Scott Kelby's best book so far!...
and the very best portrait retouching book for photographers on the market today.
This book is NOT for you if...
You are a professional full time retoucher. The techniques Scott demonstrates are primarily for photographers who retouch their own photos. I'm not saying retouchers won't benefit from this book. I know quite a few pro retouchers that could learn a thing or two from this book, but this book is more focused on the needs of photographers. Those who want to make their photography look as professional, polished and above all, as competitive as they can. Scott's techniques are simple, straight forward, and easy to follow. Best of all they are FAST. I do some work as a high end retoucher and it is not uncommon to spend a day or two retouching one photo. Scott discusses these high end retouching techniques but does not dwell on them. Scott's techniques are geared toward 99% of the photography produced today by portrait, wedding, and commercial photographers. Photographers who need to make their photos look their best in a reasonable amount of time.
What I like best about this book...
Scott has provided an extremely thorough check list for retouching photos. One of the questions I hear all the time is, "How do I know what I need to fix in a photo?" Well Scott's check list has you covered. He lists about 50 items or so that are commonly retouched, everything from sharpening eyes, to reducing hot spots, to body sculpting is listed . Scott also points out, very importantly, that you are probably not going to actually retouch everything on the list. You might have a photo that only needs two items from the list retouched or you might have to do twenty, but you will most likely never have to retouch everything on this list. The idea is you can go through the list and make note of what needs to be addressed and what doesn't.
I also really like Scott's, "12 Things you need to know to make your Retouching Easier". My favorite piece of advice from the "12 Things", is "#2: Walk Away after a while: If you've been retouching for a while, you start seeing everything as a problem to be retouched, and after about an hour, most folks start to over retouch and not realize it..." I wish I would of had this advice ten years ago!
Another really helpful part of the book is Scott's retouching workflows. Scott offers, "The 5-Minute Retouch", "The 15-Minute Retouch", and "The 30-Minute Retouch". These are perfect for the working photographer! Simply pick the workflow you have time for. You want to show something quick to your portrait client while they are still in your studio? Try Scott's "5-Minute Retouch" to whet their appetite. You'll be amazed the quality you can produce in just five minutes!
All of this information is provided in Scott's easy conversational manor with a big dose of his wacky sense of humor! What I have always liked best about Scott's books, DVDs, live classes, etc., is that Scott always makes you feel like your a friend just sitting down at the computer with him, having a few laughs and learning some really cool stuff! Maybe even have a beer or two...(Scott doesn't drink so I'll have his too, hic ;-)
In summary...
If you are a photographer that does any kind of people shooting, whether it's portraits, weddings, or commercial, and you are doing your own retouching, then you need this book. I guarantee your photos are going to look amazing!
A Quick Disclaimer:
I was the "Technical Editor" on this book. The tech editor gets to go over the book looking for any Photoshop goofs or maybe a procedure that isn't clear, etc. There were very few problems I was able to point out to Scott, after all he is, Scott Kelby! To be completely honest, it was a cake job and I was definitely overpaid. Don't tell Scott ;-)
So my point is I worked for Scott on this book and you might think I am biased. Maybe I am biased, but look at it this way who better than I, someone who is both a professional photographer and retoucher, someone who has read all of Scott's books (or at least skimmed them ;-), to know that this is Scott's best book to date? As a mater of fact I at least skim almost every retouching book that gets published each year.
Now I know a few cynical types will post comments on how I am brown nosing or sucking up to the boss... so be it. Long before I ever received a paycheck from Scott Kelby's company, I was a Scott Kelby fan.
