Photoshop CS4 After the Shoot [Paperback]

Mark Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0470389869 | ISBN-13: 978-0470389867 | Edition: 1

If you’re a photographer on the go and want the ability to edit your photos wherever the shoot takes you, then this book is for you. Whether you’re on location, in a coffee shop, on vacation, or on a business trip, you’ll find everything you need in this 6" x 9" guide that fits easily into your camera bag or laptop case.

But, don’t be fooled by the book’s size. Within it are over 300 full-color pages walks you through the workflow, editing, and organizing tasks found in this after-capture software programs— Photoshop CS4. Additionally, numerous practice files are available online, so you can download them from wherever you happen to be.

Topics include:

• Getting organized in Adobe Bridge
• Working with raw files
• Understanding Photoshop CS4’s updated, more intuitive user interface
• Using different techniques for tonal and color adjustments
• Creating black & whites, and sepia tones
• Working with selection and retouching tools
• Using the new Masking and Adjustments panels to add creative effects
• Demystifying resolution and sizing
• Creating elegant panoramas from multiple photos
• Printing at home or at the lab
• Building slideshows and uploading Web galleries easily using the new Adobe Output Module

This easy-to-read book breaks this powerful program down into bite-sized pieces so you can quickly develop a consistent workflow that gives you quality results with every photo. It’s exactly what every photographer needs After the Shoot.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Fitzgerald is a Photoshop trainer and workfl ow consultant who specializes in helping professional photographers thrive in the digital age. He has taught countless photographers how to smooth out their workfl ow and get the most from their images — through private training, classes, and workshops. Mark is an Adobe Certifi ed Photoshop Expert and an Adobe Certifi ed Photoshop Instructor. He and his wife, Julia (with their three dogs, Ruby, Hazel, and Sam), live in Portland, Oregon, where Mark owns a consulting business called The Digital Darkroom (www.ddroom.com).

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470389869
• ISBN-13: 978-0470389867
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been involved in the professional imaging industry for my entire adult life. When the digital revolution occurred a few years ago, I was able to apply everything I already knew about traditional film photography to the learning process. This is what gives me my unique slant on Photoshop and how it's used in the digital workflow. Here's how it all happened:

Before Digital
I bought my first camera right after graduating from high-school. I instantly fell in love with photography. A couple of years later I began to work for one of the largest photo processing companies in the country, Fox Photo. We had several labs across the country, but only one professional lab at that time. It was located in San Antonio, TX, which is also where Fox's corporate headquarters was located. The pro lab was in the same building as one of the huge "mother labs", so on average we had about 150 people working there throughout a 24-hour period.

In the early days, for someone who was interested in photography, Fox Photo's Pro Lab was an incredible place to work. It was like having a job in a candy store. I was not only exposed to lots of amazing photographs and the photographers who made them, I also worked with some of the smartest people in the industry. All of them were willing to share their knowledge, as well as their photographic equipment.

Having a state-of-the-art pro lab at my disposal made it possible to burn through lots of film at a fraction of the usual cost. I was able to improve my photography and technical skills at a very quick rate. It wasn't long before I was landing freelance commercial gigs, photographing a wide range of subject matter for publications, advertising - and even album covers.

I continued to work in and consult for photolabs. They ranged from large labs like Fox, to small mom-and-pop operations that were usually in the back of photo studios. I got to see how lots of craftspeople created works of art from average images. I also became an expert in color management and color correction.

In the mid-90's my wife and I moved to Portland, Oregon. I quit shooting and focused on my job at a local pro lab. In 1999 I decided I was burned-out on the lab business and ready for something different so I quit and took a two-year sabbatical. During the first few months of that sabbatical I purchased my first digital camera and a copy of Photoshop. It wasn't long before I fell in love with photography all over again.

After Digital
I worked with Photoshop every day and read every relevant book I could find. In the beginning the learning curve was steep. But I had two things working for me: I was already comfortable with computers and I knew what quality photographic prints were supposed to look like. All I had to do was figure out how to use Photoshop to create them from digital files.

Within two years I was ready to begin offering post-production services to several local photographers. In 2002 I started my business, The Digital Darkroom, (). For the first year or so I concentrated on helping photographers create really great prints from their images - (the same thing I've always done). Then, in early 2004 I began to teach photographers how to digitally edit their own images. I soon realized that it's more powerful to teach people how to catch fish themselves than it is to sell fish to them. Ever since then I've been focused on teaching photographers to manage their digital workflows and how to create high quality files from their photos.

Today
I work with a wide range of professional photographers who shoot subject matter ranging from advertising to wildlife. I help them with Photoshop, Lightroom, and digital workflow. I lead workshops and offer private one-on-one training. I am an Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert and an Adobe Certified Instructor for Photoshop CS4. These certifications, are important, but it's really all of the experience I've gained over the years helping professional photographers - whether they were shooting film or digital - that gives me my unique view of Photoshop and how it's used to help photographers reveal their true art.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Photoshop CS4: After the Shoot, March 28, 2009

By 

M. Wilhelm - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Photoshop CS4 After the Shoot (Paperback)

On its surface, the title of this book clearly tells this is primarily a Photoshop CS4 book yet the subtitle only hints at a value added benefit found between the covers. "After The Shoot" equals photographic workflow and anyone who produces a lot of digital images knows a well-planned workflow is essential to maintaining your sanity. Apparently the author gets this too because the first three chapters are essentially dedicated to workflow tools and strategy.

The author suggests we read this book thoroughly and sequentially before using it for reference. Of course, this is always a good idea but, as one who has been using Photoshop for many years, I'm looking for a book to guide me through interface changes and new features after upgrading to the latest version of Photoshop and therefore want a book that is well organized for reference. Thus, I take a hard look at the table of contents and peruse the index pages before buying (see companion website). I appreciate the color coded tabs in the upper right of the page which enables a quick jump to the chapter that is needed to address what confounds me in the new version of Photoshop. It would have been nice to have an icon indicating features unique to CS4, but the author does a good job of introducing user interface changes in chapter 5 "Learning to Use the Photoshop Workspace."

One of the coolest things about Photoshop (and the reason it is so widely used) is the amazing depth of capability and features within this application. This means there are always new tricks to discover and potentially better ways to accomplish your tasks. I really like how this author balances his content between digestible explanations and step-wise tutorials (which I feel is the best way to pick up something new). I tested this book using the tutorial for Levels Adjustment which is a common tool for every image I touch and sure enough I found a useful trick that I will use henceforth. This alone is worth the price of this book to me.

One last thing, the size of this book (6X9", 320 pages) makes it just about perfect to tote around so I can read through an explanation while on the bus or during a coffee break. This is how I expand on the knowledge I already have on this amazing piece of software, and Mark Fitzgerald's book promises to be a good source of useful information.

M. Wilhelm

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another stellar book from Mark Fitzgerald, March 20, 2009

By 

Mark D. Wilson (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Photoshop CS4 After the Shoot (Paperback)

Although this book provides a considerable amount of information about Adobe's new Photoshop CS4, it goes beyond that by creating a concise guide to the workflow necessary to get the most out of this program prior to its use. This text follows a logical path in presenting the information that is really important for getting the most from one's digital camera and Photoshop CS4 software. Written in his typical, no nonsense style, Mark's book makes for an excellent read from start to finish, but also doubles as a great reference guide for working one's way through tasks such as web publishing and batch processing. I have been using Photoshop CS4 Extended daily for several months now and I still found useful information in this book in spite of my experience with the program. Whether one is posting images to the web, printing in house, out sourcing, or presenting images to clients, this book covers it all without getting bogged down in excess technical detail or attempting cutesy language. I recommend it to everyone with a serious interest in digital photography from intermediate to seasoned pro.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to CS4, April 7, 2009

By 

Douglas C. Dooley "Digifan" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Photoshop CS4 After the Shoot (Paperback)

Mark Fitzgerald is an excellent teacher and this shows in the books he has recently written. "Adobe Photoshop CS4: After the Shoot" is no exception. This compact and straightforward text does an excellent job of presenting Photoshop CS4, a software package that can seem overwhelming at times. Take heart ! This is the book you have been looking for as an introduction to the digital workflow. The book is laid out logically and the visual presentation is clean. Mark and the publishers are to be commended for the large number of color illustrations. Due to space constraints, there is no material covering Adobe's Lightroom software. For that, I highly recommend another of Mark's books, "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop Workflow"

The book begins with a discussion of Adobe's bridge, used for downloading, organizing, and labeling images. Equally important, this is where images are tagged with keywords to permit their easy retrieval months or years later. In this section, Mark does a great job of providing strategies to enhance organization and labeling / tagging. He presents rationales for various approaches to file organization, yet still leaves the final approach to the user.

In Chapter 4, Mark tackles the raw file conversion process, explaining the power hidden in this format. This chapter explains why the digital photographer should "shoot for highlights", and thereby make optimal use of the camera's sensor. There (and in Chapter 6) lies a nice introduction to histograms which can be confusing to the uninitiated. Reading this section is a "must" for those who have only shot film or jpgs previously. "After the Shoot" then advances into the meat of CS4, describing approaches to image optimization - adjusting brightness, contrast, color - and the advantages of using layers, selections and masks. Coming down the home stretch, he covers creative aspects such as dodging and burning and combining multiple shots to form panoramic images.

Mark is to be commended for his lucid explanations and outstanding use of screen shots which enhance the learning experience. In addition to instructions in the body of the text, Mark included special "tips" and "hints" to expand on specific points, e.g., why can't I see the dialogue box? I heartily recommend this book and look forward to Mark's next publication.