Best book for a photographer

[Barb Binder]

Hi all:

What is your favorite book for a novice photographer who wants to learn Photoshop—outside of the Photoshop Classroom in a Book titles.

Thanks in advance,

~Barb

[davescm]

Hi

I've always liked Martin Evening's Photoshop for Photographers book. It depends just how novice a photographer he/she is though.

Dave

[Barb Binder]

I'll take a look. Thanks, Dave.

~Barb

[Trevor.Dennis]

davescm  wrote

Hi

I've always liked Martin Evening's Photoshop for Photographers book. It depends just how novice a photographer he/she is though.

Dave

Dave, they are a bit heavy going.  My most recent copy it for  CS6, and has 750  pages.  It's got  some excellent information, but it's more of a look up manual than something you'd work your way through.   The Scott Kelby books are much easier going, and fun to read.  His Photoshop for Digital  Photographers (title almost stolen from Martin Evening) would be a good choice

Not so much Photoshop, but excellent photography books, are the Michael Freeman bookls.  Photographers Mind, Eye and something else?  They make you think about what you are taking.

[Barb Binder]

Thanks, Trevor!

~Barb

[D Fosse]

Trevor - I had a couple of books by Michael Freeman when I started out back in the 80s. I read them cover to cover several times. Not only did they explain everything I needed to know, but they did it in a way that always made me want to immediately go out and take more pictures. It doesn't get any better than that.

[davescm]

Trevor - I just looked at my bookshelf and I have a copy of that Scott Kelby book - but mine is from 2003 (PS version 7.0). Many of the techniques still apply today but one or two make me smile e.g. we don't now need a special workaround method to make quick mask selections on 16-bit images !

Dave

[jane-e]

BarbBinder  wrote

...novice photographer who wants to learn Photoshop...

Not for you, right Barb? To recommend to someone else?

[Barb Binder]

Yes, Jane. A neighbor looking for a book recommendation—doesn't want a class.

~Barb

[jane-e]

Hi BarbBinder

I’ll let professional photographers davescm and Trevor.Dennis recommend the books. I’ll recommend that he take a class with the best Adobe Certified Photoshop Instructor on his block!

~ Jane

[Norman Sanders]

I haven't seen the latest version of the Photoshop Visual Quickstart Guide but past versions were very helpful.  Later, the greatest treasure was Dan Margulis' Professional Photoshop (which I guess is out of print. If you can find a copy, grab it.) Martin Evening is a superb author and I will never part with his Adobe Photoshop CS6 for Photographers.  All of Scott Kelby's books are great for clear step-by-step instructions and photographs. (I found the writing to be a bit sophomoric at times, but chalk that up to my being old.)  Later,  I'd move on to Margulis' Photoshop Lab Color. His first version of that book, dated 2006, is a jewel but not for beginners.

EDIT: Barb, one more thing. I am not a fan of e-books for instruction. Give me ink-on-paper and a yellow Magic Marker every time.

[Barb Binder]

Thanks, Norman. I have the (dusty) Dan Margulis books, too. I remember my father working though them when he was learning Photoshop, and he recommended them. I was already working as a Photoshop instructor and found them both challenging and valuable. I did make a leap in understanding color, though. And I think that's where I learned color correction by the numbers—which I still teach when the situation merits.

The Visual Quickstart Guide (2015 seems to be the latest) is yet another good recommendation. I knew you guys would come through!

~Barb

[Norman Sanders]

Barb-- Years ago, when  Dan's first edition of "Professional Photoshop" was published, I invited him to lecture at my college and he was masterful.  Best of all, as a lithographer I lived in a world of densitometric monitoring aim points and controls, so he talked my language and I relished it. Welcome to the fan club.

[Trevor.Dennis]

Norman, a question about Photoshop books would not be complete with you recommending Dan's book on LAB Colour, and you'll be pleased to see it on my shelf. 

Dave, I gave a box of old Photoshop and Photography books to the Op Shop after our house refurb, and it took two of us to carry it.  From memory there  was one  of those Photoshop Bible books for version 7, and some earlier Martin Evening books.  I was surprised to see I had three Lightroom books when taking this rather rough photograph just now.  So I did try to like and use it, but it just wasn't me.

There are a few HDR books from way back.  I used to get invites from camera clubs to talk about HDR, and have run two workshops at PSNZ National Conventions.  I don't remember the last time I used it.  The Steve Caplin books are my favourites.   I've tried dipping  in to the Martin Evening Jeff Schew books (sometimes to answer questions here) but I can't read the small print nowadays. 

There are several books missing out on loan, and some I doubt I'll get back.  My LS&M book was loaned out for so long, the loaner's mum  gave it  to an Op shop, but they replaced that for me.  That was one of the few books on the shelf I read cover to cover, and dipped  into constantly since.  I  can remember getting excited about some of the information I learned from it, and I loved playing with dark field, and light field lighting, and dropping terms like Shadow Edge Transfer and Family of Angles into online conversations. The Joe McNally books were also a great read, but I can't remember who has my copy of 'The Moment it Clicks'.    Joe McNally and David (Strobist) Hobby are my most admired photographers, because they have an engineers approach to situation problem solving.

[jane-e]

Trevor.Dennis  wrote

...and dropping terms like Shadow Edge Transfer and Family of Angles into online conversations.

Trevor, I have always liked looking at friends’ bookshelves when I am in their house, and thank you for showing yours. I started at the bottom,so it took a while to get to the Hawking, Krakauer, and Motorcycling through the Alps. I hadn’t heard of The Long White Road, so I had to look it up.

So you like to casually drop “shadow edge transfer” and “family of angles” into casual conversation? I’ll watch for that. That last one sounds like it should be in Flatland by Edwin Abbott.

[ProDesignTools]

Hey Barb,

Here's an excellent free one which recently came out, covering Photography together with Photoshop/ACR and Lightroom Classic:

Download Free New Book on Digital Photography Using Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom

It's 331 pages long, and impressively in-depth for a free book!