When I first read this book I was overwhelmed by the information and have had to struggle through all of the technical work. There is so much to learn, and much of it is technical. That said, Mr. Lynch goes out of his way to help his readers, and includes extra tools on his website as well as a forum. The extra tools alone pay for the book - he includes Curves and demonstrates how valuable this is. He also has tools to give you great photo frames, etc, with a few quick moves. If you are willing to put in hours learning to achieve his results you will be very happy with this book. If you simply wish a basic beginning book on Elements this is NOT the book for you. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to be proficient with Elements 2. I am going to buy the Elements 3 book.

I have nothing but praise for this densely-packed book. Seek and ye shall find! The information level is as comprehensive as one could wish: Beware though, very few empty words, read carefully! Providing the hidden elements for Photoshop Elements users is an invaluable attribute.Use of these tools brings us into the realm of the full-fledged Photoshop. Thanks, Richard Lynch!

I checked this book out of my library as I frequently use Photoshop 7 and Photoshop Elements 2. At first, I thought Elements is very inferior to Photoshop, but I have found ways to overcome its' limitations. That is the entire thrust of this book by Mr. Lynch. He provides detailed explanations and procedures for doing almost anything in Elements 2 you can do in Photoshop 7. Take time to read the book and work the problems chapter by chapter and you will learn a lot about Photoshop and Elements 2. I have six Photoshop Elements books by various authors on my shelf and this book is superior, absolutely the BEST! Along with the book you receive a CD containing Recipes for all the procedures presented in the book. Work through each chapter exercise to gain an understanding of what is being done. Then use the recipes to help you through each procedure next time you use it. Buy this book. You will learn at lot!

I had some problems with Elements 2 with missing the frame option in the effects palette. Adobe advised me to un-install and re-install the program. When I did that I lost all my hidden power tools etc. Upon trying to re-install them I ran into trouble. I contacted Richard via e-mail and he was kind enough to not only do everything he could to help me by corresponding several times during a single day but when I realized I was using the wrong password he, even then was kind enough to soothe my embarrasement by his comments. I feel Richard really knows what he is doing,however I told him I was a novice and that the book "The Hidden Powers of Photoshop Elements 2" really challanged me. But with all the new tools to use I can definately see improvement in my work. I look forward to whatever he does in the future.

The best thing about the book and the CD that accompanies it,
is that now you are able to use the CURVES feature with Elements 2. For me, this is the one very handy feature that this photo
software was lacking. Mr. Lynch also explains in great detail how to use this previously missing feature. My pictures have improved greatly. Also, the author responds to emails quite
rapidly with any question that you might have.