Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 16-20 of 93
 Best Lightroom 2 book out there. June 20, 2009
Eric D. Brown (Dallas, TX)
I've been walking reading and using Scott Kelby's The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers and am amazed at how easy Kelby makes things seem.
The book is the ONLY book I'd recommend for Lightroom 2. It walks you through everything you'll ever need to use in Lightroom 2 and provides screenshots for darn near every step.
It's the perfect book for anyone wanting to learn Lightroom 2. Not only does it provide step-by-step guidelines for using LR2, it also provides tips and tricks for setting to the tool up to make workflow easier.
High Recommended!
 good for people who like tutorial-style instruction June 3, 2009
max m (phila, pa)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is set up as a series of tutorials/walkthroughs, and at this it does a very good job. I also like S. Kelby's humor (the "black clothes" one is so funny and true).
The problem is that not all features in LR are suitable to be taught with a tutorial. Because of this, many features/controls are left out, or are talked about who knows where in some of the many step-by-step procedures. They are just not in one plce, easy to find, and to grasp.
What I needed, after learning all the basic procedures/features, was a book with a very comprehensive index that would address specific features and suggest workflow ideas.
I still have the Kelby book but I ended up buying the Martin Evening "PS LR2 book". It's much better, and much bigger (in this case the size of a book may tell you something about how much material is covered).
Before I finish this review, I want to give you an example of what I meant above:
I wanted to know all the features and uses of the image retouching module (top right in the develop module). Well, in the Kelby's book this is treated as part of a few step-by-step tutorials on
how to achieve certain effects. In the Evening book there is a 10 or so page section that talks and show all about these tools, with screen-shots to show exactly what happens when you do something. Furthermore, Evening also shows some workflow examples where he uses these tools.
Pros: very clear and easy to follow, very appropriate for a beginner.
Cons: not comprehensive for the more curious/advanced user; leaves out a wealth of information about metadata, workflow, and lacks specific sections that address single features in detail.
Excellent Introductory Tutorials.... June 1, 2009
Learning All The Time (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had no experience with Lightroom, and was not anxious to move out of my comfort zone (Photoshop Elements 5.0, shooting jpg files), but when I received the software as a gift with instructions to shoot my photos in RAW, I decided to take the plunge. And now I just LOVE Lightroom.
This book was incredibly easy to use, the instructions were clear and the images helpful. I had the book open right next to me as I opened the software program, imported pictures and started to process them. It really is like having a friend right next to you, "first do this, then do this, then do this, and last, do this", as opposed to a reference book "Mmmm. Let me look up the chapter on importing pictures. Okay, now let me look up the section on Basic Settings. Okay, now let me look up the section about how to turn on the brushes."
I am sure I will eventually purchase a comprehensive reference type book, because I am dying to learn everything there is to know about Lightroom, but for getting started right away, with some very pleasing results, this Kelby book is outstanding.
Scott Kelby has written the 2nd best Lightroom 2 book available May 31, 2009
A. Saunders (Denver, Colorado United States)
88 out of 88 found this review helpful
Like most of Scott's offerings he does a good job with his book "Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers". The problem is it just didn't work for me. I did learn a few things about Lightroom 2, but in the end I was disappointed with my purchase. I had been looking for something to speed my workflow through Lightroom by suggesting a logical path of steps, giving some good tips, and then getting out of my way.
I was still shopping around when I found Nathaniel Coalson's book Lightroom 2: Streamlining your Digital Photography Process. This was the book I was looking for. Nathaniel sets out to give you the tools to carry out your vision, streamline your workflow and then gets out of your way. Perfect.
Both these books provide the basics of using Lightroom 2 - there is no arguing that. What is different is how one book gives you recipes and formulas while the other gives you a strong foundation for building your workflow. Here are some key differences in the two books that I feel make Nathaniel's offering stronger than Scott's.
Nathaniel's book is laid out in classic form - text interspersed with graphic examples. Shortcuts, tips, warnings and reminders are all identified by small graphic symbols in the main body of text. Scott has put his graphic examples front and center. This forces his text to the margins of the page in smaller font which I found harder to read and, more importantly, harder to skim when looking for an answer.
Scott's book walks you through the basic Lightroom 2 commands in a step-by-step fashion. If you are fairly new to computers or have never used Lightroom you might prefer his book. On the other hand Nathaniel does a very good job explaining image capture basics, presents the logical steps you'll follow from importing your images to processing them and starts you thinking about the end goals you have for your images. If you've used computers before or have tinkered with the Lightroom 2 program Nathaniel will get you on task faster.
This brings me to one of the more important differences between the books. One of the most powerful aspects of Lightroom is its ability to help manage images, acting as both an image processor and DAM (Digital Asset Management) tool. Managing a large number of images requires a well thought out workflow - something simple yet consistent that we can shape to our particular needs. Nathaniel provides this in early on in his book and, even better, continues to refer back to it. This helps in showing you how all the pieces fit together.
Both books cover the basics of Lightroom 2 while giving you slightly different extras. Nathaniel shows how to change the default quick collection while Scott covers HDR a little more in-depth; Scott has 4 pages on split-tones while Nathaniel shows you different options for your crop screen. These books will become references for you as you discover all that Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 has to offer. The difference, in my opinion, is that Scott shows you how to use Lightroom 2 while Nathaniel teaches you - a subtle difference but, in my book, worth every penny.
Lightroom 2 for Digital Photographers May 22, 2009
Steven E. Lake (Parker, CO)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers is a straight foreward explanation of the workings of the Lightroom 2 software. Scott Kelby takes you step-by-step through the sometimes complicated digital photography process in a light hearted and understandable way. This book should be bundled with the software.
Showing reviews 16-20 of 93
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