12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Quick Once-over, March 1, 2006
This review is from: Digital Nature Photography and Adobe Photoshop (Paperback)
More and more books that teach Photoshop are trying to capture the full spectrum of digital photography from capture to post processing. I can't call this a full spectrum book, since the author does not discuss anything about output once the image is adjusted in Photoshop, but it certainly dwells more on capturing the image then many books.
Like so many photography books today, it presumes the reader is using a digital single lens reflex camera, and Photoshop as image editing software. Compact digital users will probably benefit from this book, but users of image processing software other than Photoshop or Photoshop Elements will not benefit very much.
The author first describes the equipment one needs for digital nature photography including cameras, computers and even clothes to wear. He provides a description of the different types of nature photography including landscapes, wildlife, macro and abstracts. Then he jumps into post processing, including the use of Adobe Bridge, camera raw and Photoshop tools. He covers the Photoshop tools that the average nature photographer will have occasion to use.
The design of the book is lovely with many full page nature photographs by the author and generous use of white space. Unfortunately, I found that he did not cover any of the subjects in enough detail to be of use to the beginning photographer, unless that reader was willing to take the author's instructions and then work out things on his or her own. There are a few tips along the way that the advanced photographer may not have learned, but not enough to make the reading worthwhile for experienced individuals.
For example, in his description of the advantages of digital cameras, he mentions the benefit of immediate feedback, including the availability of histograms, but that's the last mention of this tool to help get the proper exposure. When he discusses macro photography he mentions that accessory lenses and extension tubes exist to help in getting close, but never explains what benefits they provide or how to use them. His discussion of levels in Photoshop indicates that the sliders control highlights and shadows but never tells very much about how to set the sliders.
I suppose if one wants to learn something about digital nature photography without actually learning any techniques this book might help. Most nature photographers would be better off with an old standby, John Shaw's "Nature Photography Field Guide" when it comes to capturing images, even though it doesn't deal with digital cameras. Individuals wanting to learn more about digital capture could rely upon David Busch's "Digital SLR Cameras & Photography for Dummies" or Mikkel Aalands "Shooting Digital". As to using Photoshop for nature photography, Ellen Anon and Tim Grey's "Photoshop for Nature Photographers" is recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two books in one! An excellent resource., November 1, 2007
This review is from: Digital Nature Photography and Adobe Photoshop (Paperback)
Digital Nature Photography and Adobe Photoshop is really two books in one and a great value for anyone interested in digital nature photography. The first half of the book serves as a helpful, well organized, and excellent book on taking nature photographs. It covers all the basics and more - from equipment selection, photo composition, aperture settings, location selection and safety, to the art of photographing wildlife. This half of the book covers all aspects of taking great pictures out in nature.
The other half of the book details how to process these photographs on the computer. This part provides all the tools you need to process and print amazing nature photos. Moss covers every possible topic related to computer processing of images, starting with the author's preference for processing files in raw form using Adobe Raw. He then details the most useful tools available using Adobe Photoshop. There is so much one can do with Photoshop that it isn't fair to expect this book to teach every aspect of the program. That being said even newbies can use this book to get started in Photoshop. The book is intended to augment already existing Photoshop skills to meet the needs of digital nature photographers. As such, Moss covers in straightforward, easy to understand language Photoshop tools such as: shadow adjustment, correcting exposure, making tonal and color corrections, and converting color images to black and white. If you already know the basics of navigating Photoshop, you will find this half of the book a superb and essential way to get the most out of this powerful software. This book is a must have for nature photographers!
-Jessica Teel
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Manual for beginners or advanced photographers, November 1, 2007
This review is from: Digital Nature Photography and Adobe Photoshop (Paperback)
I wasn't very familiar with navigating Photoshop before I read and used this book. I did, however, use this book to work on my own nature photographs. I found this book a perfect tool for someone like myself- interested in nature photography and needing the skills to edit them on the computer. Moss focuses only on the essential tools for processing nature photography in Photoshop. I'm not a graphic designer, so I have no need or interest to know how to become a graphic designer. What I do want to learn is how to process an overexposed sky in one of my favorite landscape photos. Moss will teach you exactly what you need to know, without getting users bogged down with every aspect and every tool in Photoshop. And that's what I wanted - someone to wade through the functions and present the ones I want and need to use for nature photos.
I also found myself memorizing small tips and techniques as I read the beginning portion of the book on taking pictures. Moss has a very creative eye, and helps readers learn these creative techniques and then apply them to their own photography. I defiantly feel that my eye for nature photography will be different (for the better) the next time I go out to shoot the landscapes that I love. If you are using Photoshop to process nature photography, this is the book you should purchase, and don't waste your time on the Photoshop Bible or other books when you can get a book edited to your specific needs. This book is excellent for beginners to both Photoshop and digital photography.
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