By Mikkel Aaland
First Edition
July 2007
Pages: 350
ISBN 10: 0-596-10099-X |
ISBN 13: 9780596100995
(Average of 6 Customer Reviews)
Completely up-to-date for Photoshop Lightroom 1.2, this beautifully illustrated and eminently practical book offers a complete tour of Adobe's integrated digital photography workflow application. Augmented by photos and case studies from a demanding road test in Iceland, award-winning photographer Mikkel Aaland explains how Lightroom 1.2 allows you to import, select, develop and showcase large volumes of digital images.
Full Description
After watching -- and often helping -- Adobe create Lightroom entirely from the ground up, Aaland (author of Photoshop CS2 RAW) was ready to see how well it would do in the field. He organized a group of 12 top-notch photographers for a trek to "Nature's Light Room", the pristine Icelandic landscape where each summer day is bathed in 22 hours of horizontal light -- and where the only studio was Lightroom on a laptop. In Photoshop Lightroom Adventure, Aaland uses hands-on knowledge from the trip to demonstrate how Lightroom 1.2 can help you create the best possible image under any conditions.
This unique tutorial walks you step-by-step through Lightroom's:
- Library module for uploading, sorting, tagging, ranking and adding keywords to your images
- Develop module with Adobe Camera RAW for complete non-destructive color and tonal adjustments
- Slideshow module, where you select and size images, and export the show to HTML, Flash, or PDF formats
- Print module, which includes several templates for printing contact sheets or full images
- Web module, where you can create Flash or HTML web galleries
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Book details
First Edition: July 2007
ISBN: 0-596-10099-X
Pages: 350
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 6 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
Photoshop Lightroom Adventure, April 02 2008
The book is about mastering Lightroom, Adobe’s next-generation tool for digital photographers.
It is written by Mikkel Aaland with easy-to-follow text and many illustrations, including double-page photo spreads. The book was written after 12 professional photographers and five Adobe Lightroom team members made a trip to Iceland together. Each photographer has taken one of their pictures and illustrates a certain feature of the program that they used to enhance their photos.
The first part of the book is about importing organizing and stacking your photos.
After getting used to the work space and the tool bars I really began to enjoy the new format. They have a section on using “quick develop” using your own presets.
A great feature is the white balance setting. It works on JPEG and TIFF files but is much more effective on RAW files. This feature enhanced my photos a lot.
I went back and reworked a lot of my pictures that were in my computer and was very pleased with the results.
I was very impressed with cropping in the Develop Module. No more guesswork in hoping that it is correct. The noise reduction feature is great. Once you find the best setting for your camera, you can save the setting to use in the future and it will help you work faster.
The sharpening tool gives you so much control with the sliders. I found that to be a great and most helpful feature.
The feature that was my favorite was the Tone Curve Advanced Control. It is set so when you click on the curve a bubble appears; you cannot drag it to the point of where it gets distorted. I used this a lot on some of my old pictures of the Grand Canyon and was able to bring out the colors that were hidden because of the light and shadows in the canyon.
There is a chapter on black and white conversion, when to use color tinting, grayscale, and other special effects.
There is a whole section on exporting your pictures to show to friends and family or over the internet. The slideshow module has many features, including a template browser, you can add text, music and you can even export it as a PDF slideshow, or a QuickTime slideshow.
The last chapter talks about the print module. It shows you how to add text, frames and many other features.
I have only mentioned a few of the many features that Lightroom has and how the book covers them all in great detail with illustrations. I downloaded the trial version and now am purchasing the program. This is a great book that is well worth the money to get you started using Lightroom and gets a jump start at learning the shortcuts and features.
The best Lightroom book, October 28 2007
I have every book published about Lightroom. All of them are great book, but Lightroom Adventure is the only one where you can go beyond the how to into the why.
Beautiful illustrated you are able to experience when, why and how to use Lightroom by looking over the shoulder of others that have use the program.
Great Job!
A most rewarding reading experience, October 10 2007
When I really got into photography I could not stand editing my photographs. I personally find Photoshop to be more work than it's worth. A fellow club member introduced me to Lightroom. I enjoy editing so much more now. With this book it even became easier and faster to do. I was unaware of all the things that lightroom could do.
I found this book to be one of the better written books on Photoshoping yet. It was easy to read and especially easy to follow along as you try the things described in the book. For me, I learn by doing. With this book you can just pick it up and read it or you can follow along and try the things being described right in the program.
I found the photographs in the book very interesting and again they followed along with the text and you could see what was being described. In all a very good book that I have recommended to all the members of PhotoKenosha. This book has brought some people out of the I don't like Lightroom idea.
Spectacularly Beautiful and Well Written, August 20 2007
From the day I first tried Lightroom I quickly became an evangelist. Though still having room for improvement, Lightroom is hands down the best photo workflow management & adjustment software I have used. As a photographer I am continually asked what software I recommend, but with that I am also asked to teach how to use it.
Now I have found the book I recommend to others looking to dive into a serious application for their photo management and development. Along with the fun storyline accompanied with amazing photos from a land most of us will never see, the book is informative and easy to follow.
Though some assumption is made as to general knowledge with working a computer and dealing the importance of developing photos, even a beginner to digital photography can make their way through the instructions and visuals. If I were pressed to pick an intended audience it would be the amateur photo enthusiast who is looking to graduate from Picasa or iPhoto. The semi- or beginning pro would also find great value in this book as a wonderful introduction to the software that is to become their primary interface post photo shoot.
Though I would have enjoyed even more tips and tricks along with situational secret recipes, I recognize the need for the overview aspect of the majority of the book.
As Lightroom is really manual-less other that a spartan help section, this truly is the missing manual everyone first timer should read.
Well Written, Organized, Photographed, and Explained, August 10 2007
Photoshop Lightroom Adventure
Mastering Adobe's next-generation tool for digital photography
by Mikkel Aaland, published by O'Reilly
Reviewed by Hal Work, Eureka Photoshop Users Group, 8/10/07
In 2006, twelve photographers and five Adobe employees traveled to Iceland for an adventure. The adventure was two-fold; photograph Iceland and field-test a beta of Adobe's new Lightroom software with the help of the five Adobe folks most of whom happened to be on Adobe's Lightroom team.
The cover blurbs speak glowingly of the beauty and wealth of the contents of the book. It's all true.
The subtitle is accurate. You can learn Lightroom from this book. It contains coherent explanations and copious screenshots.
The layout of the book is very well organized. When I went looking for things, I could find them.
What differentiates this book for others are the beautiful Iceland images and Chapter 8. That chapter is called “Develop Recipes from Iceland.” Each recipe shows the before and after images and the Develop Module setting that enabled the changes. Settings were used for tasks that they really weren't meant for.
I've been using Lightroom from beta 3 up to version 1.1 which this book is written to. I'd already learned most of the “inside the box” processes in Lightroom. But, this book showed quite a few “outside the box” processes.
I was so pleased with the book that as soon as I had finished it, I called another member of our user group who had just downloaded the trial copy of Lightroom the day before and offered him the book. I have nothing but glowing things to say about this book. It's rare when I'm this excited about a book.
Sumptuous travelogue; glibly superficial instruction manual., August 02 2007
Mikkel Aaland has written some outstanding user guides for Adobe imaging software. As a coffee-table glossy travelogue, the book's images shine. But it's a tail wags the dog situation when it comes to actually using the product -- here the text glosses over the tough parts and ignores differences between the Mac and PC platforms. Typo's are legion, proofing is lackadaisical. Altogether, a handsome paperweight that disappoints in the lack of real meat. Even Scott Kelby does better than that!
Media reviews
"If you have worked with Photoshop, Elements or some of the other photo editing software out there and want to learn how to use Lightroom, Photoshop Lightroom Adventure will provide you with a unique opportunity to see how many of the master photographers and leaders within the industry use Lightroom and just as importantly, the photos that they took on this adventure. The imagery is just astounding. Interlaced throughout the book are the photos that they took along with the why and the how...If you want a truly wonderful adventure in learning Lightroom, then Photoshop Lightroom Adventure has your ticket. One additional note Photoshop Lightroom Adventure is the first book that includes the tools provided by Lightroom 1.1 and so it is completely up to date."
-- T. Michael Testi, Blogcritics Magazine
"The book, part road trip, part photo essay, is rich with images and easy-to-follow directions on how to emulate them."
-- Alysha Sideman, Let There Be Light: Become a Lightroom 1.1 Master, ImagingInfo.com
"If you want a book to learn or better understand Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, I can recommend Mikkel Aaland's Photoshop Lightroom Adventure (O'Reilly Media) as a good option...There are oodles of online training resources for Lightroom, from Adobe and others. Aaland's book holds its own here, walking users through all the tools and modules. It's amply illustrated with luscious photos he and colleagues took on a trip to Iceland, photos that are useful both to compare the effects of various changes and to inspire photographers to go take their own pictures."
-- Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com: Underexposed
"I'm not a pro. I need clear and easy to follow directions and, as a visual learner, lots of visual examples. This book is easy to read (unlike most books on digital photography), beautifully illustrated, and very helpful in learning what is a first rate and user friendly program...Among the many strengths of this book is that it's been updated for the vastly improved 1.1 version."
-- Mark Phillips, Amazon.com
"...I can recommend Photoshop Lightroom Adventure without reservation. It is visually a treat, and it covers the use of Lightroom in a well presented and coherent manner. It also is one of the few books on Lightroom currently available that covers V1.1."
-- Michael Reichmann, Luminous Landscape
"Their in-depth Lightroom immersion and round-the-clock interaction led to some dramatic results, which Aaland describes in useful and attention-holding detail. The text is supported by numerous photos (in various stages of development) and detailed explanations of how these results were obtained. Several of the participants created detailed "recipes" which are presented in a form that will aid you in applying them to your own images. And Aaland does all this while still covering Lightroom's command and capabilities module by module. The best Lightroom book so far."
-- David Arnold & Gail Rutman, PhotoStockNotes
"With many gorgeous examples shot in the soft natural light of Iceland, this book lets you see the results for yourself. Mikkel Aaland’s trademark ability to teach complicated topics on digital imaging with straightforward, easy-to-follow text makes this book a valuable learning tool for anyone serious about digital photography. This is not an update of previous Lightroom versions, but the first book written specifically with Lightroom 1.1 in mind."
-- Chris Marshall, Chris Marshall Website
"Great book, not only from a reading perspective, but from an art perspective. The book is beautiful, inspiring, and informative. I really enjoyed the read, and the pictures are fabulous....I love the way the book tells a story as well as teaches you about the software. Mikkel does a great job teaching about the software, I learned a great deal about the software and found that I really like it. The imagery in the book is breathtaking and, Mikkel really helped me develop my photography eye further to make my images much more appealing. I thought the book not only teaches you how to use the software, but also how to critique photos."
-- Scott Powers, Amazon.com
"Browsing through the book feels like pleasantly enjoying a first-rate coffee table book or travel photography book on a relaxed evening at home; the full-page and full-spread photographs of Icelandic scenes were so masterfully done you could be forgiven for thinking this book was intended for something else...The real genius of the book lies in the various ways the photographers in the team used LR in tweaking their images. The master photographers in the Iceland team made brilliant contributions to the book, describing how they achieved the final look of their images...In all, a superbly produced book. Highly recommended."
-- Chris Malinao, StudioLighting.net
"The photos that make up Mikkel's book are stunning. They help provide the context for what can be done in the post processing of digital images in Lightroom. Not only does Mikkel use the images of the 11 photographers to help illustrate the how-to aspects of the software, his book contains really elegant full and two page size spreads of each individual photographer's selected work. Images vary from scenic, landscape photographs, to ones involving hired models. Mikkel introduces the work of each photographer, providing a little background about the image and what post-processing was done in Lightroom... Like many other photographers, I worked with Lightroom in beta stage and all the way up to its full 1.0 release. As for as I know, Mikkel's book is the only only one of the crop of books about Lightroom that is written for changes to the 1.1 version of the software. Recently there has been another update, 1.2, but it mainly addresses performance corrections and additional camera model support. So in using Mikkel's book, you're getting the most update information about Lightroom's current features."
-- Bakari Chavanu, MyMac.com
"Mikkel’s book is well written and I wholeheartedly recommend it if you are looking for something to explain all the features of Lightroom in plain English. His writing style and presentation match mine, so it was a perfect match for my learning style. As with most programs, there is so much hidden beneath the surface that isn’t revealed until someone else shows you the ropes. Mikkel not only shows you the ropes, but he shows you how to make the program sing. Mikkel is a great writer and I’m hoping to get to meet him one of these days to shake his hand on a job well done."
-- Mike Hagen, Out There Images
"The book also covers impressive ground in terms of exploring and explaining the features of a complex application. There is coverage of virtually everything you'd like to know about Lightroom - which pretty much encompasses all the recent advances in PC-based digital picture processing. Thus the book is also a really good tutorial of the subject as well."
-- Aspi Havewala, Blogcritics Magazine
