Customer Reviews

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like most of Scott's offerings he does a good job with his book "Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers". The problem is it just didn't work for me. I did learn a few things about Lightroom 2, but in the end I was disappointed with my purchase. I had been looking for something to speed my workflow through Lightroom by suggesting a logical path of steps, giving some good tips, and then getting out of my way.

I was still shopping around when I found Nathaniel Coalson's book Lightroom 2: Streamlining your Digital Photography Process. This was the book I was looking for. Nathaniel sets out to give you the tools to carry out your vision, streamline your workflow and then gets out of your way. Perfect.

Both these books provide the basics of using Lightroom 2 - there is no arguing that. What is different is how one book gives you recipes and formulas while the other gives you a strong foundation for building your workflow. Here are some key differences in the two books that I feel make Nathaniel's offering stronger than Scott's.

Nathaniel's book is laid out in classic form - text interspersed with graphic examples. Shortcuts, tips, warnings and reminders are all identified by small graphic symbols in the main body of text. Scott has put his graphic examples front and center. This forces his text to the margins of the page in smaller font which I found harder to read and, more importantly, harder to skim when looking for an answer.

Scott's book walks you through the basic Lightroom 2 commands in a step-by-step fashion. If you are fairly new to computers or have never used Lightroom you might prefer his book. On the other hand Nathaniel does a very good job explaining image capture basics, presents the logical steps you'll follow from importing your images to processing them and starts you thinking about the end goals you have for your images. If you've used computers before or have tinkered with the Lightroom 2 program Nathaniel will get you on task faster.

This brings me to one of the more important differences between the books. One of the most powerful aspects of Lightroom is its ability to help manage images, acting as both an image processor and DAM (Digital Asset Management) tool. Managing a large number of images requires a well thought out workflow - something simple yet consistent that we can shape to our particular needs. Nathaniel provides this in early on in his book and, even better, continues to refer back to it. This helps in showing you how all the pieces fit together.

Both books cover the basics of Lightroom 2 while giving you slightly different extras. Nathaniel shows how to change the default quick collection while Scott covers HDR a little more in-depth; Scott has 4 pages on split-tones while Nathaniel shows you different options for your crop screen. These books will become references for you as you discover all that Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 has to offer. The difference, in my opinion, is that Scott shows you how to use Lightroom 2 while Nathaniel teaches you - a subtle difference but, in my book, worth every penny.

First I would like to say that if the book feels a bit like the first version, there's a good reason and it's because Adobe didn't remove features from LR2. There isn't a way to write a Lightroom book without covering features that were included in version 1. This would be a disservice to those that didn't own Lightroom version 1 and are starting fresh with version 2. The other thing that might feel familiar is the layout of the book. Most all of the Kelby books have a visual style that is familiar but even that has changed slight in this book, and for the better.

The book begins with a seven step "Things you wish you would have known before reading this book". It is a quick guide that tells you how the book is organized, what to expect when you read it, where to find source material that is used in the different chapters, and even a warning about his humorous chapter intros. I am actually a fan of Scott's humor but for those that aren't, he tells you to skip the intros and move right to the chapter because that's where the good stuff is.

The actual flow of the book is very logical and moves through the workflow process just as you would in Lightroom. One of the new features of the book that I found extremely helpful are the small header banners at the top of each page which mimic the panels at the top of Lightroom. Listed at the top are the Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print, and Web headings that are so familiar to Lightroom users. Whichever module is being dealt with in the particular chapter is highlighted on the banner, just as it would be in Lightroom. This is a great way to navigate quickly in the book so if you wanted to check out chapters dedicated to printing you can quickly flip through the pages and look for the Print module heading at the top of the pages. This is a small but very clever idea that I really appreciate.

The first chapter is all about importing images into Lightroom and is laid out in an easy, step-by-step progression from where to store your images, to getting your images into the program from your memory card or from folders that already exist on the hard drive. There is even a section on shooting tethered directly to your camera and having the images go directly into Lightroom. And here's another new bonus to this book. Every chapter has a Lightroom Quicktips page following each chapter. These are helpful little hints that somehow relate to the chapter but didn't really fit but are nonetheless important nuggets of information.

The following chapters are laid out just as logically and are beautifully illustrated. Particularly helpful were the chapters on customizing the Library module to make it fit my own needs and the section on the new Adjustment Brush. This new feature in Lightroom 2 is amazing and Scott did a great job of explaining not just how to use all of the features, but also when and why you would use them. I especially liked how he showed how to use the brush as a creative tool that will keep me from having to use Photoshop quite so much.

This book covers every new feature with great depth but not in a textbook way. Every feature of the program is broken down into its basics and then reviewed in a progressive style that will benefit novice and professional alike. The one thing that sets this book (like all of the Kelby books) apart from the rest is that you feel as though he is talking directly to you thoughout the entire process. It's like having your own personal instructor right at your side.

Lightroom has changed tremendously from its humble 1.0 beginnings and any user of the new version will save themselves time and frustration by sitting down with this book which I believe is the definitive guide to using Lightroom 2.0.

When Lightroom 1.0 was introduced, everyone who tried it was a new user, even the folks who had tried the beta editions that Adobe had offered. That meant that it was easy to say that Scott Kelby's older book, "the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers" was one of the best of the hoard of Lightroom books for all users. Lightroom 2 (LR2) is a different matter. There is already a large base of competent Lightroom users who are mostly interested in learning how to use the newest upgrades to the software. As a result, recommendations for Kelby's Lightroom 2 book have to be slightly tempered.

As with his first volume, Kelby covers all the basics of Lightroom 2 with step-by-step instructions with profuse illustrations. Each of the modules is covered in sufficient detail to explain to any newcomer how to use LR2. The chapter on the quick develop tools has been reduced to a few pages, the local adjustment tools are described with sufficient particularity to master the newest tools, and a full chapter has been added on Lightroom\Photoshop integration. The two workflow examples have been changed from the first book, giving readers of both volumes a little more bang for the buck.

Many of the photos used for demonstration are available for download so that the reader can follow right along with the author. A video on a workflow example of a wedding is also available for download.

Some people who were put off by Kelby's sophomoric sense of humor will be pleased to learn that there has been a substantial reduction in the jokiness.

There is no doubt that if you are a new user of Lightroom, this book is as good as it gets. On the other hand, for experienced users, there doesn't seem to be much value to reading over the sections on tools you already know how to use. As I've said before, what most LR2 users need is a book like the "Photoshop: Up to Speed" books that just cover the new tools. (Are you listening, Peachpit?) I suspect many experienced users will derive their information on the upgrade from the wide assortment of on-line sites that have introduced LR2. On the other hand, I'm replacing Kelby's Lightroom 1 book that I kept next to my computer with this volume, and I expect to refer to this opus whenever I encounter a problem in LR2 (or my aging memory fails me).

I'm one of the people that owned the first version of the book and still coughed up the $29 for version 2. I don't regret it one bit. There's an entire chapter on the new Adjustment Brush, and that chapter alone has made me my $29 back. If you're new to Lightroom, I can't help but think Scott's workflow and descriptions of the tools is the best out there. They sure helped me last year when I was starting out. However, if you're experienced in Lightroom, yes, you'll definitely find some of same "basics" stuff. But the updates (importing and sorting chapters, adjustment brush, new workflow chapters, and customizing) are worth $29 and I'd spend it again in a heartbeat. Highly recommended.

For me it doesnt come naturally to sit with a book at my computer and work through it to learn to do it right. I am determined to quit that silly massivly time wasting habit and have successfully started my new smarter behavior with Scott Kelby's well written, logicly laid out, with easy to understand verbage instruction manual. I have thousands of images and vow to continue to follow his flow and do it right this time. Lightroom 2 is an awesome program that looks easy, but to get the most out of it you may need a little hand holding by a pro and that is what this book delivers.

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 on
how 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.

I bought both this book and Kelby's book, and I look forward to reading both, cover to cover. Yes, this will take time, but I want to really understand Lightroom 2, inside and out.

I first started reading Kelby's book. But he is colloquial and less verbose _at the expense of clarity_. Martin Evening's book is long, and incredibly detailed. But written _very_ clearly.

Long story short, read Martin Evening's book first. Nowhere is this point made more clearly than the two author's treatments of the "xmp"/sidecar issue. Martin Evening devotes 4 full pages to discussing this very confusing topic (pp. 179-182), whereas Kelby seems to cut corners and offer under-explained, possibly incorrect advice (see his three paragraph discussion on pp. 69-70).

Buy both books (Kelby's book seems to offer more tips and tricks related to the Development module, which I have yet to get to), but read Evening's book first. Kelby's book is too imprecise, cuts too many corners, to be your foundational course in Lightroom 2.

I am going to leave the longer reviews to other reviewers, but I thought it was worth noting that this book appears to be about 80% the same as the first edition. This Lightroom 2 book is more of an update of the Lightroom 1 book than it is a brand-new book in my opinion. Scott even recycles his (in)famous "jokes" from the first book in the second one. Maybe that is not a surprise to most of you, but I was expecting a bit more new content in the second book. To add insult to injury, the book was shipped to me from Amazon damaged. :-)

If you don't own the first edition of the book, you should consider purchasing this well-written and informative Lightroom book. Scott Kelby shares a lot of useful info in an easy to understand writing style. I have purchased a couple of different Lightroom books and find Scott Kelby's Lightroom for Digital Photographers to be the best of the bunch.

As a seasoned Lightroom user, I was skeptical that this author - known for hoary jocularity and being first on the scene with the cream skimmed off the top - would have much to add to Martin Evening's 'Bible'. A casual bookstore browse, however, made me reconsider. I read the book module by Lightroom module, and picked up some slick workflow tips that came in mighty handy in the transition to version 2 [LR2].

This book was written with hands-on insight and fire-in-the-belly passion by a gifted photographer. It's much more than a comprehensive tutorial covering the fundamentals, for it it is laced with pearls for pros, and offers glimpses of the powerful engine under the glossy hood. The writing is smoothly professional, the numerous color graphics are crisp and on point (as well reproduced as any I've seen of Lighroom's low key screens). The layout is attractive, printing is clear, and paper is top-grade for stunning color rendering. Mr Kelby deserves great credit for the spirited upbeat writing of an even-paced and consistently thorough introduction to Lightroom-2.

Adding to the sense of author redemption is that his oft-distracting 'jokes' are now relegated to a chapter's introductory page that you can skip over; the many filler pages of thank-you's have been shortened to just two; the downloadable tutorial photos, many of RAW quality, have a tastefully subdued copyright watermark (no longer disfigured by Kelby's trademark diver's flag); images are zipped in chapter-by-chapter packages, rather than the tedious individual downloads of the past; the instruction style is based on a well-honed step-wise photograph flow [intake, processing, output] rather than on picking an isolated topic ('botoxing wrinkles') as in the past. Paced deliberate workflow, of course, demands more of the reader (as well as of the author) as it builds on preceding skills.

Beginning or intermediate LR2 users will get a flying start using this book. Once you feel comfortable with the LR2 basic workflow, add Martin Evening's "The Lightroom2 Book" to your library to broaden your skills and learn of advanced techniques; I doubt that you'd find much new not covered by these two books that complement and supplement one another surprisingly well.

I had never used Lightroom before in my life.. I wasn't even sure what all it COULD do. I just knew that a lot of people recommended it so I thought I'd give it a try. I installed the software and then stared at it blankly. I had no clue where to begin. I clicked a few buttons but got really lost really fast. I began to wonder if I'd wasted my money. But luckily I'd also picked up Scott Kelby's book. :)

First of all i LOVE Scott's humor. I love "mental breaks" and always get a chuckle out of his chapter introductions. I read the intro to the book which recommends downloading a video, and his sample files so you can follow along. I think some of the chapter 4 pictures may be mis-filed under chapter 5 though so if you can't find a picture, check another chapter file.

So I stayed up past 1am the first night going through the first 5 chapters. I was hooked and amazed! His book was easy to follow and really got me excited about what this program can do. The first 3 chapters or so are all about organization. A part of me wanted to skip this part, but i didn't.. it's worth a read. It's amazing what they've built into this.. much different than the organizer used in Photoshop Elements. It has ways to compare photos side by side, or show a before and after edits... very cool stuff! Finally I got to the first chapter on developing photos. Good stuff.

I'm only half way through the book, but at least I'm up and running. I know enough to be dangerous. :) Enough to be excited and in love with Lightroom! I love that he even showed you the settings to get that trendy gritty look in your photographs!

I haven't looked at any other Lightroom books but if you're new to Lightroom I can attest that this book is fantastic. it'll teach you step by step the proper workflow to maximize your use of Lightroom! So hurry up and hit that Buy button! :)