Camera Raw with Adobe CS2 (2nd edition) review

Camera Raw with Adobe CS2 (2nd edition)

Reviewed by Dr. Eric Flescher

Author: Bruce Fraser * (see note below) Released: 2006 Pages: 314 $40 USD, $56 CND, £56 GBP ISBN: 0-321-33409-4 Publisher: Peachpit Press http://realworldcameraraw.com/ (* note) Mr. Fraser passed away and Mr. Schewe continued with the current version below. This review is for a previous CS2 version. The CS3 version (see note below) is now available. Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3 Authors: Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=03215186 Released: November 7, 2007 Pages: 384 pages $45 USD ISBN-10: 0-321-51867-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-321-51867-5

Novice/Intermediate/Advanced Strengths: Stylizing the material in the book as a learning lab is a good idea. Color photos and screenshots. Uses Macintosh screens. Text works with shooting with RAW format, using Adobe DVG, automating image management task. Book applies to Windows and Apple users. Covers Photoshop, Bridge etc and no other RAW converters. Editing images (Chapter 5 ) is nicely done. Weaknesses: Text not screenshots and visuals are the main stay here. Wish there was more information in column and tables versus paragraphs. Several of the screenshots, especially the text within, are too small and difficult to read. if you are using other software other than Photoshop and Bridge this book may not be for you.

Introduction

Using RAW images gives a photographer more latitude to manipulate the images to make the photographs better. This book focuses principally upon the use of Adobe’s standards browser called Adobe Bridge. The focus of this book is the demonstration, teaching and unlocking the full potential of your digital camera’s raw camera raw file format. The main intent is for the creation of the best-quality images for your photographs. And this book Camera Raw with Adobe CS2, takes us through the process of learning.

The author, an international authority on digital imaging and color image reproduction, is the author of other Photoshop books and contributor to online newsletters and websites. The book covers nine chapters and a preface. There is a nice index which is helpful.

The preface is devoted to communicating the process of using your camera and the RAW digital formatted photos within tools that are used in a photographic laboratory. The author nicely points out (p.xv) that your control of your resulting photos begins, not with photoshop, but with optimizing the exposure and color balance first to produce the best photos you can. Insightful words like this point out the necessary rules needed to do the process right.

Real camera raw, Chapter 1, tells you about the nature of RAW images so you understand what this format as a rank beginner. Advantages for the Digital camera raw (Chapter 2 ) are nicely explained in this chapter. Chapter 3, How camera raw works, with Photoshop, the software Bridge, and Camera Raw plug-ins (small applications that allow Photoshop etc do other duties. This chapter communicates the pros and cons for the using of Adobe’s new universal raw format DNG. Camera Raw plug-ins are highlighted even further in Chapter 4 (Camera raw controls) while Chapter 5, Hands-on camera raw, explores how to efficiently work with the features and edit what you capture.

You learn all about the new browser in Chapter 6, Adobe Bridge.

Workflow is the catch all phrase for working with your applications in all ways by interdicting you to principals for guiding yourself through your work with RAW in Chapter 7, It’s all about the workflow.

Chapter 8, Mastering metadata, helps the understanding of a new type of inner data called XMP ( Extensible Metadata Platform) used to create, store and share files and information for your formatted photos. Chapter 9, Exploiting automation, has a wealth of information concerning converting images and more.

You have to forage through a lot of information and text. Some of the teaching process that espoused by the author is lost in the translation of the readings. Reading through the chapters is fine, but some of the “pearls of wisdom” don’t stand out enough. Sometimes the author “does not get to the point” easily enough and the information gets a little “muddled.”

Conclusion

If you work with Photoshop (does not mention Photoshop Elements), then this might be a good book to wade through. You can learn much of this book but you will have to “find it”. It does not jump out at you. If you need a more visual text, along with more guidance this is not the book for you.