The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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.

First I would like to say that if the book feels a bit like the first version, there's a good reason and it's because Adobe didn't remove features from LR2. There isn't a way to write a Lightroom book without covering features that were included in version 1. This would be a disservice to those that didn't own Lightroom version 1 and are starting fresh with version 2. The other thing that might feel familiar is the layout of the book. Most all of the Kelby books have a visual style that is familiar but even that has changed slight in this book, and for the better.

The book begins with a seven step "Things you wish you would have known before reading this book". It is a quick guide that tells you how the book is organized, what to expect when you read it, where to find source material that is used in the different chapters, and even a warning about his humorous chapter intros. I am actually a fan of Scott's humor but for those that aren't, he tells you to skip the intros and move right to the chapter because that's where the good stuff is.

The actual flow of the book is very logical and moves through the workflow process just as you would in Lightroom. One of the new features of the book that I found extremely helpful are the small header banners at the top of each page which mimic the panels at the top of Lightroom. Listed at the top are the Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print, and Web headings that are so familiar to Lightroom users. Whichever module is being dealt with in the particular chapter is highlighted on the banner, just as it would be in Lightroom. This is a great way to navigate quickly in the book so if you wanted to check out chapters dedicated to printing you can quickly flip through the pages and look for the Print module heading at the top of the pages. This is a small but very clever idea that I really appreciate.

The first chapter is all about importing images into Lightroom and is laid out in an easy, step-by-step progression from where to store your images, to getting your images into the program from your memory card or from folders that already exist on the hard drive. There is even a section on shooting tethered directly to your camera and having the images go directly into Lightroom. And here's another new bonus to this book. Every chapter has a Lightroom Quicktips page following each chapter. These are helpful little hints that somehow relate to the chapter but didn't really fit but are nonetheless important nuggets of information.

The following chapters are laid out just as logically and are beautifully illustrated. Particularly helpful were the chapters on customizing the Library module to make it fit my own needs and the section on the new Adjustment Brush. This new feature in Lightroom 2 is amazing and Scott did a great job of explaining not just how to use all of the features, but also when and why you would use them. I especially liked how he showed how to use the brush as a creative tool that will keep me from having to use Photoshop quite so much.

This book covers every new feature with great depth but not in a textbook way. Every feature of the program is broken down into its basics and then reviewed in a progressive style that will benefit novice and professional alike. The one thing that sets this book (like all of the Kelby books) apart from the rest is that you feel as though he is talking directly to you thoughout the entire process. It's like having your own personal instructor right at your side.

Lightroom has changed tremendously from its humble 1.0 beginnings and any user of the new version will save themselves time and frustration by sitting down with this book which I believe is the definitive guide to using Lightroom 2.0.

When Lightroom 1.0 was introduced, everyone who tried it was a new user, even the folks who had tried the beta editions that Adobe had offered. That meant that it was easy to say that Scott Kelby's older book, "the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers" was one of the best of the hoard of Lightroom books for all users. Lightroom 2 (LR2) is a different matter. There is already a large base of competent Lightroom users who are mostly interested in learning how to use the newest upgrades to the software. As a result, recommendations for Kelby's Lightroom 2 book have to be slightly tempered.

As with his first volume, Kelby covers all the basics of Lightroom 2 with step-by-step instructions with profuse illustrations. Each of the modules is covered in sufficient detail to explain to any newcomer how to use LR2. The chapter on the quick develop tools has been reduced to a few pages, the local adjustment tools are described with sufficient particularity to master the newest tools, and a full chapter has been added on Lightroom\Photoshop integration. The two workflow examples have been changed from the first book, giving readers of both volumes a little more bang for the buck.

Many of the photos used for demonstration are available for download so that the reader can follow right along with the author. A video on a workflow example of a wedding is also available for download.

Some people who were put off by Kelby's sophomoric sense of humor will be pleased to learn that there has been a substantial reduction in the jokiness.

There is no doubt that if you are a new user of Lightroom, this book is as good as it gets. On the other hand, for experienced users, there doesn't seem to be much value to reading over the sections on tools you already know how to use. As I've said before, what most LR2 users need is a book like the "Photoshop: Up to Speed" books that just cover the new tools. (Are you listening, Peachpit?) I suspect many experienced users will derive their information on the upgrade from the wide assortment of on-line sites that have introduced LR2. On the other hand, I'm replacing Kelby's Lightroom 1 book that I kept next to my computer with this volume, and I expect to refer to this opus whenever I encounter a problem in LR2 (or my aging memory fails me).