Best Photoshop books for graphic designers and photographers
As part of our series of the best graphic design books, today I bring the best Photoshop books for graphic designers and photographers, beginners and professionals, that prefer to learn Photoshop through the comfort and pleasure of having a good book in their hands.
The best Photoshop books help you get the most out of the programme because they address the creative process surrounding its use. Therefore, they focus not only on the technical side of the tool but also the conception of ideas and the preparation before and after.
If you are new to Photoshop, or simply want to take your creativity to the next level, these books will guide you through all the knowledge you need to acquire to use one of the best graphic design programmes of all time.
The 7 best Photoshop books in 2024
1. Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book
- Author: Conrad Chavez
- Paperback: 416 pages
- Language: English
Last price update on 2023-05-11. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The best book to learn Photoshop
As it could not be otherwise, Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book is the best of the best books to learn Photoshop in a complete and fast way is the one published by Adobe Press.
Conrad Chavez is the author of several books and articles on digital photography and Adobe Creative Cloud related topics. This 2023 edition of the classic Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book guides you through 15 lessons based on real projects, showing in detail and, step by step, the techniques used in each of them.
The book covers everything from basic photographic corrections to exploring neural filters, the essential aspects and tools for editing, enhancing or distorting images, and even how to create complex compositions at a professional level.
In addition, you will learn everything you need to know about formats, sizes, and color adjustments to make your images ready to be published in digital or printed media. One of the reasons why it is one of the best books to learn Photoshop is that the explanations are based on the most current Photoshop interface and explains the latest tools and functions incorporated into the program.
The lessons are complemented with files that you will find on the web that include all the resources to practice the techniques of each chapter. You will also have free access to the digital edition of Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book. An e-book version, but enriched with videos and quizzes to help you assimilate everything you learn.
2. Adobe Photoshop 2020 for Photographers
- Author: Martin Evening
- Paperback: 788 pages
- Language: English
Last price update on 2023-05-11. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The best Photoshop book for photographers
If your photographs don’t quite reflect the result you expected when you shot them, it may not be due to your technique, but simply to a lack of good editing skills. But after reading this book, it will no longer be a problem.
No matter if you are an amateur or professional, a photographer or image editor, Adobe Photoshop 2020 for Photographers will teach you how to import your photos into Photoshop and adjust the lights, colour and temperature, correct lens deformations, improve sharpness or reduce the noise, among many other things.
Its author is Martin Evening, an expert fashion photographer who has published dozens of best-selling Adobe Photoshop books.
Throughout its 788 pages, Martin Evening introduces you to the process of developing and editing photographs, breaking down the functions and tools of the Photoshop interface.
You will learn how to handle layers, levels, curves, selection tools and masks, cloning tools, blending modes, etc. with ease. You can be sure that after reading Photoshop 2020 for Photographers, you will instantly raise the level of your photographs.
3. Adobe Master Class: Advanced Compositing in Adobe Photoshop
- Author: Bret Malley
- Paperback: 448 pages
- Language: English
Last price update on 2023-05-11. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The best book to create compositions in Photoshop
If you’d like to be able to transform any everyday scene into something extraordinary, with Adobe Master Class: Advanced Compositing in Adobe Photoshop you’ll learn how to push the boundaries of reality and create images straight from your imagination.
Its author, Bret Malley, is a photographer known for his surreal, epic and magical images, as well as being the author of several photomontage courses, in addition to this book.
Although the book focuses on Photoshop photocomposition, Malley teaches you the whole process of getting a good photomontage. From how to plan the photo shoot, with tips on equipment and photographic techniques, to the smallest detail of the subsequent photocomposition in Photoshop.
All this, explained step by step and with many examples of Bret Malley’s own work. After reading Adobe Master Class: Advanced Compositing in Adobe Photoshop you will feel capable of tackling almost any photomontage you can imagine.
4. Photoshop for Lightroom Users
- Author: Scott Kelby
- Paperback: 208 pages
- Language: English
Last price update on 2023-05-11. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The best Photoshop book for photographers
Most photographers know and use Lightroom, but there comes a time when you need to correct some element of the photo, retouch a texture or make a composition with more than one image and then it becomes necessary to learn Photoshop.
The author of Photoshop for Lightroom Users is Scott Kelby, a photography professor and author of more than 90 books, including some of the best-selling Lightroom books in the world. Scott is also the editor of Photoshop User and Lightroom Magazine.
This is undoubtedly one of the best books for learning Photoshop from the perspective of a Lightroom-using photographer and the author does an excellent job of focusing on what is essential for professional photographers and leaving out everything that is less relevant to them.
Scott teaches really practical techniques that will save you a lot of time in your day-to-day work: from handling layers, effects and filters, to masking hair or creating complex compositions.
Plus, with Photoshop for Lightroom Users you’ll learn how to take advantage of Photoshop’s latest innovations and today’s most popular techniques so you can get straight to what’s going to be most useful today, saving you time and money.
5. Beginner’s Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop
- Author: Publishing 3Dtotal
- Paperback: 288 pages
- Language: English
Last price update on 2023-05-11. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The best book to start illustrating with Photoshop
To dedicate yourself to illustration today, Photoshop is a perfect ally, and this book gives you the basics you need to take your first steps in digital illustration with Photoshop.
The creators of Beginner’s Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop are 3dtotal Publishing, an independent publisher belonging to the prestigious website 3Dtotal.com, and specialized in 2D and 3D illustration books, with almost a hundred books to their credit.
In this book you will find practical exercises guided by expert advice that will help you master the essential Photoshop tools and techniques. In a short time, you will master brushes, textures, masks, etc. to create landscapes, characters, photo-realistic images, or whatever you want.
No matter your level, this book guides you in a very enjoyable way through the essentials of composition, with many examples and tricks from some of the best professionals in the illustration industry.
6. How Do I Do That in Photoshop?
- Author: Scott Kelby
- Paperback: 336 pages
- Language: English
Last price update on 2023-05-11. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The best book to improve how to use Photoshop
If you’re already a Photoshop user, you’ve probably wondered if there’s a more efficient, faster way to do the tasks you usually do and streamline your workflow.
How Do I Do That in Photoshop? focuses on teaching you those techniques, shortcuts, settings and actions that will make you much more productive and effective when using Photoshop.
Its author, Scott Kelby, is a renowned and award-winning photographer who has written dozens of books on photography and digital photo editing with Photoshop and other tools. He also edits Photoshop User and Lightroom Magazine, as we mentioned when discussing his book Photoshop for Lightroom Users.
The book is very practical, in fact, you can read it from cover to cover or go directly to the part that interests you the most. Scott will uncover a lot of tricks and shortcuts for using layers, effects, brushes, settings, image adjustments and much more that you probably didn’t know about.
7. Adobe Photoshop: A Complete Course and Compendium of Features
- Author: Stephen Laskevitch
- Paperback: 384 pages
- Language: English
Last price update on 2023-05-11. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The most complete compendium on Photoshop
If your purpose is to learn how Photoshop works, but at the same time discover the best ways to apply what you have learned, Adobe Photoshop: A Complete Course and Compendium of Features is one of the most comprehensive books on the subject.
Its author is Stephen Laskevitch, Adobe Certified Instructor and author of numerous books and tutorials on Photoshop and other Adobe tools.
In a very clear and concise way, this book takes you from zero to one hundred, whatever your goal is with Photoshop: drawing, designing, retouching photographs, making photocompositions or creating simple 3Ds.
In addition, the book includes downloadable documents, resources and online exercises that will help you acquire solid principles and learn how to establish an agile and efficient workflow.
While most people take months or even years to acquire a certain level with Photoshop, with this book you will quickly learn to master masks, brushes, blending modes, smart objects, actions and much more.
Top 5 best-selling Photoshop books of 2024
Last price update on 2022-11-29. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
How to learn with the best Photoshop books for graphic designers
Photoshop is the standard in the creative industry. So if you have to choose a programme to learn, this is probably the one to recommend.
If you are a person who fixes information better through reading than through videos, no doubt these books to learn Photoshop will be of great help. If at some point you realize that you are not progressing as expected, you can always switch to video courses.
Please note the version of Photoshop to which each book refers
It is easy to find Photoshop books that refer to versions of the programme more than 5 or 10 years ago. While there are no major differences between the year-to-year versions of Photoshop, in 5 years the programme has changed and incorporated many new features that these books may not reflect.
Practice what you learn as you read, not at the end
In Photoshop, it is important to fix what you learn through practice. I guarantee that if you wait until you finish the books to do the exercises, you will be unable to put into practice most of the things you read, and you will have to re-read them again.
Remember that even if you feel that stopping to practice hinders your reading, your goal is not to finish the book, but to learn Photoshop.
