A professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC
Martin Evening
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Book Details
Price
|
2.00 USD |
|---|---|
Pages
| 753 p |
File Size
|
289,725 KB |
File Type
|
PDF format |
ISBN
| 978-0-240-52200-5 |
Copyright
| 2010, Martin Evening. Published by Elsevier Ltd |
by John Nack
Is Photoshop for photographers? And do photographers really need
Photoshop? A couple of years ago, these questions might have seemed a
little silly. No professional photographer would seriously consider foregoing
Photoshop’s image-manipulation power, whether to apply subtle color
corrections or to make radical image alterations. Now, however, new workfl owcentric
applications like Adobe Lightroom have come into the market. With these
tools focusing purely on photographers’ needs, how relevant does Photoshop
remain?
To me the situation is a bit like what I’ve found with photography: yes, you can
start out and sometimes get by with a limited set of equipment, but the more you
know, the more you value specialized tools that can make the difference in critical
scenarios. It’s quite true that many photographers will spend more time in Bridge/
Camera Raw, Lightroom, and the like and less in Photoshop proper, but for many
demanding shots, only the full power of Photoshop will do.
Martin is in a unique position to explain the new balance of power – when
to use a raw converter/image manager, and when to use the imaging tools in
Photoshop itself. Throughout his long and intimate relationship with both the
Photoshop and Lightroom development teams, he’s helped shape today’s digital
imaging world.
You know the old cliché ‘Those who can’t do, teach,’ right? No one says that
about Martin Evening. He earns his knowledge the hard way, making a living as
a highly regarded fashion photographer. His workfl ow advice comes not from
theory, but from the practice of keeping a business in motion.
I came to work on Photoshop only after logging many years earning a living
with the product day in and day out, and I greatly value the insights that come only
from those who really practice their craft. Martin is one of the best examples of
those teacher-practitioners. I could not have been more honored than to have stood
beside him as we were both inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame in 2008.
When it’s all said and done, tools – whether hardware or software – are just
tools, and it’s your ideas and images that matter. You’ll fi nd that Martin knows
both sides of the equation and never lets the techniques distract from the vision. I
think you’ll fi nd his perspective and experience invaluable.
John NackPrincipal Product Manager, Adobe PhotoshopAdobe Systems
Introduction
When I fi rst started using Photoshop, it was a much simpler program
to get to grips with compared with what we see today. Since then
Adobe Photoshop CS5 has evolved to supply photographers with
all the tools they need. My aim is to provide you with a working
photographer’s perspective of what Photoshop CS5 can do and how to make the
most effective use of the program.
One of the biggest problems writing a book about Photoshop is that while new
features are always being added, Adobe rarely removes anything from the program.
Hence, Photoshop has got bigger and more complex over the 14 years or so I
have been writing this series of books. When it has come to updating each edition
this has begged the question, ‘what should I add and what should I take out?’
This edition of the book is actually slightly bigger than previous versions, but is
completely focused on the essential information you need to know when working
with Photoshop, Camera Raw and Bridge, plus all that’s new in Photoshop CS5
for photographers. Consequently, you’ll fi nd a lot of the content goes into greater
detail than before on subjects such as Camera Raw editing and high dynamic range imaging.
I work mostly as a professional studio photographer, running a busy
photographic business close to the heart of London. On the days when I am not
shooting or working on production, I use that time to study Photoshop, present
seminars and write my books. This is one of the reasons why this series of
Photoshop books has become so successful, because I am a working photographer
fi rst and an author second. Although I have had the benefi t of a close involvement
with the people who make the Adobe Photoshop program, I make no grandiose
claims to have written the best book ever on the subject. Like you, I too have had
to learn all this stuff from scratch. I simply write from personal experience and aim
to offer a detailed book on the subject of digital photography and Photoshop.
This title was initially aimed at intermediate to advanced users, but it soon
became apparent that all sorts of people were enjoying the book. As a result of this,
I have over the years adapted the content to satisfy the requirements of a broad
readership. I still provide good solid professional-level advice, but at the same
time I try not to assume too much prior knowledge, and make sure everything
is explained as clearly and simply as possible. The techniques shown here are
based on the knowledge I have gained from working alongside some of the
greatest Photoshop experts in the industry – people such as Jeff Schewe and the
late Bruce Fraser, who I regard as true Photoshop masters. I have drawn on this
information to provide you with the latest thinking of how to use Photoshop to its
full advantage. So rather than me just tell you ‘this is what you should do, because
that’s the way I do it’, you will fi nd frequent references to how the program works
and reasons why certain approaches or methods are better than others. These
discussions are often accompanied by diagrams and step-by-step tutorials that will
help improve your understanding of the Photoshop CS5 program.
We have recently seen some of the greatest changes ever in the history of
photography, and for many photographers it has been a real challenge to keep up
with all these latest developments. My philosophy is to fi nd out which tools in
Photoshop allow you to work as effi ciently and as non-destructively as possible,
plus take into account any recent changes in the program that require you to
use Photoshop differently. Although there are lots of ways to approach using
Photoshop, you’ll generally fi nd with Photoshop CS5 that the best tools for the
job are often the simplest. Hopefully, the key points you will learn from this book
are that Camera Raw is the ideal, initial editing environment for all raw images
(and sometimes non-raw images too). Then, once an image has been optimized
in Camera Raw, you can use Photoshop to carry out the fi ne-tuned corrections, or
more complex retouching. There is much to cover in this book, but you should fi nd
that the way the chapters have been ordered, plus the accompanying content on the
DVD, will help you understand how to get the most out of Photoshop CS5.
Acknowledgments
I must fi rst thank Andrea Bruno of Adobe Europe for initially suggesting to me
that I write a book about Photoshop aimed at photographers; plus none of this
would have got started without the founding work of Adam Woolfi tt and Mike
Laye who helped establish the Digital Imaging Group (DIG) forum for UK
digital photographers. Thank you to everyone at Focal Press: David Albon, Ben
Denne, Kate Iannotti, Lisa Jones and Graham Smith. The production of this
book was done with the help of Rod Wynne-Powell, who tech edited the fi nal
manuscript and provided me with technical advice, Matt Wreford who helped
with the separations, Soo Hamilton for the proofreading and Jason Simmons, who
designed the original book layout template. I must give a special mention to fellow
Photoshop alpha tester Jeff Schewe for all his guidance and help over the years
(and wife Becky), not to mention the other members of the ‘pixel mafi a’: Katrin
Eismann, Seth Resnick, Andrew Rodney and Bruce Fraser, who sadly passed away
in December of 2006 .
Thank you also to the following clients, companies and individuals: Adobe
Systems Inc., Neil Barstow, Russell Brown, Steve Caplin, Ansell Cizic, Kevin
Connor, Harriet Cotterill, Eric Chan, Chris Cox, Eylure, Claire Garner, Greg
Gorman, Mark Hamburg, Peter Hince, Thomas Holm, Ed Horwich, Carol
Johnson, Julieanne Kost, Peter Krogh, Ian Lyons, John Nack, Thomas Knoll, Bob
Marchant, Marc Pawliger, Pixl, Herb Paynter, Red or Dead Ltd, Eric Richmond,
Addy Roff, Martin Soan, Gwyn Weisberg, Russell Williams, What Digital Camera
and X-Rite. Thank you to the models, Courtney Hooper, Natasha De Ruyter, Alex
Kordek and Sundal who featured in this book, plus my assistant Harry Dutton
(who also stars as a model in a few shots).
Lastly, thanks to all my friends and family, my wife Camilla who has been so
supportive over the last year, and especially my late mother for all her love and
encouragement.
Martin Evening, March 2010
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