Customer Reviews

Color Management for Photographers: Hands on Techniques for Photoshop Users

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are entirely too many books like this. 100 pages of information hidden in clouds of personal chatter, name dropping and cliches. Too bad because this is an important area that is almost completely misunderstood. This material should be presented to experienced photographers at an engineering level. It isn't an "all you have to do is..." subject.

If you don't know anything about color, the first 30 pages of this book might help. If you know a lot about photography this book will irritate you, especially when the author runs aground on the subject of Gamma, as so many others have. There is excellent information on the Web that covers this subject so well, nobody needs to misunderstand it.

If you already us Photoshop CS2 and Camera RAW you don't need this book. If you don't use them, you should. Then go to the Adobe website and pick up the white papers by Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe. They are free, very well written and focussed on how Photoshop works and what you need to know.

I would recommend anything written by Blatner & Fraser, or Schewe. Add your own experience and just do it. You'll be better off.

Nobody can deny that Mr. Rodney knows how color management works in Photoshop better than most people, but unfortunately, knowledge of a subject doesn't make you a good writer. I find the bulk of Mr. Rodney's ramblings (both those published on his website-that-time-forgot and posted to various discussion groups and mailing lists) to teeter on the verge of complete unreadability most of the time, and while my hopes were high that a good editor might tame his curious linguistic proclivities here, they were quickly dashed upon skimming through the text. What's worse, the illustrations and photos in every single copy of this book I've ever seen have suffered from severe magenta color casts, leading one to wonder why the author and his publishing company failed to practice what they preached in bringing this title to the public. If you didn't know who Andrew Rodney was to begin with, you'd likely think him full of beans based on the appearance of the plates in this volume. After all, why should readers believe consistent, predictable color in print to be a realistically attainable goal when even the guy who wrote the book on the subject can't seem to achieve it?

There's certainly some good information in between these covers, but none of it is groundbreaking in any way. You might learn something interesting about WWII by asking your grandfather to tell you some old war stories, but you'll have to suffer through a lot of pointless rambling to get to it, and that's pretty much what reading this book feels like. About the only thing this book really has going for it that its competitors lack is the nostalgia longtime Photoshop users will likely feel at the sight of the dog image gracing the cover. Since you can see that image right here for free, there's not a lot of point in paying for yet another rehashing of this subject matter, even at amazon's substantially discounted price. I have no doubt that Mr. Rodney is a very technically proficient color management consultant who can deliver $10,000 worth of results to all who can afford his services, but his efforts in the creative fields of writing, illustration and design just ain't worth a plugged nickel.

It may also be worth noting that more than one of the glowing 5-star reviews that have been posted here were planted by friends and associates of Mr. Rodney. How's that for class?

Andrew Rodney (known to many as the Digital Dog) has been dealing with color management for long enough that it was about time he put his experience and perspective into a book. Color Management for Photographers is a good mix of color theory, functional color management tasks and practical application in Photoshop. I always say you can't learn color from dialog boxes so the theory, utilities, case studies and tutorials are an essential but often overlooked part of getting color under control. Rodney is one of the few people who really "get" color management and has been tirelessly posting answers and admonitions to online mailing lists and forums for years. I'm glad to see he's compiled the many pearls of wisdom into a reference for photographers and other color users. This book gets added to our must-read list.
Steve Upton, CHROMiX.com

Good book with alot of information but the material is a hard read if your just learning like I am. Seems like it might be a little outdated already (CS2 is what's talked about). I found myself having to read pages several times at parts that didn't make sense (but someone with some tech knowledge may find it easier to read). I feel it was worth the read and expanded my knowledge of color management. Worth a look....

This is a great book full of necessary knowledge, but I have never found a book so hard to read! Make sure to be very concentrated before you start reading this book.

This book covers everything I needed to know about color management without getting too wrapped up in technical jargon. It is readable and is oriented toward photographers so I can put it to use immediately.

This book presents photographic color management in straightforward, understandable terms which any advanced amateur or pro photographer can use to improve the quality of her/his photos. I highly recommend this resource for anyone seeking serious help in managing the color aspects of digital photography.

The only shortcoming, though not yet a serious one, is the shortage of specific tips and techniques using Adobe Lightroom. Judging from the numerous technical postings on Lightroom fora by Andrew Rodney, I assume that producing a new edition that addresses this issue would be no problem at all if he chose to take up the task.

This is a great book on color management. Color management is a oft-misunderstood subject and it is fair to say that there are good reasons for this - mainly that it is complicated.

Andrew Rodney does not simplify the subject, thus the reason I did not give this four stars. However, if you are serious about the subject, this book is a vital tool in trying to understand color management.

Some of the book is tedious and some of it is hard to understand, but there are large parts of the book which offer valuable and understandable information on color management and your quest to achieve this "holy grail."

My suggestion is that if you are casually trying to understand how to calibrate your monitor, this book may not be for you. If you are seriously trying to understand color management and are building a library of useful references and gleaning useful nuggets of information from several different books in your quest to achieve color management nirvana - then this book should be in your library.

Congratulation to the author. One of the best technical book I have ever read. Scientifically precise, very informative, relatively easy to understand. Some minor changes in the editing could further increase it's value.

This is the other definitive resource on color management for professional creative communities. (Real World Color Management was the first definitive resource.)

Color management is a complex subject akin to rocket science and brain surgery. When you need to know particular details at a level of depth rarely covered elsewhere, this is the place to go. This is your last stop before dipping into color science textbooks or hiring a consultant to get the job done for you.

You probably want to have an overview of what color management is and why you need it before you buy this book. Once you know you need to know more about color management and you know you need to know how to get the job done exceptionally well, this is the book that will guide you through the process step-by-step with hands-on tutorials.

Andrew possesses an exceptional ability to present a complex subject in well-paced clear language. The back cover promises "less `why' and more `how to'". This is the pragmatists guide to color management. Step-by-step, how-to examples make the information highly practical.

Better graphics than almost any other book of it's kind make this information more compelling, more pleasurable to engage, and easier to adjust. In many cases Andrew tells a story about visual perception visually first with excellent illustrations, which are then supported by commentary. It's an excellent approach.

On the accompanying CD, the test files alone are worth the price of the book.

Despite excellent diction and graphics, you might find the level and breadth of this book daunting. Take it a piece at a time. Given your particular needs, there may be whole sections of this book that you may not need to read. Once you've identified the areas you need to know more about, read those sections. And, put them to use. Your images will be the better for it.

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