Getting Started with Camera Raw: How to make better pictures using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Ben Long (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321592131 | ISBN-13: 978-0321592132 | Publication Date: February 22, 2009 | Edition: 2

How to make better pictures using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

Working with digital photographs in raw format isn’t just for pros. Today, point-and-shoot cameras can capture images in raw format, giving shutterbugs of all stripes additional control and editing flexibility for richer, more vibrant photographs. If you’re ready to learn how you can use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements to make the most of your camera’s raw capabilities, this book is the place to start. Author and photographer Ben Long introduces you to the raw format, explaining when it offers advantages over your camera’s default options, and then shows you how best to use it. In this book, completely updated for Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Elements 7, you’ll learn:

• How your digital camera captures and stores data
• The pros and cons of working with Camera Raw data versus standard JPEG files
• How to sort and process images using Camera Raw in Photoshop Elements and Photoshop
• Basic Photoshop and Photoshop Elements editing techniques, such as adjusting for exposure, brightness, contrast, and saturation
• How to work with the Camera Raw histogram to improve the color and tone of your images
• Great techniques for shooting to get the best from the raw format

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ben Long is a professional photographer based in San Francisco. He is the author  of numerous magazine articles and books on digital photography, including Real World Aperture and Real World Nikon Capture NX 2. He writes a  digital photography column for CreativePro.com. Visit Ben at his Web site: www.completedigitalphotography.com, where you’ll find how-to articles, reviews, and even free software!

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 2 edition (February 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321592131
• ISBN-13: 978-0321592132
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Long is a San Francisco-based photographer and writer. The author of over a dozen books on digital photography and digital video, he has been a longtime contributor or contributing editor to many magazines including MacWeek, MacUser, Macworld UK, and others. He currently writes for Photoshop Elements magazine, is a Senior Contributor at Macworld Magazine and, and a senior editor at CreativePro.com. His photography clients have included 20th Century Fox, Blue Note Records, Global Business Network, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Pickle Family Circus, and Grammy-nominated jazz musicians Don Byron and Dafnis Prieto. He has taught and lectured on photography around the world. A sometime dabbler in computer programming, he has written a Mac-based image editing utility that is used by the British Museum, the White House, and others. You can learn more about what he's up to at www.completedigitalphotography.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Beginner/Intermediate Users, March 16, 2006

By 

P. Smith (Northeast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting Started with Camera Raw: How to make better pictures using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (Paperback)

If you're just starting out using Camera Raw in Photoshop or Elements I think this is a great book to start with. If you are, however, fairly experienced, it probably is going to help you only nominally. I think the layout of the book is very nice and there is very little "fluff". I think the problem some of the reviewers have with this book is that it wasn't matched with their experience level. I personally feel this is a well done book even for intermediate users.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction, April 16, 2008

By 

M. Saxby (Fleet, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting Started with Camera Raw: How to make better pictures using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (Paperback)

I bought this book because I had started shooting in RAW format and, whilst I could see a difference, I wasn't clear on all the advantages.

I picked up a copy of PS Elements, too (from Amazon, great price) and I'm already seeing a big improvement in my finished photos.

The book demystifies RAW and the benefits (and pitfalls) of using various tools within PSE (I have Paint Shop Pro too and most of the tools are available within that, too, although the book only shows you how to use PSE and the full Photoshop product).

For the price, I am very pleased with this book, as far as I'm concerned it paid for itself in terms of photo quality within days.

Before I got it I looked at a significant number of other RAW books (many costing two, three or more times the price of this one) in person, rather than online, but none were as clear as this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Raw, May 29, 2008

By 

BryceLouis (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Started with Camera Raw: How to make better pictures using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (Paperback)

I have been shooting with my Canon 30D/40D for sometime in jpeg. The whole while I knew there was a RAW mode but I didn't know how or why one uses it (other than the generic "it offers more control").

This book is an outstanding intro to answer both questions. In really clear style it gave both the theory (which for RAW is really important) and the practical applications of raw using and processing images with Adobe Camera RAW. The improvement in the final image quality from developing a raw file yourself vs letting the camera create a jpeg for you with its standard settings is really staggering .

The only part of the book I didn't think was "outstanding" was the chapter on workflow. Here the book was was "good." Having shot my last vacation in RAW, I understand completely why a book on RAW should address workflow as it becomes a major part of the process. The problem is the subject of workflow is really tied to whatever programs you are using (photoshop, Bridge, lightroom, iView, etc). The author did about as well as possible given the book is written to users of photoshop and elements. In th end, I went out and bought a book on Adobe Lightroom which is what I am not using.