Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4: A Photographer's Handbook [Paperback]

Stephen Laskevitch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2012

Adobe Photoshop is central to almost all photography workflows and Lightroom has rapidly been adopted as well. Each new version of the software is a milestone in the development of these vital imaging tools, and the 2012 releases are no exception.

Photographers often feel overwhelmed when starting with Photoshop; the sheer number of tools and options make it difficult for the novice. There is no shortage of instructional books, yet very few direct the user to the most significant aspects of the program in a way that reflects a real workflow for the photographer.

Adobe Certified Instructor Steve Laskevitch has leveraged his experience as a teacher and practitioner to create a guide that provides a clear and effective workflow for editing photographs in Photoshop CS6 and its companions Bridge, Camera Raw, and Lightroom 4. Focusing on the critical elements of the workflow rather than covering every arcane feature, this book is designed to get you working quickly in these applications.

In addition to the essential features of these programs, Laskevitch covers new features specific to the 2012 releases, including:

Lightroom geocoding-Quickly tag a photo with location data; Photoshop's Blur Gallery (Tilt-Shift, Iris, and Field Blur tools)-Add selective focus and bokeh effects; New development controls in Lightroom and Camera Raw; Recomposing or retouching photos with the Content-aware Move Tool; Publishing to Blurb directly from Lightroom; Video (no longer limited to Photoshop Extended; Adaptive Wide Angle-Make straight lines straight again; Face-Aware Mask Generation-An improvement to Color Range; Intelligent Auto-Correction; Adobe Camera Raw 7-Local controls for White Balance and Noise Reduction; New Black/White and Highlight/Shadow controls

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve Laskevitch, founder of Luminous Works Training & Consulting in Seattle and a teacher for almost three decades, has designed workflows for hundreds of photographers and companies. As an Adobe Certified Instructor, he trains creative individuals and firms and has regularly helped Adobe Systems prepare Photoshop Certified Expert exams. Steve has always enjoyed creating photographs-in the field, studio, or lab; on film and digitally. Students of all levels have appreciated Steve's friendly and approachable style in the Luminous Works classroom and at the colleges, universities, and conferences where he has taught.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Rocky Nook; 1 edition (August 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1937538036
• ISBN-13: 978-1937538033
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.9 x 9.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Arts & Photography > Graphic Design > Commercial > Branding & Logo Design
  • #98 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Media Management > Photo Editing > Adobe Photoshop

More About the Author

Steve Laskevitch, founder of Luminous Works and a teacher for two decades, has designed digital workflows for hundreds of photographers and companies. An Adobe Certified Instructor, he trains creative individuals and firms and has regularly helped Adobe Systems prepare Photoshop Certified Expert exams. Steve has always enjoyed creating photographs-in the field, studio or lab; on film or digitally-as well as working with computer graphics. Students of all levels have appreciated Steve's friendly and approachable style in Luminous Works' classroom and the colleges, universities, and conferences where he has taught.

Steve has a degree in physics, but a passion for the arts. With his wife, Carla, "travel" usually means wonderfully long visits to art galleries and museums. Home is Seattle where he teaches and enjoys the company of his friends and family.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Choice August 23, 2012

By Bill Trueit

Format:Paperback

This book has outstanding organization, concise and clear writing, and makes points crystal clear with impressive images and screen captures that are labeled beautifully. It is no surprise that the author, Steve Laskevitch, is an experienced teacher and trainer. In actuality this book is a class covering how to use the most sophisticated image editing tools available, Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4. This book serves a beginner well because it introduces important terms and even how to set up software preferences so that the user can get the most out of their experience. The explanations give you a solid understanding with careful efficiency.

The illustrations throughout are second to none. On page 53 there is a 3-D illustration that is the best I have ever seen to teach the concept of layers in Photoshop. It slices a multi-layered file in Photoshop and labels it to perfection. Screen captures also do a fantastic job of showing the reader what is happening in a given window. Laskevitch takes great effort to label and highlight the points that he is trying to illustrate.

After the introduction, the author offers a logical workflow that provides the structure for the majority of his book. He begins with "Capture & Import," progressing to "Organize and Archive," "Global Adjustments," "Local Adjustments," "Cleanup & Retouching," "Creative Edits & Alternates," and finishes with "Output." This works well because it allows the reader to "chunk" a manageable set of steps and tools to practice before moving on to what would be a sensible next step. Get through the whole book and you are well on your way to producing satisfying quality work.

This book is also comprehensive without being overwhelming. A beginner, would be able to have a strong grasp of how to use a large portion of what Photoshop CS6, with Adobe Camera Raw, and Lightroom 4 has to offer. More advanced users of Photoshop will find that this book serves them as an up to date reference for the newest features offered in the Adobe products covered. One thing I learned was how to dodge and burn without using the traditional Photoshop tools that I have used for years, the dodge and burn tools. On pages 200-203. Laskevitch uses an intelligent non-destructive technique using Curves adjustment layers and masking to dodge and burn. The masking method allows you to repeatedly adjust the image without destroying a single pixel. I think a lot of long-time users of Photoshop and Lightroom are likely to find a few new tricks they may have overlooked by buying this book.

This book is for someone who wants to learn a step-by-step process to craft a photographic image like a professional. As a rabid consumer of Photoshop books, manuals, magazines, and on-line training, if I could only have one item Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4: A Photographer's Handbook by Steve Laskevitch would be the best choice!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than 5 stars! August 28, 2012

By Andrew Kavanagh

Format:Paperback

Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4: A Photographer's Handbook is divided into two sections-
Section 1: The Setup, and Section 2: The workflow.
This book reviews the technical details of setting up preferences and settings, and the creative process to develop your photos in the best way possible.

I love the way that Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4: A Photographer's Handbook shows how one would work similarly
in Bridge/Adobe Camera Raw and in Adobe Lightroom.
And helpful suggestions, settings, and keyboard shortcuts are interspersed throughout.

Chapter 6 on Global Adjustments is excellent.
Concise but professional descriptions of the tonal adjustment tools/panels like Levels, Curves, Brightness & Contrast,
Shadows/Highlights, HDR Toning, and the various color adjustment tools/panels such as Vibrance & Saturation, Hue/Saturation, and more!
Sharpening and Noise Reduction, and Lens & Composition Corrections are also examined.

Easy to read and comprehensive make this a great photographer's handbook.
And in my opinion better than a 5 star rating!

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Still a Jumble September 28, 2012

By Conrad J. Obregon TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

There are a lot of similarities between the image processing functions in Photoshop CS6 software, including the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in, and Lightroom software. For example, Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Lightroom all include similar functions for controlling tonality. In addition, a companion, but separate piece of software that comes with Photoshop, Bridge, also provides some functions similar to Lightroom. Thus, the image processing features this book attempts to explain and distinguish can be confusing.

The book begins with a general section describing the basic functions of all of the software with a short look at the interface that each provides. The second section describes the actual workflow, considering capture and import; organizing and archiving images; global adjustments; local adjustments; cleaning and retouching; creative edits and alternates and outputs. Within each of these sections the author sometimes breaks down the functions by software such as Bridge/ACR, Lightroom and Photoshop. Often he presents the key concepts related to a function, including a discussion of how it is similar and different in each program. He distinguishes the software he is talking about with symbols in the page margin for the software.

The introductory chapters are quite well written, but in the later chapters I often found the distinction between the software confusing. Moreover jumping back and forth between the different software makes it difficult to understand how the workflow through any one piece of software might work. Added to that was the fact that the level of detail provided was often inadequate for a beginner. I frequently found that it was only because I was well familiar with all of the software that I could understand the author's point.

As a typical example of the problems of explanation, consider the discussion of printing. He begins by describing printing in Photoshop (even though in describing most other functions, he begins with Adobe Camera Raw and Bridge). In the Photoshop discussion he explains how to soft proof an image. (Soft proofing is a method of adjusting the image on one's monitor so that it resembles the way the image will look when printed on a particular type of paper and finish.) When he gets to Lightroom, he doesn't even mention soft proofing, which is one of the major new features of Lightroom 4.

Given the similarity of many of the tools in each piece of software, one might wonder which software is best for each function. The author does not answer this question. In fact there is practically no discussion of a way to integrate these programs for the best possible outcomes.

There is clearly a place for texts that relate to the integration of image processing software. Unfortunately, this is not one I would recommend.