The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers (Paperback)

~ (Author), Krogh Peter (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

One of the main concerns for digital photographers today is asset management: how to file, find, protect, and re-use their photos. The best solutions can be found in The DAM Book, our bestselling guide to managing digital images efficiently and effectively.

Anyone who shoots, scans, or stores digital photographs is practicing digital asset management (DAM), but few people do it in a way that makes sense. In this second edition, photographer Peter Krogh -- the leading expert on DAM -- provides new tools and techniques to help professionals, amateurs, and students:

• Understand the image file lifecycle: from shooting to editing, output, and permanent storage
• Learn new ways to use metadata and key words to track photo files
• Create a digital archive and name files clearly
• Determine a strategy for backing up and validating image data
• Learn a catalog workflow strategy, using Adobe Bridge, Camera Raw, Adobe Lightroom, Microsoft Expression Media, and Photoshop CS4 together
• Migrate images from one file format to another, from one storage medium to another, and from film to digital
• Learn how to copyright images

To identify and protect your images in the marketplace, having a solid asset management system is essential. The DAM Book offers the best approach.

About the Author

Peter Krogh is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on DAM, or digital asset management. A professional and avid personal photographer for more than twenty years, Peter is a passionate advocate for both the photographer and the photograph. He is an Alpha Tester for Adobe and his contributions can be seen in some of the features available in Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Bridge, and the DNG RAW storage format. You can see his photography work on his website, www.peterkrogh.com. Read more about the book, and participate in an online discussion about the principles he promotes at www.theDAMbook.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 494 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 2 edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596523572
• ISBN-13: 978-0596523572
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More of a Volume 2 or "Pro" version than a second edition, May 7, 2009

By	K. Forsmo (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In summary, the value here is outstanding. The book is a comprehensive set of best practices (including supporting rationale) that carries you and your data from the moment you lift your finger from the shutter release until the sun burns out.

I had recently read the first edition when I discovered that a second edition was in the works. I was very impressed with the breadth and depth of the first book, and the second edition expands on both. I was a little concerned that I was buying a new cover, some corrected errata, and maybe a couple new concepts. While the cover is new, the book is what I'd consider either a "Pro" version, or a second volume. It turns the first edition into somewhat of an overview of all the concepts with implementations, still useful in its own right. However, there is a great deal of new material as well as added depth in the material covered in the first edition.

Similar to the first edition, the book presents an all-inclusive system for digital asset management. One of the attractions for me is that the system is essentially drawn from first principles in a variety of disciplines. For instance, it is written by a professional photographer who clearly has a need for a system that works day-to-day in the trenches, yet it's accessible to the layman since the author takes the time to explain the concepts behind the implementation. The author has clearly honed the system through a great deal of experience as well as significant research and what I'm finding to be active participation in the imaging and asset management communities.

A degree of computer facility is required to get the most from the book, but on the other hand I'd argue that the book isn't a bad way to learn some of the fundamentals and utility of metadata.

The system described is well thought-out, scalable, systematic, and addresses many key concerns of anyone with a computer and a camera. The book establishes some best practices (including explanations based on sound concepts as well as pitfalls to be aware of) for things like organization, rating, validation, backup, storage, and archiving, all while retaining usability. I admit that I don't hang out with any professional photographers, but with that being said, there is no one I know that has a system for managing their photo collection that safeguards it from loss while making it available to work on and share. Basically, everyone I know has had multiple cameras over the years and has an amorphous, unmanageable blob of photos strewn across hard drives, with no concept of what's there, what's backed up, what's safe, and what they're repeating whenever they try to sort, rate, or edit.

This book stands out among some of the others that I have read in that it clearly communicates the rationale behind the workflow steps (and presents alternatives). There are many successful photographers out there, and they all must have systems and workflows that work for them. There are other books that simply document a photographer's dogmatic process and leave a lot of questions and loose ends. It's tough to get a sense of the relative importance of all the interdependent decisions you have to make. The DAM Book, in contrast, leave very few questions or loose ends, and is very comprehensive, and to me the author's enthusiasm for the subject matter shows through. If you're unsure about something, the author is active and responsive in the forums over at thedambook.com.

Highly recommended and worth far more than I paid for it.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Must Have" Book for Digital Photographers, May 3, 2009

By	James Cavanaugh (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Peter Krogh is arguably the leading industry expert on Digital Asset Management. His first edition of the book became the bible for countless photographers moving from film to digital. Now with that transition well behind us, Krogh has updated and expanded his book to cover many of the new tools available for photographers. He covers the latest versions of software applications like Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom. He clearly explains how to add metadata that will be critical in tracking future electronic uses and preventing your images from becoming orphan works. He refines his approach to digital asset management techniques that reflect the latest industry standards. (Many of which he helped create!)

His recommendations, if followed, will assure that photographers will not lose their valuable digital images and be able to quickly locate them and provide them for their clients.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone who is serious about digital photography.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading -- yes, essential, June 26, 2009

By	John L. Hemingway (Macomb, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Several reviewers here have already described the contents of "The DAM Book," so there is no need to repeat all that. I simply want to reinforce what others have said about this book: It truly is essential reading for anyone who must manage a large collection of digital image files.

Digital image files: That last word is important. The book is aimed at photographers, but it is not about making photographs. It is instead about managing the files that become photographs. Krogh divides these files into three types -- ingestion files (transferring files from camera to computer, initial batch processing), working files (further subdivided into original and derivative files), and archive files -- with each file type posing distinct management problems and therefore requiring distinct management strategies. These strategies must in turn be integrated into an effective, comprehensive DAM system. As Krogh puts it, the "prime directive" when deploying this system is not to lose the files along the way.

Krogh provides clear, well-organized discussions of these problems and alternative strategies. He is thoroughly familiar with the practice of photography and with computer technology (both hard- and software), bringing the two together so that even a slightly technophobic reader (like me) can understand why and how integrating DAM practices into the workflow will benefit her/him as a photographer.

Krogh makes a point of emphasizing that DAM is not simple, that understanding it requires an effort, and that implementing it can be challenging. All of this is true, but fortunately for the reader, Krogh has considerable ability as a technical writer. He takes care to include background information necessary to understand the strengths and weaknesses of currently available DAM technology and alternative DAM strategies. The technology will change, of course, so Krogh emphasizes forward compatibility as an important element in any DAM strategy, positioning the photographer to respond to those changes more effectively. In his view, among the rewards for implementing a good DAM system is having to do it only once.

Krogh has his own definite preferences regarding technology and strategies, but he is careful not to impose these on the reader. He does something else instead, something different and better: He educates the reader so the reader can make her/his own informed decisions. This is a difference that makes a difference, raising Krogh's book above all those dumbed-down "how-to" photography cookbooks that crowd bookstore shelves. We need more photography authors willing to follow this path.

"The DAM Book" (2nd ed.) addresses very real issues and does so exceptionally well. The book will most benefit professional photographers and collection managers, but there is a great deal of value for semi-professionals (that's me) and serious amateurs committed to developing their craft. Highly recommended.