The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 Book for Digital Photographers 1st Edition

Revision #5This book is somewhat inconsistent with LR4 if you are a new-be and follow all suggestions. The chapter on 'Develop' teaches about sliders and methods that if you dl his linked slides use LR3 panels. Is it possible it should NOT have given that link to the photos used in the book. For those it seems to use LR3 panels. I wonder about the 5 star reviews. If you read, are new and follow the 'Develop' chapter. say from p158 on, the photos of the sliders, using the recommended photos, do not match what LR4 has. When one tries to sort of do what is being discussed, guessing at the correct slider, you get different results. I really wanted to learn how to avoid PShop and just improve my photos with this. but when using the same pictures Mr Kelby uses, this is extremely confusing. I am trying to use my own pictures. I get the correct sliders, but can't always follow the suggestions. HERE IS WHAT I THINK IS THE ERROR. The file of excellent photos he suggests downloading so you can follow his instructions, were made in LR3 and carry the PNG info of LR3. If you hit the ! next to one of them you can change them all to the new sliders.I received this book thru pre-order(Amazon). I will go through the writing in a second. The book is a large paperback and the pages are not flat. Almost as if it was wet before they printed it. The font is quite small and hard for me to read easily. If the author left out the jokes, maybe there would have been enough space for a larger font. The pages are rather glossy, making it hard to read through the glare. After so many books you would think the physical parts would be perfect. I am going out to buy a book stand. It helps immensely. but it cost more than the book.The book so far does include exactly what I ultimately need. But it does not fully account for "never used Adobe before" people . There are places where the first screen is not what I get until I already have named, or selected or know something I don't. It is close though and maybe the extra work I have to do is more learning for me. The jokes aside, the knowledge is there and presented nicely. Mr. Kelby is an excellent educator. This does ultimately get a beginner what s/he needs for cataloging. The jury is out on 'Develop'. It is also written so it will be a great reference after I am done. I have had to use some of the Adobe videos to fully understand.I do like the fact that you can skip a section without missing a point. I don't do video but there are no pearls in there about something other than videos, so I can skip what I do not do without missing something else. I have tried every competing company's videos, talked to friends, started several online courses with no learning. This is easy and is put together so I understand what others always said was obvious to them.Wait two months for the next printing, then buy this book.

Completely CHANGED my workflow!!I had NO IDEA I was missing so much in not using this tool!I simply dismissed Lightroom as a tool for those who did not want to take the time to learn Photoshop, even though the PROS also seemed to love this software. But now that I KNOW what it is intended to do AND how and why the "Pros" use it, I have COMPLETELY CHANGED the way I deal with my Files I shoot and create!I am TRULY an advocate for this just as much as Photoshop now. In fact, I have GREATLY REDUCED how much I even use Photoshop now! I BREEZE though edit and even PRE-Editing of my shoots, and have even considered re-adding certain types of shoots, which involves capturing MANY images, such as Sports coverage, and small events like Quinceanera's because I can process the shoot in a FRACTION of the time! I am totally amazed by it!And as usual, Scott's "cut straight to the chase" style of describing the use is pure genius! I still don't think I would be using Lightroom if I did not briefly skim through this book. I will GREATLY increase my income from my photography work due to this book! Seriously! I would have EASILY paid the original price when it was first released, but now that CS6 and CC is out, this is simply a no-brainer!! I have actually ordered 3 more for friends and my Cousin since they would also be using LR4 version. Thank you Scott and thank you AWESOMEBOOKSUSA!

I wish Captain America would have shielded me from Scott's lame jokes again and again. This book has good info, but it took some work trying to ignore his constant barrage of wisecracks and get to the info one needs.There are a lot of pictures and Scott works with the user step by step on how to get different things done. The layout of the book is good and it is an easy read. As a hands-on book this is a good one, though I don't think it is exhaustive as it deals in detail with a specific number of how-to items.I pre-ordered this book and the book came with '#1 BESTSELLING BOOK ON LIGHTROOM' label, which I find hard to believe (unless they are talking pre-order sales). If what they mean is that the author has written earlier bestselling lightroom books, then it should be labelled that way instead of the false claim that this is THE #1 bestselling lightroom book.If you like constant I-got-ya-and-that's-because-I-am-so-smart-and-funny-that-I-myself-can't-handle-it type of jokes by an Author, you will definitely enjoy his writing style. As for me, I have had enough Scott for one lifetime. Overall I don't regret buying it as it helps me get what I need from Lightroom.

So I bought the kindle version of this book because I can prop up my ipad next to the computer and read the book with ease while working. My only complaint so far is when I first launched the book it skipped right to a before we get started section in the beginning and skips over the table of contents, acknowledgments, and the about the author section. I then have to swipe back to get to the table of contents. I'm not sure if this is a normal feature of Kindle to skip the table of contents but it's kind of annoying since I might not want to start this kind of book right at the book. Also the lay out on the kindle isn't like the physical book so it's hard to follow. Some times the pictures aren't on the same page as the text that would go with the picture. It would be nice if the kindle version had a 1:1 layout the way the book was written.Other then those issues the book is very well written.

I have used Lightroom for a while yet had been mostly self-taught. Although I followed some online training I only covered what I wanted to know. I found the different modes a little confusing and I still think Adobe could do more to build in workflows into the user experience of Lightroom. Highlights and whites sound very similar when you are unfamiliar with these terms and they changed a bit of terminology in the move to Lightroom 4.I bought this book to learn about features I was unaware of, and also as a handy reference. I don't have any of Scott's other books so went purely on reviews. I particularly liked the emphasis on the photographer with this title, as I am planning on creating some photo books.My first impression when I flicked through the book was very positive. I love the balance of words and pictures. Also each section has a consistent layout, which I've subsequently noticed in other books by Scott. The top centre is an executive summary of the topic, and then a step-by-step approach supported by lots of pictures. I like that Scott gives his guidance on certain settings and features which are must-know features over those which are a bit of a waste of time. One can waste an immense amount of time to come to that realisation. Also Scott is very workflow oriented, and I believe knowing workflows is as important perhaps more so than knowing the tools properly, particularly if you're a professional.Scott recommends reading cover to cover. I have been doing so every night since receiving the book. I am not 100% sure this is important though. To an extent his comment is under-stating the value of his own book. The content area and way the book is written does allow you to quickly identify something you need to know about, say correcting white balance, and read just that one section, put the book down and apply what you learned. Each section generally uses unique images, and is not presented in a project style, where the same project is worked on throughout a chapter. There is a little continuity but it's easy to hop into and out of a chapter on demand without feeling you really should have read the whole chapter or even the previous topic. I find this aspect to the book incredibly useful and puts the book near my Mac and not on the bookshelf whilst using Lightroom.The book is also a good read cover to cover, and I am combining the two. I have had some urgent photo work to do following the recent loss of a family member, to restore some seriously damaged photographs, and bring them to exhibitions standard in a very short space of time. With Scott's book I have managed to achieve this, and the impact has been so well received.So what is there not to like about the book? Well nothing really. I noticed one reviewer saying Scott comes over as a bit full of his own importance. I absolutely do not get this impression about him. He speaks with the air of authority you would expect from an expert in the field, but he is also humble to the subjectivity of the art. Two things do bother me a little about the way the book is presented. Firstly each topic is presented as a step-by-step guide. So step 1, 2, 3 etc. In most cases this is appropriate as he covers the workflow you need to go through. However sometimes Scott talks about alternative approaches. Sometimes there are many different ways of doing things. These are also presented in a stepped approach. Here is where I would personally have used a different template, and instead of naming each as a step, I would have named them by approach. It's a minor comment and really doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the book, just something that the publisher could have optimised. My other comment is that although they show many images, they are mostly full screen images of the Lightroom screen which is very detailed. When he talks about some of the controls, where you don't need to see full screen, it's very difficult to see what he's pointing to in my copy. There is little use of zoomed view. Where the reader needs to see the controls and the photo they could have zoomed the control and shown the photo as a smaller size or zoomed that too if the detail in the photo is relevant to the thing they are trying to show. He does this well in places like Chapter 10, but there are many examples where I would have wished for more selective cropping of the images.Overall I am delighted with this book. Lightroom is NOT an intuitive tool and the built-in workflows are not obvious until someone someone like Scott points them out. Scott's lack of association with Adobe means that he is candid and honest about certain features, which someone working for or representing Adobe would not be. This is really important as the reader feels like Scott's apprentice than a customer of Adobe.There is criticism for Scott not covering certain aspects of photography in enough detail, and I can see that there is space for a lot more learning beyond this book. However I feel that this book covers the essentials and builds a foundation on which most photographers will be able to develop their own knowledge. Scott does cover a good variety of photographic topics and doesn't proclaim this book to be specialist in any one area of photography.I would recommend looking at the 'look inside' content and judging whether you like Scott's writing style or not, and whether the layout and flow of the book works for you. It has for me and I cannot recommend it high enough.

I had never used Lightroom before, and having decided to invest in the software I thought I would buy this book in order to learn how to get the best from it. I'm usually someone who just picks things up and plays with them until I've figured it out, so it felt a bit strange learning from a book.My experience has been very positive - the layout and structure of the book makes it easy to get into and there are lots of simple examples to work through (it's very well illustrated as you would expect). The photos used as examples in the book are available from Kelby's website so you can step through the exact same steps. Personally, I just used my own photos with similar characteristics.I really like how Kelby gives his own tips as you go through, so rather than being bombarded with theory, he sticks to the salient points and tells you what he, as an expert would recommend. His style is fun and conversational. For example, with the Web module, he points out that it is pretty crappy and that he will not bother trying to explain it in the book because no professionals would use it and Adobe have not improved it for a long time (there are chapters available online for this if needed). Also, you will not come away from reading the book without finding out your porn star name (although if you are already a porn star you probably already know this)In conclusion, I wasn't sure when I bought this book whether buying something that costs a significant % of the price of the product it is about would be a good idea. However, I am really glad that I did - it's already helped me to get some great results (photography is my hobby, not a money maker) and to organise my collections much better. If you're in the same position of wanting to get to grips with the powerful, complex tool that is Lightroom 4, I really recommend this book.

I got this book as I am so used to Photoshop Elements 10 and also photoshop CS2 for editing my shot and cannot afford the prices for the latest photoshop!. I could not get my head around the way you have to navigate the panes and so on, and brought this book as a tuition guide.The book is very good, and informative but lacks one thing. If you inadvertently press a wrong button and wish to find out how to reset to default, or undo a change, then this book will not help you. It would be really good if it had at the back a simplistic section with shortcuts telling you how to do certain things without having to read the book through until you find what you need!That is my only criticism on what is generally a good and informative book. The best thing for me were the downloadable presets to give your shots an edgy look at the click of a button!

Bought this as an iPad book and will never buy this type of book as an ebook again, I found it difficult to read and learn from in this format and spent more time turning pages over than learning from it. It was so difficult that I gave in and bought the paperback version as well.The 'real' book is excellent if you are new to Lightroom. After years of learning and using PhotoShop, I thought using Lightroom would be simple. It is more complex than you would think and I struggled with it until I read this bookmark which helped especially with the tortuous way that Lightroom imports your pictures.Like all his books, this one has his awful sense of humour in large doses, but is good if you ignore that. It starts off with his dedication: 'This book is for my amazing wife Kaebra. I just so dig you.' Yuck!

Well worth the money. Very glad I purchased this book. Really easy reading. Well organised and worth reading chapter by chapter as advised by the author. From the way to importing and organising your storage of images through to suggestions about tweaking your photos, jumping into Photoshop, presenting and printing your work and a final chapter on workflow, Scott Selby (with some humour but mostly easily understood explanations) delivers great knowledge and advice about coping with "Lightroom 4". If as a newcomer to "Lightroom" as I am you should really read it twice as the second time around more things stick as you become familiar with the software. If you do not have a copy yet then you should buy one!