The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers | 
 enlarge | Author: Martin Evening
Publisher: Adobe Press
Category: Book
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $25.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 3015
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0321555619
Dewey Decimal Number: 006.696
EAN: 9780321555618
Publication Date: August 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
While Adobe Photoshop has long been their choice for editing digital photographs, many photographers want a more focused tool. That’s where Adobe Photoshop Lightroom comes in. Designed from the ground up with digital photographers in mind, Photoshop Lightroom offers powerful editing features in a streamlined interface that lets photographers import, sort, and organize images. This completely updated and expanded bestseller, The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book, was also written with photographers in mind. Author Martin Evening describes features in Photoshop Lightroom 2 in detail from a photographer’s perspective. As an established commercial and fashion photographer, Martin knows first-hand what photographers need for an efficient workflow. He has also been working with Lightroom from the beginning, monitoring the product’s development and providing feedback on the public beta. As a result, Martin knows the software inside and out, from image selection to image editing to image management.
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book contains 624 pages of comprehensive and detailed coverage of all aspects of Lightroom. In this book you’ll learn how to:
• Work efficiently with images shot in the raw or JPEG format
• Import photographs with ease and sort them according to your workflow
• Create and manage a personal image library
• Apply tonal adjustments to multiple images quickly
• Integrate Photoshop Lightroom with Adobe Photoshop
• Export images for print or Web as digital contact sheets or personal
portfolios
The book structure has been organized to match a typical Lightroom workflow. The introductory chapter provides an overview of all the main Lightroom features, showing how Lightroom 2 was used on a studio photo shoot that was specially shot to illustrate the book. The following chapters cover all the essentials, such as importing photos, working with the Library module, and managing the catalog database. The biggest section of the book is devoted to working with the Develop module and provides some unique insights into working with new features such as the localized adjustment tools. There is also a whole chapter devoted to image sharpening and another on integrating Lightroom and Photoshop, where you will learn how to devise the best workflow methods for working between these two programs. This is followed by a chapter on printing and a presentation chapter on the Slideshow and Web modules. Lastly, there are two appendix chapters. One offers a complete overview of the Lightroom 2 preference settings, while the other provides some in-depth explanations and background reading on how the Lightroom program works.
The book is richly illustrated, mostly using the author’s own photographs, and one of the nice features of this book is the way enlarged panel views are used throughout, making it easier for readers to follow the settings used in the various step-by-step examples. There are also lots of tips that will help you take your Lightroom techniques to an advanced level.
If you are looking for the most comprehensive coverage of Lightroom, written by an author who is closely involved with the development of the program, this is the book to get.
About the Author
Martin Evening is a London-based advertising and fashion photographer and noted expert in both photography and digital imaging. In addition to being a bestselling author, Martin is sought after for speaking and lecturing. He also works with the Photoshop and Lightroom engineering teams, consulting on new feature development and alpha and beta testing. He is one of the founding members of PixelGenius, a software design company producing automated production and creative plug-ins for Photoshop.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 One of the best books I have seen on digital photography editing August 24, 2008
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
I have a common complaint about most Photoshop and Lightroom books: they all go over the same basic information. Information that I have already learned by myself simply by experimenting with the software. How many times can people write the same basic-to-intermediate information on how to organize files, set white balance, adjust contrast, etc.? I am already an intermediate Photoshop and Lightroom user, so most books I have found do not offer enough new knowledge to make them worth the investment.
But Martin's book is different. In this book, I have been able to find detailed and advanced information that I have been unable to find in many other books. Everything I can think of in Adobe Lightroom 2 is clearly and deeply explained in sufficient detail to obtain the knowledge necessary to use the application at an advanced level.
Along with having the knowledge, the book does an outstanding job of communicating the knowledge. All information is discussed in full detail, with complete explanations of what the feature does, and detailed explanations of every step in the process of using the feature. There is never a feeling that some small amount of information was left out between the steps. Nothing seems to be "glossed over" as the explanations move from one step to the next. Additionally, the examples are detailed with lots of photos, with many of the examples having a photo for every step in the process of using the tool.
This review might not be useful to some if I don't find at least one thing to be less-than-ecstatic about. I can say that if you know absolutely nothing about Lightroom, are lost with it, and are looking for a very easy and basic book to get you started, this may not be the book for you. Martin's book is nearly 600 pages of deep detail. It may be a bit overwhelming if one is looking for an easy to read book on the basics. But if that is the case, I would recommend buying this book along with a more easy and high-level book on the basics. That would be a great pairing for someone who is just starting Lightroom, but is planning on becoming an advanced user.
If you would like to see some examples on the author's writing technique, he has written numerous articles on the Internet. Simply search for his name in an Internet search engine, and you will find some of the articles he has written. This can be useful if you wish to see an author's writing style before making a purchase.
If becoming an advanced Lightroom user is your goal, you owe it to yourself to get this book.
Excellent companion book... VERY useful reference August 24, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Basically, I highly recommend this book as *the* reference for Lightroom 2.
The author's writing style is quite clear, and is obviously based on access to inside sources within Adobe (it's published by Adobe Press!). It's no surprise that the book came out quickly after LR2's release, and that it is so well polished. This early access was also used to help the reader understand how/why various features were implemented as well as how the implementers envisioned the features would be used. This is quite useful, especially for advanced users.
As previously pointed out, this is not a prescriptive book. However, the "Develop" section does an excellent job stepping the reader through a recommended workflow through the basic settings, the tone curves, and then the spot/gradient tools. If you'd like a GREAT prescriptive book, check out Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies. Although it's written for Photoshop CS2, it does a great job walking the reader through the basics of camera calibration, lighting, and post-processing of pictures of skin. (Lee Varis has some DVDs that apply to CS3, but I haven't looked at them.)
What's not to like? The book is heavy and a bit cumbersome to read while using a computer. Seriously, I'd much rather have this book be the "Help" pages of LR2. Why programs as complicated as Lightroom (or heaven forfend, Photoshop) can't have reference books integrated as help files is beyond me.
It's also worth noting that the book went to press before the DNG profile editor (beta) was launched by Adobe. This tool allows the user to take a picture of a Gretag Macbeth color checker and then *quickly and easily* build a profile. LR2 can then be configured to automatically apply the profile to any image taken with the particular camera. So, the readers should completely ignore pages 310-311, and go to http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/DNG_Profiles%3AEditor to learn how to download and use the DNG profile editor.
Finally, I should say that I've been using Lightroom (on both PCs and Macs) since the beta. The quality and usefulness of the program have been increasing significantly since its early days. Aficionados are refered to http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/ for a great insider's look into Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom groups.
THE gold standard for seasoned Lightroom users -- whether struggler or striver August 27, 2008
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Adobe's Lightroom version 2 (LR2), designed for digital SLR photographers, offers non-destructive image management, a powerful photo finder panel, and freshly added localized tone/color/spot retouch brush tools much like Photoshop. Although LR2's Develop module can acommodate JPEG and other 8-bit color formats, its 'Adobe Camera Raw'-like processing engine shines with camera-native RAW formats (12-14 bits) or TIFF (16 bit) files. This is a formidable plus, as the high-end DSLR trend moves towards 16-bit data collected by a full-frame sensor -- besting 35 mm analog film at its own game.
Users new to LR ought to have a measure of comfort (readily mastered with Photoshop Elements) with RAW ['digital negative'] processing, as well as with Adobe's speedy keyboard shortcuts, before diving into this book. Although LR is quite intuitive, and its manual uncommonly instructive, this Adobe Press release may be tough sledding for tyros; my take would be to start with one of those hee-haw/dummy basic introductions--then add this book to fill in the many gaps. The Amazon price makes acquisition all the more irresistible.
Martin Evening, an early member of the Lightroom team (back to Shadowland days), long has provided from-the-trenches feedback, thus is uniquely positioned to comment on LR2's strengths and ideosyncrasies. Along that line, LR has an active user Forum whose critiques help Adobe fine-tune the product. The author's well-crafted words reflect that fruitful interaction ... this is far from a spruced-up remake of the original LR1 book, but rather a grand makeover, illustrated with live shoots; awesome in its breadth, depth and scope. Even advanced users will find this book a must-have purchase - if only to optimally implement LR2's numerous new features. [For instance: when to use 64-bit LR2, or when it might be overkill.] The text smoothly guides the reader through a studio workflow, introducing the sequence of modules from importing, tagging, and developing up to final presentation. Though illustrated with Mac screenshots, PC equivalents in menu layout are clearly spelled out, and keyboard shortcuts for either operating system are paired; Windows users need not feel the least bit slighted.
For the initiated, there is a dazzling melange of advanced topics: audio note-taking, catalog syncing, Mac and PC platform interchange, interactive camera tethering, GPS positioning to pinpoint a photo's location, and the wedding of LR's cataloging and bulk capture processing strengths to Photoshop's (or Elements') labor-intensive fine-tuning prowess. Even so, this is not a book to be read cover to cover over the weekend, but rather one to reference specific topics. Barely have the elements of the LR2 interface of panels and menus been covered, for instance, when (page 14) the Identity Plate is dissected in great detail; the 'Quickstart Guide' (page 22) - rather than a romp through the basics - plunges deep into well-honed workflow techniques of importing, organizing and developing images. Later chapters, fortunately, delve into these topics in superbly organized step-wise detail with lucid easily digested text and a refreshing touch of humor ... entertaining without being overbearing.
Niggles: readers might have welcomed a summary recap of a baker's dozen of should-know keyboard shortcuts for Win and Mac at the end of each module's chapter, to help recall those arcane key combinations sprinkled through the text. Also, the more esoteric technical topics might have fared even better had they been bundled into one final 'crown jewels' chapter, rather than strewn a bit choppily through preceding chapters.
This softcover book, though daunting in size, is highly recommended to LR users from intermediate to those climbing the peaks. The text is well rounded, with finely honed words printed on quality paper and, with an abundance of screenshots and striking color illustrations, makes for a splendid reference guide that will bring timid users up to speed, yet seamlessly transitions to the very limits of LR's rich repertoire ... including a treasure of industrial strength workflow tips for high-volume professionals. This truly is a modern Lightroom 2 "Bible" that serves equally well as advanced learning tool or as a comprehensive topical reference guide to LR2.
Lightroom 2.0 is going through the expected growing pains of a major revision; a version 2.1 update to remedy transition bugs may be expected shortly. It is comforting to know that, should major program changes/additions be introduced, the author will post a matching no-cost in-depth update to the book in record time; as he demonstrated when Adobe introduced the LR 1.1 package.
Lots of very important features/improvements very well explained September 8, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
in this Lightroom 2 book, Martin has obviously heeded critiques of his LR1 book and has given us a veritable gem...I have not and wont buy Kelby's attempt at Lightroom 2 because his LR1 book was very close to useless...so as yet I have nothing to compare with but probably i will only look at Beardsworth's if he does produce one, his LR1 was a terrific quick study and entree to the product. Martin's book is definitely not a quick study but is so full of great explanations and examples that i have actually read it from cover to cover and have re-read and taken notes on many subjects. Images that i had prevously thought were as good as i could get them in LR1/PS CS3 i have now re-edited in LR2 only, with amazing and very easily achieved results..The book also offers many useful tips about exposure considerations in the field...If you are really into digital photography but resent the time you are spending in the digital darkroom, this book is a MUST HAVE.
Excellent guide to LR2 November 10, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Evening's guide to LR2 is an excellent piece of work. It is well written and illustrated, clearly organized, comprehensive, and accessible to a wide range of readers. It will be valuable for all levels of LR users.
There are two aspects of Evening's book that I particularly like. First, he puts LR2 in a richer photographic context by including useful short discussions of topics like color management, capture and output sharpening, raw vs. jpg formats, and exposure. He goes beyond the recipe approach, enabling photographers to develop a more thorough appreciation of how to integrate LR2 into their workflows. There is lots of "why to" in Evening's book to go along with the "how to."
Second, Evening makes good use of his understanding of the way LR2 works. He points out, for examples, that the standard Saturation adjustment is linear, while the Vibrance adjustment is nonlinear; that the Clarity control works by sharpening midtone edges; and how algorithms underlying the Exposure/Recovery and Fill Light/Blacks tools are different. Information like this allows photographers to understand how to use LR2's tools individually and in combination to make both more efficient and more effective decisions in processing their images.
To test this, after finishing Evening's book, I made virtual copies of a dozen or so recent "keepers" I'd already processed and printed, then followed his recommended work flow, and compared the two sets of images. I found myself using some tools differently (e.g., Fill Light), some for the first time (e.g., adjusting Split Point sliders on the Tone Curve), and some tools less (e.g., Brightness/Contrast). Not only did I arrive at satisfactory results more quickly following Evening's recommendations, but in most images the tonal nuances are better defined.
This is the best of the several LR2 guides I've read. My recommendation: If you want to understand as well as use LR2, read Evening's book. If you just want to use LR2, read Kelby's. Both are good, but Evening's is richer and ultimately more rewarding photographically.
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