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Getting Started with Digital Imaging, 2nd Edition

Getting Started with Digital Imaging, 2nd Edition

by Joe Farace
Publisher: Focal Press
Release Date: November 2006
ISBN: 9780240808383
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Book Description

Whether you are using a digital compact or dSLR camera to shoot, or a Mac or PC to manipulate your images, Joe Farace explains what products are out there-and how to use them to get the best shots.

While most books offer photographers tips and tricks for working with the latest software package, this book offers a new approach to working with digital images:

Learn how to use digital imaging tools - not just a particular software package - to produce professional prints or digital images for the web.

Getting Started with Digital Imaging offers a new approach for amateur photographers working with digital images. It takes you behind the screens, showing you how to use the tools - not the software itself - to produce professional prints or digital images for the Web.

Joe Farace guides you through the entire digital workflow, from choosing the right digital camera, setting up your digital darkroom, learning the key imaging tools and shortcuts, understanding file formats, printing and preparing images for the web.

Packed with step-by-step tutorials, case studies and invaluable tips from the pros, this guide will help you get to grips with digital imaging and produce fantastic results in no time at all.

* Guides you through digital workflow from capture to output
* Relevant for ALL digital imaging software
* Real world examples and invaluable tips are clearly explained with high quality full color images and screengrabs

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Foreword
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
    1. Fantastic Four
    2. Capture the Sun
    3. Artificial Lies
    4. Home Field Advantage
    5. Print the Image
    6. Presenting the Image
    7. Torn Curtain
    8. Two-Minute Warning
    9. Fun with Dick and Jane
  9. 1. Welcome to the Digital Darkroom
    1. Back to the Future
    2. A Shot in the Dark
    3. Don’t Go Near the Water
    4. Permanent and Temporary Storage
    5. The Monitor and Merrimac
    6. Monitor Checklist
    7. Rocket’s Red Glare
    8. Out Here in the Real World, and I Don’t Mean MTV
    9. Operation Swordfish
    10. Riding the Resolution Carousel
    11. Good Resolutions
    12. Trading Places
    13. The Bottom Line
  10. 2. Tools of the Trade
    1. Candid Cameras
    2. How Many Megapixels are Enough?
    3. Digital Film
    4. How Fast is Your Memory Card
    5. The Big Three
    6. Real World Testing
    7. Scanners
    8. Pick a Scanner; Any Scanner at All
    9. Scanner Slang
    10. Keepin’ It Real
    11. Duck Soup
    12. The Importance of Being Earnest
    13. Hub Cap World
    14. Memory Card Readers
    15. Real World Tests
    16. The Mouse That Roared
    17. Just What I Need
  11. 3. The X Files: Don’t Fight the Future
    1. The Ipcress Files
    2. I am a Camera
    3. The Gang That Couldnd’t Shoot Straight
    4. Crossing Delancey
    5. Lost in Translation
    6. Revenge of the Sith
  12. 4. Before Opening Raw Files
    1. Getting Started with Raw
    2. I’ll be Back with You in a Byte
    3. Should I Work with 16- or 8-Bit Files?
    4. Eight or Sixteen?
    5. Space: not Necessarily the Final Frontier
    6. Other Voices, Other Options
    7. Exif 2.2
    8. Perfection?
  13. 5. Working with RAW Files
    1. Lets Get Raw
    2. The 800-Pound Gorilla
    3. What’s New Pussycat?
    4. Show Workflow Options
    5. Crop Size: Does Matter
    6. Resolution: of the Matter
    7. Settings? not more Settings?
    8. The Adjust Tab
    9. And Now for the Rest of the Story
    10. The Detail Tab
    11. The Lens Tab
    12. Calibrate, Calibrate, Dance to the Music
    13. Converting to Black and White
    14. Transfers: Gateway to Photoshop
    15. Baking a Batch of Chocalate Chip Actions
  14. 6. Opening the Software Toolbox
    1. Send in the Clones
    2. What Kind of Computer?
    3. How much does it Cost?
    4. Image File Formats Handled?
    5. Does it Accept Photoshop-Compatible Plug-Ins?
    6. Using Digital Imaging Software
    7. A Peek Inside the Toolboxes
    8. Painting Tools?
    9. The Magic Wand
  15. 7. Understanding Layers
    1. Layers of Creativity
    2. The Layers Palette
    3. Adjustment Layers
    4. Simple Use of Layers
    5. Two Faces of Japan
    6. Speed Thrills
    7. Making Collages and Mosaics
    8. Create Collages
  16. 8. Traditional and Non-Traditional Tools for Digital Methods
    1. Retouching Tools and How to Use them
    2. The Band-Aid Tool
    3. Traditional Tools for Digital Methods
    4. Burn and Dodge
    5. The Cropping Tool
    6. Lighten/Darken
    7. Levels and Curves
    8. Brightness and Contrast Control
    9. Non-Traditional Tools
    10. Unsharp Masking
    11. External Solutions to an Internal Problem
    12. Sharpness vs. Blur
    13. Digital Blur and Soft Focus
  17. 9. Power Tools
    1. Photoshop-Compatible Plug-Ins
    2. Enhancing that Image
    3. Manipulating Images
    4. Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire
    5. Film Grain VS. Digital Noise
    6. Moonstruck
    7. Photoshop Actions
    8. MAC OS? Windows? doesn’t Matter!
    9. This is a Recording
    10. Commercial and Freeware Actions
  18. 10. The Monochrome Difference
    1. In Camera
    2. Black and White with Color Filters
    3. In-Camera Color Effects
    4. I Can do that in Photoshop!
    5. The Digital Difference
    6. Channel Mixer
    7. Monochrome Power Tools
    8. It was a Dark and Stormy Night . . .
    9. The Duotone Command
  19. 11. Making Photo Quality Ink-Jet Prints
    1. Ink and Paper Compatibility
    2. Printing in the Real World
    3. Practical Color
    4. Monitor Calibration
    5. Output Solutions
    6. Ink and Paper
    7. Alternative Inks
    8. Black and White in Color
    9. The Print Button
    10. Get to Know Your Printer Driver
    11. A Personal Test Print
    12. Ink-Jet Paper Choices
    13. Print Longevity
  20. 12. Preparing Images for the Web
    1. The Pixel Parade
    2. The Machine that goes Ping
    3. Save for Web
    4. Web Tips
    5. Jpeg 2000
    6. Tools of the Trade
    7. Photo-Sharing Websites
    8. Other Websites
    9. Cybertheft
    10. Basic Protection
    11. Embed Protection within the File
    12. Take Action
  21. Glossary
  22. Index