Customer Reviews

Photoshop CS4 After the Shoot

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

The first thing I love about this book is it's size. At 6x9 it's much smaller than the other standard tomes and feels like one of my camera manuals that I have in my camera bag at all times, but this one is for Photoshop which I use everyday. I think a 5x7 spiral bound book would be my ideal size for this book because it would be easier to carry in my purse or backpack and read it when I have a few minutes. With that aside, this book is very well organized and perfect for visually oriented people. Each chapter is color coded and there are graphics on every page which keeps it interesting.

I look forward to reading the "tips", "notes", "caution" and "see also" references that appear on every page because each is a pearl of wisdom. This book is organized very much like the way Fitzgerald writes about organizing digital files. It's clear, easy to understand and concise. I've been calling it "my CS4 Book for dummies."

After reading about the keywording hierarchy I spent more than two days going through my files and naming everything. This has saved me soo much time looking for things. All I have to do now is search by topic. It's so easy.

Fitzgerald's explanations and tutorials are easy to follow which leads to quick mastering of new skills; like taking all the mystery out of calibrating your monitor, understanding histograms, color space, setting up color profiles (something that confounded me for a long time). The monitor calibration tutorial is fantastice, it's so easy to do and few people do this on a regular basis. The whole chapter on understanding color was revealed in a very straight forward and understandable manner. I totally get it now! Now that I actually understand what a histogram measures, I am getting it right most of the time while shooting and not tweaking later in Photoshop. Love it!

For those of us who know how to produce great images, but are at a loss on how to set up a workflow and a bit mystified by color profiles, etc. This is the book for you. Definitely worth the money.

Once again, Mark Fitzgerald has given us an indispensable Photoshop guide, this time to CS4. I can't think of any other expert in photography who writes as effectively as Mark does. His style is spare and descriptive, and conveys more useful and accessible information in two or three sentences than many others do in entire pages. There are many changes in CS4, and these are clearly explained. Working through these processes step-by-step really highlights their advantages to photographers like me who use CS3 every day. After reading Mark's book, I'm definitely upgrading to CS4 right away, and I'll be keeping the book by my side when I do. I highly recommend you do, to.

Photoshop, any version, can be overwelming to learn how to use. I've never found the interface to be very easy to use, until I found Mark as a resource. He helps you focus on the best functions/features and from there you can really learn how best to use those features. You walk away from your edits knowing that you had the best guidance, because the final product is fantastic. I find his newest guide to be a fantastic reference guide to cs4... I carry it around with me wherever I hide away to edit photos. I also strongly recommend his book on lightroom/CS workflow.

I have been using Photoshop for about 7 years (Adobe Photoshop 7) and would consider myself aware of what Photoshop offers, but certainly not all knowing. I find that when I don't use a specific function for a prolonged period of time, or over the course of an update, I forget where to go or what to do. In addition, when new updates come out, often times certain features will move locations, which can throw one for a loop.

That's where this handy book comes in. This book is a must have guide to help educate you on the new tools/layouts and reminds you of the old. This book, is direct, to the point, but conveyed in a manner for anyone at any level to comprehend. I consider myself more of an advanced Photoshop user and I find that I use this book as a reference tool.

Mark has written another excellent book on Photoshop CS4. The style, depth & approach provides an 'easy to learn by" book. I have been using Photoshop since version 6 and CS4 since its Beta release. The book reveals things one might not find on your own. If you have purchased another Photoshop book, you should still consider this book for the nuggets of information and techniques Mark highlights. This book will remain on my book shelf.

Ron

Image Reflex

Mark Fitzgerald presents the details of how to be both creative and productive in CS4. His explanations provide an easy-access, easy-to-implement, easy-to-understand model for management and manipulation of your images.

Having the sample image files available on the website is also a tremendous help in learning. You get to do, on your computer system, the same steps the author writes about in his examples, and experience the real-world results.

Overall, this is far easier to use than the Adobe manual (no surprise, right?), and faster to get answers from than their site. A good reference tool for all beginner-to-intermediate Photoshop users!

This is the second of Mark's books I've used. Since I started using Lightroom I had to change my entire workflow and have since used his Lightroom Bible. Mark is great at explaining both Lightroom and Photoshop and how to integrate them. He obviously has vast knowledge of both programs and it's a great reference book. Especially if you want to try out a new technique or can't quite figure out how a particular tool works. If your a novice or a professional, either would find this book useful for everyday work or the occasional "heavily worked" print.