Reviews

Digital Photography Expert Techniques

Ken Milburn

O’REILLY Press 467 Pages - 13 chapters. $44.95 US

“Professional Tips & Workflow Strategies for Using Photoshop to Enhance Your Digital Photography Skills”

When offered the chance to review this book I could not pass it up. As I look at the bookshelf above my desk I count eight well worn O’REILLY tomes. Those eight are not photography books. This will be my first O’REILLY book on photography. Only slightly intimidated by the “Expert Techniques” in the title I open the book and start scanning. There is a heavy emphasis on Adobe Photoshop but in digital photography where isn’t there? He does include some references to other software and more references to Corel products then one might expect..

I have picked up this book about fifteen times. My intent on each occasion is to scan the material and try to give you a summary of what the book is about. Each time I have failed miserably. My failure is entirely the fault of the book and the author. I end up reading word by word whatever section I open.

The writing is good. It’s not Stephen King but it flows very smoothly and there is plenty of information.

I think this is one of those books that you will want on your shelf as a reference and as an inspiration. I can see picking up this book on a cold winter night and giving myself an assignment to “try” one of the multitudes of ideas in each chapter. The thorough index makes it an easy to use reference.

While not written for a novice there are enough basic tips that a newbie won’t feel it is over their head. You will quickly work your way into the more advanced sections and techniques.

This book is not for the film photographer trying to decide if digital is right for them. It is for every digital photographer. Only six months ago I would have said every Digital SLR photographer. With the recent advent of Digital compact cameras producing raw files through lenses ranging from 24mm to 400mm (35mm equivalent) on an 8 megapixel ccd, no digital photographer should be excluded from the books audience.

Illustrations abound on every page. Except for the index and table of contents there are probably less then 10% of the pages without an illustration. The samples are not intimidating. The author does take pictures as bad as I can. Yes, he may well have done them on purpose to illustrate his text, while mine are far from planned. His examples don’t intimidate.

There is easily $45.00 worth of education in this book. I’m giving serious consideration to a purchase on half.com – Hey I am a lifelong frugal New England Yankee.

Charlie Strong, February 12, 2005

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Chapter 1 sets the table and gets everyone on the same page with digital photography terms PLUS. Chapter 2 “Be Prepared” is chock a block full of tips.

Chapters 3 – 10 are the Expert Techniques. It does not mean you need to be an expert to use them. They are full of tools, tricks, ideas and methodologies that you will use as you become a better digital photographer. Chapter 10’s title and contents will generate some controversy – “Creating Fictional Photos” is definitely about one of the more controversial aspects of digital photography. Before you judge it too harshly – remember dodging, burning, double exposure and sandwiching negatives.

Chapter 11 is an excellent discussion of color printing. Containing explanations of resolution, image sizes and monitor-printer color matching tools and software. One of my favorite tips is from chapter 11 – Tip1 – Take good care of your printer – Figure 11-24 “This cover, a large kitchen wastebasket bag, costs only pennies, fits all desktop printers, and is easily replaced if soiled or torn”

Chapter 12 – “Use Pictures to sell yourself” - I kept skipping this as I really don’t want to tempt myself with the idea of selling photographs. Then I read some of it. Good tips in the section on framing – more in create a portfolio – read it even if your not planning on selling

Chapter 13 is on selling it on the web and I didn’t scan it.

Easily $45.00 worth of information. I’m giving serious consideration to a purchase on half.com – Hey I am a lifelong frugal New England Yankee.

Charlie Strong - February 12, 2005

Subject: Book Review by Angela Fiore

Member of Springfield Photographic Society

O’Reilly User Group Program

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY POCKET GUIDE SECOND EDITION

Author: Derrick Story

Derrick Story has written an excellent user’s guide for digital photography – “Digital Photography Pocket Guide Second Edition”. It’s the perfect size for carrying with your digital camera and equipment. It contains tips from basic photography to the workings of the digital camera. I recently received a digital camera as a gift and was basically clueless on how to work it. Along with my camera manual, I carry the Digital Photography Pocket Guide. It has helped me take some pretty decent photos in some not so great circumstances. It has helped me work with lighting, composition, exposure compensation and digital settings. I was very impressed at the end of the book to find information on resizing photos for sharing via e-mail. It’s great information for that not-so-knowledgeable computer operator. It even has a quick reference table for various camera settings. It’s very user friendly!

I think this book is great for amateurs as well as professional photographers. It’s easy to read and is surprisingly detailed for a small pocket guide. It gives tips for every style of photography from landscape to sporting events. I do not take digital photos without it close at hand. It’s a great value at $14.95!

I owe a great deal of thanks to Derrick Story for helping me take better digital photos. Thanks Derrick!

Subject: Book review by Jerry Nardi

Photo Retouching with Photoshop: A Designer's Notebook

Translated by Marie Laure CLEC'H

Publisher: O’Reilly

It is difficult to claim that you know all that you need to know about digital editing before reading this book. After you skim through this book you know you need to know more. After reading it, you know you’ve learned a great deal. The information contained in “Photo Retouching with Photoshop: A Designer's Notebook “does a good job of getting the reader into the “pro” level of thinking. The details are elaborated and basics are duly considered superfluous. Don’t expect to be hand-lead though click-this-button and double-click that. Instead read this from a level that asks “what is the goal?” and “what tools get me there?”

The book consists of articles written by various digital artists from France. The translation carries much of that French flare and poetry into English. For example, G. Niemetsky’s attention to detail and interpretation is vividly evident in his article “Image Restoration”. If you’ve ever tried to scan and restore an old photo you will appreciate the attention to apparently minor edits which actually make a major difference to the final print.

If you are experienced with Photoshop and know where to find the tools, then this book certainly will show you how to best use them. The technique of adding clouds to the sky and shadows to the building was beautifully illuminated in the T. Granier article “Bloody Mallory”. (You can read this article online at the O’Reilly website.)

There are gaps in my digital-photo skills that made me frustrated at times, and partly awe-stuck, about some of the articles in this book. The delicate nuances about color balance and tone in V.Risacher’s “Beauty Institut” made me blush to know how little I now know about the elements and the psychology of a good portrait. The F. Quinio article about stitching together photos to make a larger panorama left me baffled and challenged. From this article, two antipodal conclusions were evident for me: 1) the auto-stitching tools are good enough (for now), and 2) I have resolved to try and retry his technique in Photoshop until I can understand and master these beautiful, seamless panoramas.

One or two challenging articles and six others that are lucid and informative is, to me, the sign of a good book. If you still do not know where Photoshop hides “perspective” or “Darken blend mode” then don’t buy this book (yet). But if you do know, and you want to learn more, and you want a glimpse at how the professionals are thinking, then this is a mandatory book for your digital-photo collection.

Subject: Book review by Nicholas DeCondio

Title: CREATING PHOTOMONTAGES with PHOTOSHOP

Author: William Rodarmor

Publisher: O’Reilly

First, I have to say that this book overall is very detailed to a person with knowledge of Photoshop. This is a book for the advanced to professional who likes to be inspired by how other photographers like themselves can accomplish various projects to make the impossible seem possible once they read this book. It is a well layed step-by-step book with excellent illustrations and narration. It’s great to see how a professional executes a project that has been given to him or her. It’s like going in their mind and sees how their artistic mind works. I would definitely recommend this book to be part of any Photoshop user’s library. There is one addition if possible to include inside this book is a CD. I believe that by including this CD and showing step-by-step processes you will capture a wider audience all the way down to amateurs to read this book.

Subject: Book review by David Bowman

Title: Adobe Photoshop CS (one-on-one)

Author: Deke McClelland

Publisher: Deke Press/O’Reilly

Date: Dec. 2004

It is a pleasure to read this book, both because it is clearly written, and because it contains an ample supply of visuals, graphics, and other useful illustrations. This more than meets the expectations a reader would have on a textbook designed for students new to Photoshop. It includes an array of illustrative techniques to help guide the student through the book’s many and varied topics. Deke McClelland has presented the material so concisely that there is no ambiguity in his coverage of the techniques and tools encountered in Adobe Photoshop CS. In addition, again as one might reasonably expect, the book comes with a CD-ROM, which provides a video lesson for each of the twelve lessons, one per chapter. The CD-ROM video lessons are carefully explained in the text, in a step-by-step fashion, with very well printed graphs that clearly differentiate even the finest of details.

To assist the reader working through the various topics in each chapter, the author includes several very helpful study techniques. The “Pearl of Wisdom” technique provides additional material to help the reader expand on the concepts being covered. Although this material is not essential for the understanding of the core material of the book, it does expand the reader’s horizon. There are “extra credit” sections which do not need to be read, but if read stretches the reader to achieve a greater understanding of the topics. Very important conceptual material is presented against a colored background in order to clearly differentiate it from that portion of the text material, which corresponds to the step-by-step lessons. In addition, each lesson contains, of necessity, detailed steps or actions corresponding to the numerous commands available with Adobe Photoshop CS. These steps are clearly numbered sequentially, printed in blue type, followed by black type explaining each step. As a result it is quite easy to visually work the lessons, apply the tools as needed with the CD-ROM illustrations, and understand the purpose and techniques of each lesson. Throughout these lessons the author has incorporated illustrations of the monitor screen, as it will appear to the student indicating the selections to be made from the Adobe Photoshop CS commands.

The student that masters the material in this book will have good foundation in the powerful tools of Adobe Photoshop CS. As a result all of the basic actions one might wish to take on a photographic image will be known and experienced. It will provide the student with the background needed for more advanced work in Photoshop. In addition the book will be a good reference source for reviewing commands when necessary.

Due to space limitations, or perhaps because the book is geared to students new to Photoshop, some topics are omitted which on might hope would in fact be included, if only briefly. Lesson 12 covers Printing and Output. However it provides little insight into the complex issues of color management, and the attendant problems of color space as applied to computer hardware. For the student new to producing computer output, there is a need to guide through the maze of paper, ink, and printer options available on the market today. Another topic which the student will need to address at some point in more detail than available in this book concerns the issue of optimal scan sizes and file sizes, both for working in Photoshop, and in the prints to follow. However these omissions are not critical to the basic goal of the author in writing a textbook which will provide a strong foundation it the power of Photoshop. This he has done very well.

Dave Bowman is the owner of J. David Bowman Photography which he established in 1995. Prior to that he was an associate professor first at SUNY Oswego for 14 years, and then at Western New England College for nine years. He is a member of several professional photographic organizations, including the Connecticut Professional Photographers of America; the Professional Photographers Association of New England; and the New England Institute of Professional Photographers. He has received numerous awards for his portrait and fine art photography.