49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great advice from a seasoned professional, April 24, 2004
This review is from: Digital Photography Expert Techniques (O'Reilly Digital Studio) (Paperback)
I'm impressed with Ken Milburn's insight into producing top-quality digital images. His tips are not always those found in other books on Photoshop or digital photography. For example, Ken recommends slightly underexposing all photos you shoot. Too much light, he explains, can wash out details. But if the subject is slightly underexposed, then lighting can be adjusted in Photoshop without loss of fine details. That's a very useful tip that I had not read anywhere else (in my PS books, at least). He also affords readers sufficient photographic evidence to convince them to use RAW format whenever possible. I shoot in RAW mode all the time now.
Not all of Ken's techniques will be new to digital photographers. The need for a fill flash, uncluttered backgrounds, and a good photo printer are ideas that seem a bit incongruous in a book offering much more advanced advice in later chapters. I think the author was just trying to target as broad of an audience as possible.
Upon reading this solid guide, you will probably notice Ken's preference for 3rd party plugins/filters. He's the first Photoshop author I've read who so strongly advocates the utilization of extra plugins instead of the direct use of Photoshop's built-in technologies. While Scott Kelby would tell you to add a duplicate layer, apply Gaussian blur, and then reduce opacity to accomplish a given task, Ken touts the power of $200 plugins that accomplish the same goal more quickly and sometimes more effectively. Fortunately, comparison photos are often provided to illustrate the differences between the results of Photoshop techniques vs. 3rd party plugins.
Overall, this book is worth owning if you would like some useful tips and tricks from a pro. Just keep in mind the author's bias toward 3rd party products, and expect a few sections on topics that are perhaps too elementary for the rest of the book (e.g., "Take Good Care of Your Printer").
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Only So-So, November 20, 2005
This review is from: Digital Photography Expert Techniques (O'Reilly Digital Studio) (Paperback)
I really want to like this book.
Really I do. And to be honest, it does have it's moments. But in the end, this book tries to cover too much and delivers way too much filler. You know that the author has put in too much filler when the chapter heading on page 167 is 'Basic Digital Photo Correction'.
Hello? That should have been on say, page 10.
What I like about this book:
1. A really good discussion on the use of layer masks in Photoshop.
2. A good chapter on 'Converting Photos to Paintings'
What I don't like about this book:
1. WAY too much filler. For a book targeted to expert techniques, do we really need to discuss 'Frame The Picture Properly'? As mentioned, you have to wade through fully 35% of the book to get to 'Basic Digital Photo Correction'. And the filler doesn't end there. The last 86 pages of the book (covering printing and self-promotion) aren't likely to break any new ground for our users.
2. Many of the before and after images here look identical to me. I know that Vincent Versace preaches 'use Photoshop as an emory board, not as a chisel' but this is ridiculous.
3. Despite the title, this really is a Photoshop book, not a guide to great digital photography. I suspect that the title was changed to justify the abnormally large amount of filler in this book.
4. Price. At $44.95 this book is way overpriced for what it delivers. At 467 pages it's at least 253 pages too long.
5. Too many gadgets and plug-ins are mentioned and used. These, because of their transient nature are best left to magazines, not books.
6. Dry. If you guys thought that the Ames book was dry, this one will change your mind.
All in all, get this book IF you need to learn about a specific topic. But ask yourself first if $44.95 isn't a bit much to pay for only one or two topics.
This book is in desperate need of a clear subject, a decent editor, and a readable writing style.
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64 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good book like we expect from o'reilly but not titled right., January 6, 2005
This review is from: Digital Photography Expert Techniques (O'Reilly Digital Studio) (Paperback)
I liked this book a lot, most books from o'reilly are superb. It it falls into my one pet peeves, along with the 90 percent of digital photography books. It puts all the emphasis on the digital and very little on the photography. This book will not help you take better pictures with your digital camera, it will help fix and process pictures in photoshop and other program, so really it should be called expert techniques in digital photo processing. That being said, it has some great chapters on digital workflow, photoshop and 3rd party photoshop plugins, as well as retouching techniques. All of these go more in depth then what you find in most photoshop books alone.
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