Photoshop - Books or online?

[duncanapple]

Hi all

I have a copy of photoshop CS3, and recently bought an SLR. I am looking for a good book that would take me through a lot of the basics in some orderly way to learn photoshop. I have done searches and had other threads where people suggested certain online tutorials. The only problem is a lot of these assume the user has a certain base level of knowledge, and often there is a lot of random tutorials on specific techniques that don't teach in a logical order.

I know even heavy users are always learning new stuff in PS, but I would love some suggestions on where I should go (any good books?) to learn the absolute basics, such as masks, paths, etc, etc. I am talking about how to actually use the different tools, what they do, what to click on, etc. More of this and less of the how to create very specific effects.

Thanks in advance!

[Paddrino]

Anything by Scott Kelby is great.

http://www.kelbytraining.com/books/

Also check out Matt Kloskowski.

http://www.kelbytraining.com/product/layers-the-complete-guide-to-photoshops-powerful-feature.html

[bking1000]

Try this

http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html

Also, in the ITunes store is a free vodcast called something like "Lightroom killer tips"

For me, I learn quicker with on-line videos than books.

If you find anything that easily explains layers, please share. I've used layers and masks, but usually crashing around in them. I still don't truly understand how to use them.