The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC)
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Photography & Video
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC) Details
Written in concert with Adobe's development of the Photoshop Lightroom 2 Beta, The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers - by #1 bestselling computer and technology author, Scott Kelby - is the most complete and concise Lightroom "how-to" book for digital photographers of all skill levels. In The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers, Scott walks readers through the basics of Lightroom use, leading them to a brilliantly devised and super efficient digital photography workflow that dramatically improves productivity and allows photographers to spend less time processing photos and more time shooting them. Throughout the book Scott shares his personal camera and Lightroom settings, as well as the studio-tested techniques he's developed for his own photography workflow. The book is written in his trademark step-by-step, plain English style, and because he knows what really works and what doesn't, he isn't shy to tell you flat out which tools to use, which to avoid, and why. This allows digital photographers of any skill level to jump right in using Lightroom like a pro from the very start, sidestepping a lot of the frustrations that typically haunt those unfamiliar with new applications…especially those as powerful as Lightroom. What really sets The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers apart from other Lightroom books on the market are the last two bonus chapters where Scott answers the questions, "In exactly what order am I supposed to do things in Lightoom," and "Where does Photoshop fit in to the mix?" Both chapters start with an on-location photo shoot, including full details on the equipment, camera settings, and lighting techniques. Readers then witness as he takes the photos from each shoot through the entire workflow process, to the final output of the 16"x20" prints. And, because he incorporates Photoshop seamlessly right into this workflow, you'll learn some of the latest Photoshop techniques for portrait and landscape photography as well. If you're one of those people who learns best by actually doing the projects yourself; who learns best without all the complicated technical explanations and confusing jargon, and if you really want to start using Lightroom today to unlock the productivity secrets of "The new digital photography workflow,"---there is no faster, more "straight-to-the-point" or more fun way to learn than this groundbreaking new book, and you are absolutely going to love it!
Reviews
This book is set up as a series of tutorials/walkthroughs, and at this it does a very good job. I also like S. Kelby's humor (the "black clothes" one is so funny and true).The problem is that not all features in LR are suitable to be taught with a tutorial. Because of this, many features/controls are left out, or are talked about who knows where in some of the many step-by-step procedures. They are just not in one plce, easy to find, and to grasp.What I needed, after learning all the basic procedures/features, was a book with a very comprehensive index that would address specific features and suggest workflow ideas.I still have the Kelby book but I ended up buying the Martin Evening "PS LR2 book". It's much better, and much bigger (in this case the size of a book may tell you something about how much material is covered).Before I finish this review, I want to give you an example of what I meant above:I wanted to know all the features and uses of the image retouching module (top right in the develop module). Well, in the Kelby's book this is treated as part of a few step-by-step tutorials onhow to achieve certain effects. In the Evening book there is a 10 or so page section that talks and show all about these tools, with screen-shots to show exactly what happens when you do something. Furthermore, Evening also shows some workflow examples where he uses these tools.Pros: very clear and easy to follow, very appropriate for a beginner.Cons: not comprehensive for the more curious/advanced user; leaves out a wealth of information about metadata, workflow, and lacks specific sections that address single features in detail.