Customer Reviews

Digital Photographer's Notebook: A Pro's Guide to Adobe Photoshop CS3, Lightroom, and Bridge, The

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This book is a collection of the author's columns from the magazine Photoshop User, which he has revised, updated and tried to put into a form that will provide continuity. Although most of the chapters are aimed at advanced users of Photoshop CS3, Lightroom and Bridge, the interest of a reader in any particular chapter will depend on the reader's own need.

The book begins with a discussion of Ames' technique for darkening an over-exposed sky of a picture that he took in Africa. Subsequent chapters deal with importing photos with Bridge, shooting tethered and lighting. The second and third sections of the book deal with the management of computer files including metadata, naming files, what the author calls "bulletproof archiving", Lightroom catalogs, adjusting color, Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom functions, creating web galleries with Lightroom and Photoshop, creating a PDF presentation with Photoshop and making a custom contact print. He finishes off by showing the way he uses Adobe software to create prints by montage, create black and white images, make a few glamour adjustments and adjust interior pictures.

In his discussions of Adobe software he uses the 4.1 version of Adobe Camera Raw and the 1.1 version of Lightroom. (There was no discussion of more recent updates, but the 4.2 version of Adobe Camera Raw and the 1.2 version of Lightroom appear aimed at fixing bugs in the software and not providing additional functions.) Unfortunately his discussions are just descriptive and don't go into details on applying the newest functions. Readers interested in using the new input sharpening tools to the maximum will either have to consult online gurus or read the late Bruce Fraser's book on image sharpening upon which the new tools are based.

I must confess that I was a bit misled by the subtitle's reference to Photoshop, Lightroom and Bridge. There is a crying need for information on the integration of this software, but there is little relevant information in this book.

On the other hand, I liked many of Ames' ideas. While he doesn't come out and say that folder names are not very important, given the ways to recover images available in asset management software like Lightroom, that inference was clear to me. I wish he had spent more time discussing key wording since that seems to me to be an essential part of the asset management process. His use of multiple Lightroom data bases will certainly provoke thought. I know his suggestions saved me a lot of time in archiving in just the last week.

Still, the basic question is the amount of benefit that you will derive from the book's scattered-shot approach. Ames may or may not have addressed a particular advanced user's questions. On the other hand Ames writes clearly and interestingly. If you don't mind spending the time and money, you may well find something worthwhile. Still, the possible benefit is a bit of a crap shoot.

I found Part 2, which discusses the system and workflow for archiving files, worth the price of the book alone. I have been searching for some time for a better archival system than the chronological one I use. Kevin's detailed description of his system is the best article I have found on archiving files. The importance of what he calls "bulletproof archival workflow" hit home recently when I lost many files from two separate hard disks failures within a two-week period. I was going to use the new system to archive a large project involving old negatives and slides, but will now use his system first to eliminate the holes in my current archives.

I have followed Kevin's column for several years and frequently revisit articles for color management techniques he has shared. In this book I found a couple of techniques and actions that I have already used in my work.

Kevin has done a nice job with this book and has provided tools that should be useful to you.

As a photographer and Photoshop educator I am always on the lookout for books that will not only help me take advantage of the most current digital tools but also pass on the most up to date information to my students. With the advent of an all new Photoshop last year and the addition of Lightroom, I have found many students and fellow photographers confused about how to integrate both programs into their everyday working environment. Kevin Ames has worked as a professional photographer for many years and was an early adopter of digital tools when many were sticking with the comforts of the analog world. His depth of experience is complemented by his excellent teaching and writing skills to bring forth a book that will help professional photographers take the best advantage of what Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom can offer.
"The Digital Photographer's Notebook" contains clear explanations of the many concepts of digital tools, from how digital cameras see and record light, why raw files are the only way to record images, how to organize and keyword your images and how to protect and backup your data so you never have to lose a single image. As one who has experienced the loss of data on one occasion, Kevin's thorough strategy of image backup may be worth the price of this book alone.
As the saying goes "but wait, there's more". Kevin shares his broad experience in capturing digital images both on location and in the studio and how to utilize Adobe Bridge to download your images from CF cards or work tethered directly to your computer. Strategies of color management are covered in detail, as are retouching tools that can be applied to entire folders of images. The Lightroom interface is covered in detail, from metadata, to the develop module, to printing and web galleries.
Once images are organized and processed Kevin takes you into Photoshop with some special tools and techniques to take your images to another level.
This book had its genesis in Kevin's columns from Photoshop User magazine. This expansion has a cohesiveness that belies these origins; the scope of this compilation is very much a book.
While the book indicates it is intended for the professional photographer, I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about his or her digital photography. Professional shooter, serious amateur, fine artist or photography student can all benefit from these sound organization strategies, clear explanations of tools and techniques, all wrapped up in a clear writing style with anecdotal observations that make reading a book on software actually a pleasure.

This book is unique. First of all, Kevin Ames is a REAL photographer. He does it all and does it extremely well. But it is clear from the diversity of topics in this book and the care he uses to explain every step in detail, that Kevin has respect for technology and how it can be applied to make your photography better and your experience doing photography more enjoyable.

The first thing that stands out about this book is that it has STYLE. Style would seem out of place in a book that is a collection of somewhat unrelated subjects (since it was derived from over five years of monthly columns in Photoshop User magazine), but each chapter has depth and realism. Kevin lets us in on his real world experiences. He is not holding back. He makes a complete story out of each chapter and the photos are from his real experiences. It is something anyone can relate to. The photos mean something. They are real. In most books on photography, and especially Photoshop, the photos used in examples are just that -- they are taken out of context -- like stock. Kevin's models have names because they are real people.

But wait, there's more. Kevin is genuinely concerned that the digital revolution puts photography as an art form and documentary medium at risk. He spends significant space in the book on managing and archiving digital negatives. He has an entire chapter devoted to metadata and one that discusses in detail the naming of digital negatives. The chapter on his bulletproof archive workflow alone is worth the price of the book. He has clearly given the topic of how to manage and preserve digital negatives a lot of thought and presents methods that are scalable, extensible, and evolutionary to accommodate changes in storage media, operating systems, and technology in general. His suggestion of using a number for each shoot or project is simple but brilliant. He further suggests going back through your old shoots and organizing them into project numbers. The beauty of it is they don't have to be in chronological order -- the metadata will take care of finding the photo you are looking for. Just do it. He points out that if one converts one shoot a day or every few days, your entire digital collection can be archived in bulletproof form in less than a year. Kevin suggests it is easy to keep track of the content in each project number with a spread sheet or a blank check book ledger -- something you can keep in your camera bag. Furthermore, he goes into more depth than I have seen anywhere on the compatibility of Lightroom and Bridge and the reciprocity that exists between them and Photoshop CS3.

Kevin has two in depth chapters on adjusting raw files: one on Adobe Camera Raw 4 and one on Lightroom's Develop module as well as making color correction and exposure adjustments. Again, the aspect of the instruction in these chapters that makes this book unique is Kevin's style of writing. It is casual, comfortable easy reading, as if a conversation. But more importantly, it is accurate and detailed, almost anticipating every possible question. There are three great chapters on presenting your photos: on the internet, as email presentations, and details on making custom contact prints. The chapter on email presentations is a good example of a little known feature that can benefit everyone. Once again Kevin makes it real when he starts the chapter with: "I don't know about you. I get truly tired of scrolling through email looking at attached JPEGs." Ever had that experience? I have.

This book is chock full of great advice, wonderful experiences, and real world productivity that every aspiring and professional photographer can use. The thing that makes it stand out and above is style: Kevin Ames' style.

Highly recommended.

I was kind of surprised when I found a used copy of this book. Maybe the material was over the head of the person who bought it.

In any case, as photography instructor and a professional photographer, I found this a very useful reference. Just how good is this? Well, you'll have "to pry it loose from my fingers....good."

Mr.Ames is very knowledgeable yet doesn't come across as know it all. I found many very usable ideas for demonstrating concepts to my students.

His willingness to include the starting files as a download is a testament to his sharing nature. Far too many photographers are so insecure to do this. Thanks Mr. Ames.

It's a shame it takes so long to write a good book these days and by the time it hits the shelves, Adobe which is in the business of selling software has released Lightroom 2.0 and Photoshop CS4.

Regardless I highly recommend this book to anyone serious to digital photography.

http://peterphun.com/blog

This is another book I have in my arsenal to support my photography and Photoshop interests. It is not meant to be a comprehensive reference of each tools' (Photoshop, Lightroom, and Bridge) functionality, so don't expect this. There are already a large number of other books that cover these topics. Rather if you need suggestions on digital workflow and a more indepth understanding of underlying concepts, you'll find this book very useful, and more so, if you are using all three tools (Photoshop, Lightroom, and Bridge) that the author employs.

The first chapter of this book starts out slow, as it discusses the author's photographic adventure in Africa. Just skip over it and keep reading if this chapter is not of interest to you. The author then delves into details about the process he uses, including step-by-step instructions. He covers indepth information on practical topics like tethering, lighting, metadata, digital negative naming, backups, archiving, etc. These were perhaps the most interesting topics to me, and topics that I have seen little, if any, coverage from in other books.

He continues on with the standard Lightroom topics, such as color correction, exposure, web output, printing contact sheets, etc. Again, the author provides detailed explanations, step-by-step instructions, and he lends his expert advice throughout. Finally, he covers some limited Photoshop techniques, such as layer masking, black and white, beauty techniques, interior lighting, etc., but very little mention of printing using Photoshop CS3. I would use this book only as a secondary reference to any Lightroom or Photoshop CS3 book.

The last page of his book covers the tool versions, which are as follows:

* Photoshop v7 to CS3
* Bridge and Bridge CS3 (including Camera Raw v1 to v4)
* Lightroom v1 to v1.1

Summary:

I found the author's writing style easy and enjoyable to read. The graphics and layout of the book suit the content well. The book is very strong in the digital photo workflow process - these are the best chapters of the book.

On the negative side, Chapter 1 (Out of Africa) was rather distracting to me. I would have preferred to see more of an introduction to the workflow outlined in the rest of the book. Chapter 5 (Musing on Clouds) also was distracting and I'm not sure what the purpose of the chapter is (maybe it's because I'm not into cloud formations).

Finally, the Photoshop CS3 section seems to have chapters focusing on a random set of enhancements, and depending on your own interests, you may or may not find these chapters to be interesting. I understand that the book is a compilation of articles placed into one book, which would explain the disjointed flow of the book.

My Thoughts:

Ease of Use: Easy to read

Audience: All levels of digital photographers. Some experience with Photoshop, Lightroom and Bridge is preferred.

Cost: Reasonable

I saw Kevin Ames on Peach Pit Press' podcast (on itunes) and I pre-ordered this book several months ago. This isn't like many of the books I already own (approaching 300) in that Kevin's style of writing is both conversational and instructional. The information is presented in a way that made me feel as though a good friend was there, teaching me and sharing his knowledge and experience.

It's not so much a dip and find, although that's possible, as it is a story where you pick up useful information along the way. He explains everything from capture to lighting and from Photoshop to Lightroom. His chapter on lighting (Chapter 4 Light Right!) was friendly but still clear and concise with examples that prove every point he makes. I found it more helpful than the books I have that only cover the subject of lighting.

I definitely recommend this book if you've been searching for something a little different that is packed full of lessons learned from an experienced pro!

Kevin has scored another big hit with this work. There are files to download and you can work through the projects. Well Done!!