular functions have been added (in addition to detailing how to use these functions).

This is useful as it provides you with a more in-depth understanding of the different tools and functions that Photoshop provides.

Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills

This book is mainly aimed at beginners who want to develop their skills further - the book also comes with a DVD that contains tons of useful information and content.

The presentation is great with lots of photos being used to illustrate steps and the effects you're trying to recreate.

Photoshop CS4 Essential skills is ideal for those who have a solid basic understanding of Photoshop, but who want to take their current skills to another level.

The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book For Digital Photographers

This book is aimed at those who are primarily using Photoshop for manipulating digital photoshops (as opposed, for example, to those who are using it for webdesign).

The book is extremely user friendly and the presentation of the book is great - there are lots of nice photos showing different effects which really motivate and encourage you to try out the different techniques described.

If your main purpose for using Photoshop is to edit and play around with digital photos, then this book is for you!

Layers: The Complete Guide To Photoshop's Most Powerful Feature

Layers are a fundamental component of Photoshop and if you want to create some stunning and beautiful effects it is imperative that you master them.

This book covers all of the main uses of layers in short and easy to digest tutorials - this is great as it enables you to easily try things out and achieve different effects quickly and efficiently.

This book, therefore, is ideal for those who have some basic experience with Photoshop, but who do not yet understand the importance of layers.

A must read!

There you go - that's my current top 5 list of Photoshop books - if you know of any others that are of particularly high quality, please leave a comment.