Not bad, but in need of a print update
|
The content that's in the book isn't bad, doesn't waffle too much, and goes about things in a very practical and informative manner and would be an essential purchase were it not for the fact that it hasn't kept up with the software. There are some sections that only tell half the story (or less), particularly those on noise reduction, sharpening, exporting and keyword management.
The publishers provide a pdf update, but it's a supplement rather than the whole book and that makes it awkward because it means there's no single definitive resource.
My recommendation would be to try and make do with the help available from the Adobe WEB site and buy this book when it's been updated to reflect the current software version. This is particularly so, given that the first beta of version 2.0 is available, and that's sufficiently different to 1.* that it'll render the book irrelevant.
The publishers stuck a label to the front of the book mentioning the update. Fine except that it's next to impossible to remove without either leaving a sticky patch or damaging the cover...
|
|
Well structured and well paced informative book
|
This book and Andy Rouse's book on Understanding Raw Photography are all you need to grasp far more than the basics and to be able to use RAW photos in Lightroom competently and with confidence.
This book is written thoughtfully and with intelligence. Careful, illustrated/demonstrated examples of the points which the author is making are presented throughout. Every word counts. None of the swaggering self-agrandisement which seems to characterise the writing style of Scott Kelby.
It is a mystery to me how the Peachpit Press can produce this excellent book by Martin Evening on the one hand and the shabby effort by Kelby on the other
|
|
|
Good, but...
|
|
For anyone who has bought the original Lightroom v.1.0 and upgraded to v.1.1, then this book can be frustrating. I downloaded the 178 page ugrade PDF file from the publisher's site, printed it out and now have to sit with both book and printout to see where the new version takes over from the old. It's time Martin Evening persuaded the publisher to match the new Lightroom with a revised version of this otherwise excellent book. Had I realised what a pain in the backside this would entail, I'd have bought another guide to Lightroom v.1.1.
|
|
|
Excellent
|
This book is excellent if you want to get the best from Lightroom.
Yes Lightroom has changed since the book was released, and you can download 180 pages from the publishers to get the details of the changes. I got the download first, then the programme and then the book. 80% of the book is still needed, and after a couple of days ploughing through it I had changed the way I had been doing my workflow and have been getting better results then I had with Bridge and CS2.
Some reviews claim the book has been outdated by the upgrade in verisons of Lightroom, but as per above, 80% of the book is still relevent, so if you are thinking of getting Lightroom, then I'd urge you to get this too.
|
|
|
Another superb book from Evening
|
|
As a fan of Martin Evenings 'Photoshop CSx for photographers' I had huge expectations to his Lightroom book. After fiddling around with the beta version of the SW for a while, the level of frustration was not getting lower. This book came to the rescue. Very well written and to the point. A logical structure building on the sw 'interface'. Nice examples illustrate the different topics. The layout of the book is pleasant. If I should highlight one negative issue it must be that it sometimes feels a bit long - the 'why and how' could have explained with fewer words. However, this is not a major point.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada