What do you do if you aren’t ready for the advanced books I recommend in the MASTERING PHOTOSHOP series? Look at the books below. Why did I lump Photoshop together with digital photography? Because many of the basic to intermediate books cover both.

There are any number of excellent photoshop/photography books that will provide the basic to intermediate skills you need. Look for books by Tom Ang, Rick Sammon, Tim Grey, Martin Evening, Bruce Fraser, and Scott Kelby. Also worth reading are Deke McClelland, Barbara Obermeier, and Peter Bauer who authored the popular “Dummies” series of books for various versions of Photoshop.

Here are a few of my favorite books that deal with both digital photography and Photoshop (some of these books are only available on the used market but they are still worth finding):

Digital Photography Masterclass by Tom Ang.

Real World Digital Photography (3rd Edition) by Katrin Eismann, Sean Duggan, and Tim Grey.

Rick Sammon’s Complete Guide to Digital Photography: 107 Lessons on Taking, Making, Editing, Storing, Printing, and Sharing Better Digital Images

Silver Pixels: An Introduction to the Digital Darkroom by Tom Ang

Once you’ve worked your way through one or two of the above books, I HIGHLY recommend getting Real World Adobe Photoshop by David Blatner, Conrad Chavez, and Bruce Fraser. Get the edition for your version of Photoshop. You may have to find older editions on the used book market.

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS3

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS2

Real World Adobe Photoshop CS

In addition to one or two of the above books, I would recommend purchasing Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book for your version of Photoshop. They are good both to learn, and to use as a reference book. Here are the books for the last six versions of Photoshop:

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a Book

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book

Adobe Photoshop CS Classroom in a Book

Adobe(R) Photoshop 7.0 Classroom in a Book

Once you’ve worked your way through 2 or 3 of the above books, you will be more than ready for the books I recommended in the Mastering Photoshop articles.