Getting the best out of your digital darkroom
Katrin Eismann and Sean Duggan set out in 'The Creative Digital Darkroom' to share some of the creative concepts and techniques they use when working in the digital darkroom. It's " ... more than just a book of Photoshop recipes and quick tips ... [it's about] How to look at the image and 'listen' to it; how changes to the delicate matrix of light and shadow tones can transform the mood and meaning of a photo; how to sculpt with light and contrast; and how to imagine colour and tonal changes that will best express your vision for the photograph."
Katrin is an internationally respected artist, teacher and writer specialising in creative digital photography. Sean is an art photographer, educator and Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert.
They hope the book will serve as a good travel companion as the reader explores their photography in their own creative digital darkroom.
The book was written for Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, whether on a Windows or Mac platform. The authors contend that the book's general principles can also be applied by those who prefer using other software.
Comprised of ten chapters, the book proceeds on its way along a sensible and well-organised path. A brief introductory chapter summarises the tools, terms and techniques in digital darkroom work and overviews the workflow from image capture to print, reflecting the structure of the book.
Chapter Two covers in much helpful detail the requirements of setting up a workable digital darkroom. Hardware, peripherals and software, system calibration and a range of Photoshop preferences and settings are described. It includes a very clear exposition on the bane of digital darkroom users' lives - colour management.
Now that the darkroom is set up, the following eight chapters work their way sequentially through scanning, developing, and organising; file preparation; tone and contrast; dodging, burning, and exposure control; colour correction; creative colour; creative enhancements and, finally, enhancing focus.
Each of those areas is dealt with authoratively and with finesse.
There are several things I liked about the book. It's a remarkably thorough and well organised guide. Graphics and photographs are used sufficiently to illustrate the authors' points. It has good ample use of dialogue box screenshots which are concisely annotated where appropriate. Comparative and before/after images are used effectively to highlight the effects of applying different creative ideas.
There's a handy summary at the beginning of each chapter to introduce the reader to what follows. A comprehensive index is included.
Finally, there's a companion website offering additional information plus download access to many of the book's images to help achieve a richer learning experience. It's at www.creativedigitaldarkroom.com.
Greg Davies
The Apple Users' Society of Melbourne
www.ausom.net.au
gteat resource
Great book for those familiar with Photoshop. Not a book for novice users. Well written, good support images.
Excellant book on digital enhancement
At first glance the title might make you think this s an digital art type book but it is not. Katrin and Sean are experts on how to enhance your photos from RAW to finished print (online bonus chapter). The book is filled with color examples and explanations on how to modify a picture for the best look. While it is centered around Adobe Camera RAW and Lightroom, I find the examples to be quite easily applied to Bibble. If you are trying to upgrade your skills using todays computers and software, this book will greately enhance them. It is like being tuttored by Katrin and Sean. I highly recommend this book. Also, take a look at [...] for RAW software.
Solid Information
We all know that film photography will likely be around to some degree forever and ever, but we also know that just as snapshot processing kiosks have disappeared from parking lots, the general public's dedication to film cameras is already dead. Computerized post-processing is now squarely in the hands of John Q., and ever-increasing numbers of people are learning how to take and produce better photographs. In addition, really excellent and complex cameras are finding their way into the hands of more and more people.
"The Creative Digital Darkroom" is for people who are interested in making their photos better than the ones in Uncle George's cell phone. It's thorough, solid, informative, and serious in its approach to photographic post-processing. Yes, it's Photoshop and Lightroom specific, but let's face it: despite the many good digital dark-room programs available, Adobe's are the flagship standard.
In my photo club, there are still the hold-outs who think that "photo-shopping" is cheating ... that the best photograph is the one that is perfect right out of the camera. While there's more than an element of truth in that, it's also true that what all of us shutterbugs are ultimately after is a compelling image. It's also true that plenty of chemical manipulation goes on under red lights and closed doors. This book does a wonderful job of explaining what Adobe software tools do and teaching how/why to use them. Anyone wanting to learn how to effectively approach digital photoprocessing professionally(there's a nice section on scanning film pictures or old family photos into Photoshop, too,) from workflow and choosing storage systems to the creative manipulation of photographic elements, will find this book a great place to start.
How creative?
The title suggests that the book will help readers to be more creative digital photographers. What I found is that it helps by providing useful techniques for developing digital images. I found the techniques well presented and quite useful. The creative part is the photographer's responsibility.
(28 reviews)
