Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Photographers' Guide (Paperback)

by John G. Blair (Author)
Key Phrases: template browser, tone curve, slideshow module, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Library Module, Develop Module (more...)

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Product Description
There is no doubt that the digital photography revolution has opened up a world of wonderful possibilities for photographers of all levels. However, the issue of processing workflow can present a true challenge. The number of photographs that a photographer shoots with a digital camera increases tremendously over what might be shot using standard film. After the shoot is over, each of these images must be processed and edited on a computer monitor--and this can be a daunting task. Adobe Lightroom Photographers' Guide offers a solution to this challenge, providing photographers with a hands-on guide to Adobe's Lightroom product. Using the features offered by Lightroom, it tackles the issue of workflow, providing photographers with a helping hand through the complexities of digital and RAW format workflow.

About the Author
John began writing and photographing in elementary school, publishing and selling his own newspaper at age 10. He has been a professional photographer for over 35 years. He is experienced in boudoir, portrait, wedding, commercial, editorial, and fine art photography. He has been working in various aspects of digital photography since 1991, starting in Photoshop 2.5! His boudoir photography and scenes of him at work were featured on the French television program, ¿This Crazy World¿.
He has taught courses, presented seminars, and lectured on photographic and business topics to groups of all ages from middle school children up through professionals. John¿s award winning work has led to his being named Photographer of the Year twice in five Northern California counties. He has received a number of awards and honors from the Professional Photographers of California. His studio is located in the redwood forests of Northern California. In his spare time, he is a volunteer firefighter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598633392
• ISBN-13: 978-1598633399
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,444,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, If You Know Photoshop, May 29, 2007

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

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a piece of image processing software the basic functions of which are fairly easy to intuit, which is a good thing given the insubstantial written instructions that come with Lightroom. However users who expect to get the most out of Lightroom will probably benefit from reading a book to learn some of the more advanced features of the program.

John G. Blair's guide covers almost all of the additional functions that are possible to squeeze out of the software and individuals familiar with Photoshop itself will not have any problem visualizing how to apply these functions to their images. The book is profusely illustrated and the pictures are just big enough to see what sliders and buttons have been used for a particular result. On the other hand photographers coming to Lightroom without Photoshop experience may be at a loss because the author rarely puts the functions into the context of image processing. For example in discussing the Develop Module, he accurately tells the reader that adjusting the Exposure slider mainly affects the upper part of the histogram and is roughly equivalent to changing exposure. Users familiar with the levels function of Photoshop or with Adobe Camera Raw will see the similarity and know how to use the function. But image processing beginners probably will require a little more information.

Similarly, in discussing Lightroom's export function, Blair tells the user that one can automatically send a picture to Photoshop and run an action by creating a droplet in Photoshop. There are even experienced users of Photoshop who have never created a droplet, so this kind of instruction requires more detail.

Blair also ignores one of the greatest weaknesses of version 1.0 of Lightroom, i.e., the sharpening function (although Adobe has promised improvements in this regard in version 1.1). The way experienced photographers are dealing with this is by transferring the image file to Photoshop for sharpening, but the author generally ignores Lightroom and Photoshop integration, in this and other regards.

As one gets closer to the end of the book, the chapters on outputs like the Slideshow, Print and Web Modules seem to grow sparer and sparer. In part this reflects the fact that these modules contain fewer options than the Library and Develop modules, but it also seemed as if the author were running out of steam.

Readers experienced in Photoshop, who are interested in a bare bones explanation of Lightroom, will find that this book contains all they need. Readers wishing to put the capabilities of Lightroom into a broader context will be happier with a book like Scott Kelby's thorough "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers" (providing they can take Kelby's broad sense of humor).