Real World Compositing with Adobe Photoshop CS4 [Paperback]

Dan Moughamian (Author), Scott Valentine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0321604539 | ISBN-13: 978-0321604538 | Edition: 1

In Real World Compositing with Adobe Photoshop CS4, Photoshop experts Scott Valentine and Dan Moughamian explain the key elements involved in planning and executing a composite imaging project. Readers will learn about the importance of the planning process, including tips on how to develop creative ideas and stay organized as their project evolves. In addition, they will pick up vital techniques for acquiring and perfecting source images in Photoshop CS4, before bringing them together as a seamless composite. The powerful new 3D features found in the Extended edition are also discussed as part of a 2D-3D workflow.

Serious photographers and digital artists wishing to produce photo-realistic imagery or surrealistic artwork by blending—or compositing—multiple images and light sources can learn all they need to know right here. Building from the reader's existing skill set of Photoshop fundamentals, the authors provide detailed examples and explanations that cover the newest features in Photoshop CS4 and also utilize a variety of tools and software applications.

More than just a Photoshop guide, this book takes a holistic approach, instructing readers on photographic planning and techniques, key design concepts, visual perception, and robust image editing techniques. This is an increasingly popular approach which requires the digital artist to become more involved in the presentation and concept of their images. Real World Compositing with Photoshop CS4 delivers the information readers need, to produce the best possible composite imagery.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dan Moughamian is an experienced compositor and fine art photographer of landscapes and urban architecture. He has more than 14 years of experience with Adobe Photoshop and is an Adobe Certified Expert. As a veteran member of their testing programs, Dan has worked directly with Adobe Systems and the Photoshop team, to help define and enhance many of the core compositing functions in Photoshop. Dan has also channeled his passion for teaching Photoshop and photography, into a series of new training videos available from designProVideo.com. Dan resides in suburban Chicago with his wife Kathy.

Scott Valentine is an award-winning experimental photographer and long-time Photoshop user in both artistic and technical capacities. He contributes considerable time to the Photoshop and digital photography communities at AllExperts.com, CommunityMX.com and one of the longest-standing Photoshop web communities, PhotoshopTechniques.com. Scott has a deep understanding of digital imaging and optical physics, and served as a subject matter expert in microphotography and technical image analysis at a national laboratory. As a member of Photoshop's prerelease teams, Scott has access to all the latest features and thinking from Adobe on "what's next." Keep up with Scott at blog.lightningsymphony.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (January 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321604539
• ISBN-13: 978-0321604538
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,305,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Bother, October 5, 2009

By 

Tom Clark (Duvall, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Real World Compositing with Adobe Photoshop CS4 (Paperback)

This is really an instruction manual on how to sell a book with a misleading title and virtually no useful content for a hefty price. I kept waiting for the authors to quit wasting time and actually get to the "Industrial-strength Imaging Techniques" promised on the cover. It never happened. After 200 pages of filler, there are a few actual examples of compositing, but nothing you couldn't readily find online for free. A complete disappointment, especially considering it's published in association with Adobe Press. Some free advice for Adobe Press: before you put your name on it, try passing it by one of your editors, eh?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Real World Compositing for Photoshop CS4, November 10, 2009

By 

K. Hession "Digital Finisher" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Real World Compositing with Adobe Photoshop CS4 (Paperback)

I actually enjoyed all the chapters on preparation of your images and setups before tackling a compositing job, it was learning some new things mixed with reviewing/validating overall Photoshop features and workflow sequencing. I equated this book to being similar to painting a room. 90% of the work that will determine a superior quality paint (compositing) job lies in the hours spent getting the right materials, tools (images), and taping/prepping the room (prep-retouching/correcting). The actual painting (compositing) is just the almost-final step in the process, with some cleanup/tweaking at the end. Most important is to collect images with similar lighting source and image quality. It is very fakey to Photoshop-change the lighting on faces, buildings, landscapes, etc. to match other images' lighting if you don't have any artistic sense or experience.

My big gripe is the example composites in the back of the book. They were very amateurish, fakey and dorky, and did not show much of the tutorial lessons in them. One of the images of an old village countryside with a domed building - a mansion and a tree in the far background were too huge and out of proportion for their distance. I was hoping for more commercial compositing samples, like theatrical movie key art collages with FX layers, automotive brochure-type beauty shots and advertising art, and/or fantastic fantasy/sci fi composite imagery. This is not an ultra-advanced book, seemed aimed for high-beginner/low intermediate Photoshop students.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To the point, yet full of helpful information!, July 29, 2011

By 

Andrew Kavanagh "Drew K" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Real World Compositing with Adobe Photoshop CS4 (Paperback)

Real World Compositing with Adobe Photoshop CS4 goes over the many processes of creating a photo composite in a clearly explained, and at times simplified manner.

Compositing topics such as color correction for compositing, creating 3D content, retouching, layers and layer masks,

blurring for selective focus, and getting your image ready for output are all included.

This book will have you feeling inspired, and will enable you to look at various compositing ideas and options you may have overlooked or didn't even know existed.

Real World Compositing with Adobe Photoshop CS4 is to the point, yet full of information,

making this book helpful both to a novice and experienced Photoshop user alike.