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Title: Real World Digital Photography by Deke McClelland, Katrin Eismann ISBN: 0-201-35402-0 Publisher: Peachpit Press Pub. Date: 28 June, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $44.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.62 (16 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Photography, digital imaging, and Photoshop rolled into one
Comment: I am a newcomer (9 months) to the world of photography, graphic design, digital imaging, and since Christmas, digital photography. I have had a crash course in these subjects because of a new job, as I am now a magazine editor and webmaster with no training in any related topics. I have been frustrated all along the way as I've pieced together the basic concepts about scanning and fought to learn the horridly obscure Adobe tool interfaces of GoLive, PageMaker, and Photoshop. (Hard-core Office user here.)
This book brought it all together for me and made me a true convert to digital cameras. It provides step-by-step principles for anyone who needs things laid out a bit at a time, yet you can choose the chapters that relate to your present needs. For example, since I got a digital camera for Christmas, I skipped the chapters on buying one, and didn't miss out on a thing. But even better, they provide some basics for photography and for digital image correction in Photoshop, which was PRECISELY what I needed right now. If you're a beginner, but a fast, systematic learner, this book's for you.
I loved it, and I'm looking for more books by these two authors. I love their sense of humor and appreciate that they haven't made me feel stupid for not having learned all of this material somewhere else already. They're fun, kind, and supportive--not like that awful Dan Margulis of "Professional Photoshop," who spends as much time panning other professionals and making me feel dumb as he does teaching anything.
Rating: 5
Summary: very detailed, very comprehensive, and very useful.
Comment: So far I have not seen a better book on digital photography than this one. The authors did a great job of thinking about every aspect, every problem, every question that a person considering switching to digital photography may think about. They start with general practical questions, such as what are the advantages and disadvantages of digital photography compared to traditional film photography, how good a digital camera should be for each purpose, how much a digital studio would cost and how this cost compares with cost of photography on a film. Then they describe at length how digital cameras work, what features they must have and may optionally have, and to which extent these features are useful. Then they discuss what computer, printer, storage device, and software you will need to edit, store, and print your images. Some basic operations in Photoshop are explained, including preparation of pictures for the web. Finally, there is a very nice introduction in the essentials of studio and outdoors photography.
The style of writing is very nice - clear, detailed, but at the same time not too wordy. There is no silly jokes, and only as many pictures as necessary to illustrate the text. It is worth adding that since this book is not oriented at particular models of cameras, computers, or software, but rather deals with general ideas of digital imaging, it will not get out of date as fast as it happens with most books on computers and electronics.
Books as comprehensive and detailed as this one are few, and I can highly recommend it for anyone interested in digital photography. About 400 pages full of detailed information are certainly worth the price of this book.
I would characterize the level of this book from novice to intermediate, maybe even with some overlap with the advanced level.
Rating: 5
Summary: It doesn't get any better than this
Comment: Two thumbs up! I loved this book. Like a movie with subplots, Real World Digital Photography can be read and appreciated on many levels. It appears that the authors intend for it to be all things for all photographers, and in my opinion they've succeeded as well as can be expected. But if the book has one "focus", it would probably be for the experienced digital SLR user, and for the film SLR user who is considering making the conversion.
You can just use it as a reference book for questions about lenses, filters, white balance, metering, or practically any other photography subject - whether film or digital. However, many will prefer to read it cover-to-cover, even at 700 pages. The flow of the book is aided by innovative and intuitive approaches for the explanation of countless topics, including the comparison of the destructive effects of "over-editing" to too much sanding on a wood project. And the authors aren't afraid to voice their opinions about the benefits (or lack thereof) of Photoshop plug-ins, nor are they hesitant to make bold predictions - such as the forecast that tiff might eventually replace the psd format.
Every step along the way, the authors illustrate the differences between digital and traditional photography, which can give you a better understanding of photography in general. For example, the five-page analysis of the similarities and differences between film grain and digital noise provided a great platform for understanding both. The ten-page explanation of the ramifications of digital cameras' CCD's being smaller than a 35mm film frame provides a thorough understanding of lenses in general. The breadth of the book is, well, breathtaking, with every conceivable topic being covered -- from the authors' opinions on the best way to use histograms to artistic ideas for composition of your pictures to recommendations on which type of camera bag to purchase! Whew!
Speaking of histograms, a three-page section reporting Photoshop co-creator Thomas Knoll's opinions about the ideal histogram was pretty profound information that I've never seen anywhere else. For me, at least, this was worth the price of the entire book.
Most of the last 200 pages cover photo editing using Photoshop. I would describe these 200 pages as "meaty". There are no trendy Photoshop tricks here -- just solid photo editing approaches that are worthwhile for even the most serious Photoshop user. I enjoyed many of the authors' fresh viewpoints and approaches to essential digital photography editing. This section is probably too serious to constitute an introduction to Photoshop. Instead, photographers who are considering purchasing Photoshop for the first time could review these pages for examples of what the program can do.
If you're currently using a film SLR and you're thinking about making the move to digital, this book is a must. It gives you all the information you'll need to make the right decision on whether to go for a "point and shoot" or an SLR, and which features you might want. It might, in fact, cause you to decide to keep you film-based SLR and buy a digital "point and shoot" camera. Even if this book were to make you decide against making the digital conversion, I feel certain you'll gain a much better understanding of your film camera as a result of the in-depth film vs. digital comparisons.
Dennis Chamberlain
Adobe Certified Expert - Photoshop CS
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Title: Color Confidence: The Digital Photographer's Guide to Color Management by Tim Grey, Sybex ISBN: 0782143164 Publisher: Sybex Pub. Date: 19 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $44.99 |
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Title: The Adobe Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby ISBN: 0735714118 Publisher: New Riders Pub. Date: 04 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.99 |
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Title: Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, Second Edition by Katrin Eismann, Doug Nelson ISBN: 0735713502 Publisher: New Riders Pub. Date: 21 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
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Title: Epson Complete Guide to Digital Printing by Rob Sheppard ISBN: 1579904270 Publisher: A Lark Photography Book Pub. Date: 28 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Real World Adobe Photoshop CS by David Blatner, Bruce Fraser ISBN: 0321245784 Publisher: Peachpit Press Pub. Date: 24 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $49.99 |
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