Photoshop CS2 RAW: Using Adobe Camera Raw, Bridge, and Photoshop to Get the Most out of Your Digital Camera (Paperback)

by Mikkel Aaland (Author)
Key Phrases: file info, color noise reduction, batch rename, Smart Sharpen, Image Processor, Use Auto Adjustments (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The RAW file format is the uncompressed data file captured by a digital camera's electronic sensor. When your camera saves an image in RAW format, settings like white balance, sharpening, contrast and saturation are not applied to the image but are saved instead in a separate header. Because RAW files remain virtually untouched by in-camera processing, they are essentially the digital equivalent to exposed but undeveloped film.

This makes RAW an increasingly popular format with amateur and professional digital photographers, because it affords greater flexibility and control during the editing process-if you know how to work with RAW files.

Most digital camera manufacturers supply their own software for converting RAW data, as do some third party vendors. Increasingly, however, the RAW converter of choice is a plug-in included in the latest version of Adobe Photoshop, the most popular and widely-used digital image editing tool in the world. Adobe Photoshop CS2 is emerging as the best place to edit RAW images, and the best way to master this new format is with Photoshop CS2 RAW.

An important book dedicated to working with RAW in Photoshop, this comprehensive guide features a unique design that helps readers grasp the subject through visual instruction and prompts. The entire RAW process is explored, from shooting to using the Adobe plug-in converter and new Bridge navigation software. The primary focus of Photoshop RAW is, as the title suggests, Photoshop editing technique: automating RAW workflow, correcting exposures, extending exposure range, manipulating grayscale and working with the new DNG (Digital Negative) open standard that Adobe supports.

Presented by photographer Mikkel Aaland, a pioneer of digital photography and author of eight books, including O'Reilly's Photoshop for the Web and the award-winning Shooting Digital, Photoshop CS2 RAW investigates and instructs in an accessible visual style. Required reading for professionals and dedicated photo hobbyists alike.

About the Author
Mikkel Aaland is an award-winning photographer and and the author of nine books, including Photoshop CS2 RAW (O'Reilly 2006), Shooting Digital (2nd edition, Sybex, 2006), Photoshop Elements 4 Solutions (4th edition Sybex/Wiley, 2006), Photoshop for the Web, 2nd edition (O'Reilly, 1999), Still Images in Multimedia (Hayden, 1996), and Digital Photography (Random House, 1992), Since 2001 Aaland has been a regular guest on G4's Call For Help TV Program with Leo Laporte. In 2003 he was a guest columnist for newsweek.com. In 2004, Shooting Digital was named the best "Digital Photography" book of the year by the Designer's Bookshelf.

Aaland's documentary photographs have been exhibited in major institutions around the world, including the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and the former Lenin Museum in Prague. In 1981 he received the National Art Directors award for photography. He has contributed both text and/or photography to Wired, Outside, Digital Creativity, American Photo, The Washington Post, and Newsweek, as well as several European publications.

Aaland has been a pioneer in digital photography, an interest that dates back to a 1980 interview he conducted with Ansel Adams. When Aaland asked Adams what he would be pursuing if he were just starting out, Adams discussed at length his fascination with digital photographs of the planets. Aaland has pursued this new technology since its infancy. During the 1980s he reported on digital photography as west coast editor of the Swedish FOTO magazine, and wrote a column on the subject for American Photographer magazine. Aaland is one of the few orginal Adobe Lightroom's alpha and beta user, and he served as an unpaid advisor on the project for over a year.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; illustrated edition edition (March 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596008511
• ISBN-13: 978-0596008512
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #233,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best book on the subject, April 17, 2006

By	David A. Huss (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This full-color book offers clear and concise instruction that takes you step-by-step through the process of using the Camera RAW plug-in in Photoshop as well as the related sections of Bridge and CS2. The author not only explains how to use the settings but devotes entire chapters to some of the problems that can, and often do occur - like dealing with digital noise. I appreciate the fact that he doesn't treat the Camera Raw plug-in as the be-all, do-all tool in Photoshop but rather presents equivalent tools in CS2 that many times are a better choice for particular lighting situations. The layout and organization of the book reminds me of one of Scott Kelby's books; the two major differences being the author doesn't include rambling witticisms throughout the text and unlike the aforementioned books, I think that he thoroughly covers the topic rather than just the highlights. The book's organization allows you to quickly find the desired topic (or in my case, problem area) and read a brief description and ways to either perform the action or resolve the problem. To date I have read three books on the topic of working with Raw files using the Camera Raw plug-in filter and this book is far superior to any title I have reviewed. If you are a photographer shooting Raw images this is the only book you will need - period.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for Starters, May 21, 2006

By	Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is another entry in the Adobe Camera Raw ("ACR") sweepstakes. These are the books that tell you how to use ACR, which is the front end of Adobe Photoshop, and which is used to process digital photographs taken utilizing the RAW format. This is the format that provides more information and opportunities to control the image than the JPEG format, but also requires more manipulation to get the photograph from camera to final output. There is other software that can be used to process RAW images but Photoshop, with good reason, dominates the market.

Aaland's book is clear and understandable and provides the information that people need to use ACR, particularly if they can't get a handle on Adobe's rather bare-boned and non-linear instructions contained with Photoshop. After a brief discussion of RAW as a format, Aaland starts with a discussion of Adobe Bridge, which is a picture management program provided with Photoshop, the knowledgeable use of which will contribute to effective processing in ACR. He then discusses each of the tools available in ACR and tells you how they work. Where there are similar tools available in both ACR and the main Photoshop program, such as sharpening and noise correction, the author compares them and presents arguments as to when each of the similar tools is best used. He discusses using RAW for generating black and white pictures (although he did not convince me that this was a better approach then creating them in the channel mixer facility of the main Photoshop program) and using the Adobe DNG file format. He finishes up with a brief tour of multiple picture processing and automated functions like actions, contact sheets and web gallery creation.

Other than as mentioned above, there is no discussion of processing in the main Photoshop program.

There are other books that deal with the ACR function. Like Aaland's book, John Canfield's "Raw 101" is aimed at the beginning ACR user. It seemed a little skimpier, and didn't cover all of the non-ACR functions that Aaland covered, but it also addressed Photoshop Elements, although not in
elements' latest iteration. Rob Sheppard's "Adobe Camera Raw for Digital Photographers Only" is limited to ACR in Photoshop only, is much more detailed then either Canfield or Aaland, emphasizes the artistic use of ACR, and might prove just a little daunting for newcomers to Photoshop.

My own feeling is that no one who realizes the capability of Photoshop and wants to employ that capability will feel content reading just one Photoshop book. Each additional book will show how to get more out of the software. Aaland's book will be a good start, but it shouldn't be the end of the educational process.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice introduction to RAW, May 24, 2006

By	L. Somers "Poor dog" (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book after reading the other 5-star reviews, so I thought Wow! This must be it! Well, it's almost 'it'. The book gives a well-written and useful explanation of what RAW is all about, and also shows some good examples of what you can do with RAW. It also helps you to decide when to shoot in RAW or when you'd better just switch to JPG.

Unfortunately, the images used in the book are of poor quality, both in terms of press and art. Actually they are just ordinary snapshots, for which JPG would be enough. The photos don't contribute so much to the text, because they are quit messy. Often it was not very clear what a certain change in Photoshop really does with the picture. The images are quit dull and smudgy.

Text however is clearly written, and after reading this book you have a very good impression about the power of RAW and how you can greatly enhance your photos by using Camera Raw and PhotoShop CS2. It gives you enough starting material to go on. Too bad the author didn't use more appealing pictures to show what awesome things you can do with RAW. From a award-winning professional, I expected high quality images and print.

Nevertheless I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to use RAW and who can work with Photoshop. You are able to master several important techniques with this book by your side. Then proceed to the next step: enhancing your finest pictures to exceptional pieces of art.