Introduced with a discount of 25% , valid until December 4th, the Affinity Photo Workbook is the only official companion to the photo editor from Serif.
Available in English and German, the Affinity Photo Workbook joins the Affinity Designer Workbook as a must have tool to users of Serif’s new programs. I received a note from the company last week, inviting me to buy the book, which I did immediately, as I did for the Affinity Photo editor in December 8, 2016, when it was launched for Windows. The same note mentioned that “to celebrate its release until Thursday, 30 November we are offering a 25% launch discount, meaning for the first week you can purchase a copy for just $36.99 (+ shipping and handling).”
My copy of the book arrived yesterday afternoon, and only today, after browsing through the pages, I write this note about its availability. There is still time, if you’re really interested, to get the Affinity Photo Workbook at a special price. Even if you don’t get it now, if you’re a Affinity Photo user, I believe you should get the book. No matter how much information is available online – and Serif has a lot of videos and info explaining the program – nothing beats having a book on your desktop, always available to open and read.
Getting the book in my hands felt as exciting as when I got my manual for Aldus PhotoStyler SE (or Special Edition) which was, as far as I remember, one of my first photo editors, along with the shareware Paint Shop Pro – which I paid for, as I believed it made sense. Aldus PhotoStyler, from 1991, was the first 24 bit image editor for Windows – running on Windows 3.0 – and the SE edition was usually distributed with hardware. Aldus PhotoStyler was the main competition to Adobe Photoshop, and in 1994 Adobe bought Aldus and put an end to PhotoStyler.
I picked my Aldus PhotoStyler manual from the bookshelf and placed it besides the Affinity Photo Workbook, for a photo that also has a cat tail, as Yellow, the family cat, decided she wanted to be in the photo. This trip down memory lane made complete sense for me, because buying this book made me relate to the excitement it was to discover PhotoStyler some 25 years ago. Comparing the manual for PhotoStyler, with 186 pages and small illustrations, and the 488 glossy colour pages filled with more than 600 illustrations and app screenshots, reveals how much everything has changed since the first image editing tools made it to the market.
The book, though, is much more than a guide to the features the program offers. App developer Serif has commissioned professional photographers and digital artists from around the world to create 16 projects which will help readers make full use of the unrivalled range of tools available in Affinity Photo on desktop. The projects are split into Enthusiast, Commercial and Creative chapters, supported by free downloadable resources including the original imagery, project snapshots for reference and final project files, allowing users to follow along and recreate the work.
A 48-page hands-on Core Skills section allows users to familiarise themselves with the essential photo-editing techniques the pros use. There’s also a 68-page guide to the user interface of the desktop app, including panels and toolbars.
More than 600 illustrations and app screenshots add to the high-quality look and feel of the book. As an added bonus, for users of the app on Mac or Windows there are five tear-out card keyboard shortcut ‘cheat sheets’ on sturdy card for easy reference.
Ashley Hewson, Managing Director of Serif, says: “The Affinity Photo Workbook really is an essential companion to the app on Mac and Windows, and puts the ability and knowledge of professionals at the fingertips of every reader. “Rather than an A-Z manual, it’s designed to inspire users to create their own unique work in Affinity Photo, by taking inspiration from some amazing projects and advice. Because it focuses on professional skills and techniques, the Affinity Photo Workbook will still be completely relevant even when updated versions of the app become available.”
To help boost your productivity Serif also included five keyboard shortcut cheats sheets in the back of the book. They include shortcuts for both the macOS and Windows version of Affinity Photo and can be torn out and kept aside for easy reference!
Highlights of the Affinity Photo Workbook include:
- Enthusiast photo-editing with adjustments, masks, HDR and Black and White techniques.
- Innovative solutions to challenges in night/day urban photography.
- Recreate Affinity’s iconic Photo panorama for yourself.
- The popular double exposure effect.
- Professional food and model retouching.
- Pro compositing techniques for greater realism.
- Create and apply raster hair brushes.
For the first days of sale, until December 4th, the Affinity Photo Workbook is available priced £27.99 / $36.99 / 32,99€ only from the Affinity website. The new publication follows the sell-out success of the Affinity Designer Workbook, the official companion to Serif’s graphic design app, which was published a year ago. As an added bonus, Serif is also discounting the Affinity Designer Workbook by the same amount. The usual price will be £37.99 / $49.99 / 44,99€.