Customer Reviews

Photoshop CS3 Raw: Get the Most Out of the Raw Format with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Bridge

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Photoshop CS3 Raw: Get the Most Out of the Raw Format with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Bridge
I have been working with Camera Raw since it was considered to be a strange format that most photographers talked about and few if any used. Since that time I have seen it become the format of choice for many professioals and a tsunami of book titles devoted to it. This book is one of the very few books on the topic that not only tells you how to make the most out of using Raw files but also how to hone your photographic skills in the use of the Raw format as well as how to use the portions of Bridge, Camera Raw, and CS3 designed to work with Raw.
The book's content is both straight to the point and well written. Ink is not wasted by the author with lame puns or jokes (if you want a laugh read Dave Berry). One of the greatest things I appreciated about this book is how the author examines each topic thoroughly. For example, in several other Raw books, when it comes to the tool designed to remove Chormatic Abberation (CA), they describe the CA tool and its contols and quickly move on. I do not fault these authors. I am sure they just weren't that sure how to use it themselves. In this book, the problem of CA is discussed, the tool to correct it is explored, and then the author takes you through the steps needed to remove it. Too cool.
If you shoot photos in Raw format, you have to have this book. Once you get it, make sure you sit down and read a secton, download the sample files that are provided for the tutorials, and do them. You can learn a lot reading but you can retain the knowledge that you learned by applying it doing the tutorials.

Here's a simple, clear introduction to CS3 Camera Raw.

RAW is the generic name for the file type created by digital single lens reflex cameras and some other high end cameras that contains the basic, unprocessed data captured by the camera. As explained by Aaland, manipulating this data will allow the photographer to more accurately create his or her vision of a captured subject.

Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) is the built in software included with Photoshop that allows processing of raw files.

The book includes instruction on the use of Bridge, the common front end for all Adobe Creative Suite products, and Bridge's Photo Downloader, as well as limited information on using Photoshop to process images that have gone through ACR. It is not a manual for the use of the basic Photoshop.

The author goes through the use of ACR's basic controls, advanced tonal control, sharpening, noise, vignetting and chromatic aberration controls, black and white processing and DNG files. I was particularly pleased to see that Aaland covered all the controls in the 4.1 update to ACR, including the new sharpening facility, as well as Photoshop's Smart Sharpen. Old hands interested in learning about the new sharpening might benefit from reading the sharpening chapter, although the book is clearly aimed at beginners.

The author's method is to present text explanations on the outside of a page and illustrations next to the fold. There is plenty of white space and explanations are always adjacent to illustrations. Aaland takes you through the application of each of the tools in a step-by-step fashion with easy to understand text.

I do have a few complaints. The first is that the screen captures of the ACR menus, while plentiful, are too small for aged eyes. I confess to keeping a magnifying glass at hand to examine these illustrations, although Aaland's text usually explained the procedures in sufficient detail so that it was often not essential to see the captured menus.

My second complaint is applicable not just to this book, but many image processing books. I hereby call for a moratorium on the use of the word "art" in book titles and on covers. The subtitle is "Transform your RAW images into works of art". I suppose one could interpret that as merely a wish for your use of the software, but most people would probably think that there was going to be something about making your pictures more artful. There is not. This book is about using the sliders.

If you are a beginner, looking for a good introduction to the use of ACR to manipulate your files to help you create better pictures, this book is as good as it gets.

Aaland writes in a way I can best explain as what every good help manual SHOULD be, with clear explanations and plentiful examples. Whether your skill level is as a beginner through advanced Photoshop user and photographer, you will have no difficulty understanding this book.

From start to finish Aaland takes the reader through every aspect of the Photoshop RAW application leaving no stone unturned. If you are already familiar with RAW, even previous versions, the first half of the book may be a bit redundant and slow as you are walked through the common tools and features. That said, this is one of the books I read cover to cover as the insights shared on each tool often bring to light a better understanding of how and why you would want to use individual tools.

On a critical note, in many cases his screen shot examples were presented too small to read the settings he referenced without including the info with the text of the page. At times it was also difficult to see the visual changes within his examples that were key to understanding his intended point being made.

This is the second title I have read of Aaland's, the first being his Lightroom Adventure. Already his style feels familiar and inviting. For all users looking to start using RAW processing with Photoshop, or those that have used it looking to improve their skills in the process, this book is the best I have read for the process.

'Photoshop CS3 Raw: Get the Most Out of the Raw Format with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Bridge' is a great resource for all levels of digital photographers who want to work with images of the highest quality possible. A regular photo who takes images with their camera probably takes them saved in the JPEG file format that has been so widely known and loved for so many years. The problem with this format is that when JPEG is used their is always data lost in the compression used to save the images. This data usually is minimal and not a big deal but if you need the highest quality pictures without any loss or compression at all, you need to save these in a better format. One of those formats is the Adobe RAW format which is the data saved with no data loss at all. These files will be much bigger in size but they also will guarantee that whatever picture(s) you took, you will see everything that was intended to be seen (and saved).

But simply taking the picture isn't enough, as there is tons of post-processing that goes on to get images looking even better than when they were taken. If you want to learn how to edit, crop, saturate, lighten, darken, whatever your heart desires with RAW imgagery, this is a great resource to have!! With nearly 250 pages spread across 12 chapters, this is a great introduction (in full color on glossy paper) to getting the most out of your camera and taking your images from Bs to As!!

This is a great resource to digital editing, my only caveat is that I feel it could be a bit longer. Another 50 pages or so with another example per chapter could have made things even better. A small complaint (and not enough to hurt my rating for the book) but it's worth noting.

If you take RAW images and want to learn how to get more out of them, this book will get you well on your way!!

***** RECOMMENDED

Are you a novice or professional digital photographer? If you are, then this book is for you. Author Mikkel Aaland, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that gives digital photographers complete control over every aspect of image quality.

Aaland, begins with a discussion of how the raw revolution that began in 2003 with the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, has changed the way photographers work with images. Then, the author shows you how shooting in the raw format gives digital photographers complete control over every aspect of image quality. Next, he shows you how Adobe Camera Raw makes the process of using raw files easier by providing a standardized way of accessing and working with uncompressed digital negatives. The author also covers how serious photographers shoot raw images only. He continues by examining how Photoshop CS3 keeps pace with new directions in digital photography and raw image processing. Then, the author shows you hands-on techniques on how to expose and shoot for raw image capture as well as use new features such as Spot Healing. Next, he shows you how to use the latest version of Adobe Bridge to manage the thousands of images--and gigabytes of data--that result from raw shooting.
The author continues by covering how Photoshop CS3 will: get you up to speed with the new interface changes; help you learn all of the new features CS3 (such as next generation Camera Raw, new and improved Bridge, Photoshop Lightroom Integration, improved printing, nondestructive smart filters, black and white conversion controls, improved curves, automatic Layer Alignment and Blending), and more. Finally, the author discusses how Adobe's latest revolutionary imaging software Photoshop Lightroom adds to the raw equation.

This most excellent book is one of the first to be devoted exclusively to the topic of shooting in the raw, by explaining the advantages and challenges of using Adobe Camera Raw to produce magnificent images. In other words, this best-selling book is full of inside knowledge of how new features let photographers optimize and convert images for the best results in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Mr. Aaland does a wonderful job of explaining many of the key functions in Camera Raw. The benefit of this book over many others is the opportunity to work along with Mr. Aaland using either his examples or your own photographs and the detailed explanations associated with each topic. His approach and style are superb. As mentioned by another reviewer, some of the examples are a bit hard to see in the book, but if you work along in Camera Raw that is not an issue. This book is a great learning tool and reference manual. The best I have found so far. Highly recommended.

I have a number of books that attempt to explain Photoshop CS3 and Camera Raw in particular. This book is, far and away, the best I have seen. It is extremely well written, easy to follow, and very comprehensive. I recommend it without qualifications.

How do professional photographers turn RAW data into fine polished results? Photoshop CS3 RAW: Transform your RAW Images into Works of Art explains how to use the Photoshop CS2 tool, surveying the basics of optimizing RAW images and deciding when to shoot RAW, how to organize and automate their processing, how to tweak the images with professional techniques, and more. Neo-pros need this - and any computer or photography library strong in Photoshop techniques will find it popular.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I have been very disappointed with the tutorial DVDs published on the subject of digital photography. Consequently, I turned to books - and purchased a good number of them. My reviews come only after I have studied each specific product. At this time, I am converting from film to digital photography and have spared no expense with regard to the purchase of books and tutorial DVDs in addition to attending courses on the camera and Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Having studied "Understanding Raw Photography" by Andy Rouse, this book takes that formative learning much further by putting what has been learned into effect coupled with CS3 and Bridge. Altogether, this is a serious learning curve and, speaking as one who is about to embark on an assignment which will take me away from home for over a year, it has to be right. As any regular reader of my reviews will know, I am quite happy to say a product is bad - but only when it really is BAD! In this instance, I get much greater pleasure from stating this product is excellent - but only because it really is EXCELLENT.

Perhaps, you already know (or at least think you know) all there is to know on this subject or perhaps you (like me) have the equipment but find the implementation quite daunting. Alternatively, perhaps you are wondering what to do and what to buy. My advice would be to purchase this book and study it carefully. Then, having read it, put it away for at least 7 days before reading it again. You really will be surprised at how much you learned first time around.

NM

The outstanding thing to note about this book is that is organized very systematically. Instead of being a breathless description of everything you can do with the software, Aaland focuses on why you would do something and how to do it. Its an effort that is fun to read and easy to reference.