Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers,The (Voices That Matter) Reviews

• Some Good Info Marred by the Author's Ego

  
  By ASN8RFXSFXYW on 2007-04-21
  First, try to see if you can borrow this book or check it out from the library. It has some good points, but those are well bracketed by an endless parade of the author's self-gratifying piffle.
  
  I purchased it because at this point in time (mid-April 2007) there are darn few Lightroom books out there. Hopefully something better will turn up in a few months and I can send this volume to the recycling center.
  
  This book is literary onanism at its extreme. And while author Kelby may sell a lot of books and have a well oiled machine to present his workshops, he apparently can't make the intellectual distinction between what you would SAY to an audience (perhaps hundreds of people trapped in a large, darkened room -- praying they'll get their money's worth and not drift into sleep) and what you would WRITE in a textbook or guide. In fact, it almost seems like the text is a transcript of a workshop presentation, with all the sophomoric asides and lame humor that usually manages to keep people awake and marginally focused.
  
  Examples:
  -- The entire three-page introductory Q&A is worthless. You get suckered into it because the assumption is that sooner or later some real information will be passed. Three pages later you're at the end -- and none the wiser.
  -- The beginning of each chapter is a little more subtle: For one or a few sentences you almost feel like he's going to address a topic...And then it's back to the drivel. The intro to Chapter Eight (Printing) is especially insulting, implying that a referenced individual is regular user and purveyor of controlled substances. Bad enough the Mr. Kelby believes this passes for humor, but don't foist that off on us, please.
  -- There are numerous parenthetical remarks in the step-by-step descriptions. Some are used to clarify a point. Good. Some are used to identify the difference between Mac and Windows commands. Good in concept, but those could have been better presented by effective use of conventions in the text. The third category can only be described as stupid comments. The problem is that the good use of parenthetical comments gets diluted by the other two uses. (See how to deal with this below.)
  -- Based on the heavy-handed way that Mr. Kelby touts Nikon and LaCie, my guess is that he doesn't buy his own equipment. (And I shoot Nikon, BTW.)
  
  If you decide that you really need this book you can improve things a little. For large sections of text I recommend a black Sharpie pen with the ULTRA fine point. You can line out hundreds and hundreds of works with no detrimental effects. This includes all three pages of the introductory Q&A (if you decided not to just rip those pages out) and every word of the intro section to every chapter. The ultra fine Sharpie won't bleed through (if you keep it moving) and won't smear. For those shorter sections of drivel that pollute the rest of the book, I recommend one of those tape type Wite-Out pens (such as the BIC Exact Liner). It takes a little practice and a firm surface, but you'd be amazed how much useless junk Mr. Kelby manages to get onto some pages -- and that you can easily cover up.
  
  This book was apparently rushed to publication. Just in my skimming of the book I encountered "The bottom line is white balance is a creative decision..." in the last step on page 133. In the last step of page 135 we find "The bottom line is white balance is a creative decision..." Maybe this wouldn't stand out in a lecture, but when you read it in a book you take a start and wonder if you mis-turned the pages.
  
  There is no glossary, and no illustrations of the filing conventions unique to Lightroom.
  
  
  

• Comprehensive and/but Breezy

  
  By A1F6PIIZ0ZHHD6 on 2007-05-16
  Some folks have suggested that Lightroom is so intuitive that you don't need a book to learn to use it. Maybe my intuition is weak, but the more I read about Lightroom, the more I learn it can do, and the more I begin to like it. Although Scott Kelby's book covers all the basics, from importing digital images into Lightroom to outputting them to prints, websites and slide shows, he also shows how to use a lot of other controls and capabilities that I had not come across elsewhere.
  
  Now I'm often put off by Kelby's breezy style of writing (e.g., "that way, when no one's around, you can ...play slide shows until it's time for your weekly therapy session") but here when he uses it in a book that's meant to be read from start to finish, it helps keep one from getting bored. And this book is meant to be read that way by a new user of Lightroom.
  
  What makes the book even more useful is the step-by-step screen saves. The language for each illustration appears exactly adjacent to the illustration, even if that means leaving a lot of white space in the writing. Moreover, to overcome the problems of the Lightroom interface being harder to read on a printed page than on a monitor, Kelby directs your attention to the right place on the screen with a red circle. This may not seem like graphics enlightenment, but it's not a common technique.
  
  I've said that Kelby goes beyond the intuitive. For example, I never would have guessed that Lightroom could be set up so that you could transmit an image directly into your e-mail from Lightroom, but Kelby shows how.
  
  I've also been puzzled by how to move a photo from my internal disc drive to an external drive for archiving with Lightroom. There's no "Move" in the Edit dropdown menu. Then the author explained that I could create a new folder on the external drive from within the Folders Panel, select the image, and just drag it to the new folder. Presto, the image is moved and Lightroom updates its database to show the new location. It may be, with its excellent keywording and metadata facilities, that Lightroom will become the digital asset management solution for a lot of photographers.
  
  I also appreciated the fact that the author was not afraid to say how inadequate the sharpening facility of Lightroom is. But he didn't stop there. He showed how to easily move a picture into Photoshop from Lightroom, sharpen it and then move it back. It still means purchasing both Lightroom and Photoshop, but at least there is a better way to handle sharpening. Given the advantages of Lightroom over Adobe Bridge and ACR as a front end, serious photographers will certainly consider using both pieces of software.
  
  In the last chapters of the book, Kelby takes two different types of photography, wedding and portrait work, and landscape photography, and follows the workflow through Lightroom and Photoshop to tie everything that came before together in a fitting summary.
  
  There's not much talk about art here, but when it comes to using the technology of Lightroom, this book seems to be as good as it gets.
  
  
  NOTE: Since this book was published, Adobe came out with a significant update to Lightroom (v1.1). Owners of this book may download a PDF file covering the changes in v1.1 by going to www.scottkelby.com and following the links.
  
  

• Not my style...

  
  By A3GTHBGPYBTB1J on 2007-05-03
  Update July 2, 2007: Adobe has recently released Lightroom Version 1.1. If you are a Lightroom customer you can download it for free from Adobe's site. I have played with V1.1 for a few days now and they have made some significant feature and UI changes. I personally feel they are great changes but they are significant enough that if you use V1.1 and read a book like this one, written for V1.0, I am sure you will be confused in many places. V1.1 has many more menu options, keyword editing is improved with new UI, touchup controls from the Library are different (and improved), Before/After developing and views have more options, more presets, etc. If you want a book that completely describes V1.1, you will need to wait for the V1.0 books (like this one) to be updated.
  
  -----
  
  Note: My review below is based on my expectations (you will see them below) about this book and how it's positioned as a book to unlock the secrets of Lightroom. If you are looking for a book that is a good book for learning Lightroom basics and some interesting mid-level tips, then this book might be what you are looking for.
  
  The book is very well done from a graphics layout standpoint, i.e. the graphics are clear and well done and the text supporting them is fine (minus the humor).
  
  My first reaction after I had read the first five pages was - ok, enough of the humor - when are we going to get to the secrets? I don't need humor to learn. I buy books like this to learn new scenarios and tricks that will enable me to be more productive while using the application. If I want a comedy book, I will look in the humor section. I estimate Mr. Kelby could have saved over 25 pages of this book by leaving out the humor, not to mention the 4 pages of ads in the back. I am no greenie, but I would have preferred he saved the paper, and my time, by dropping the needless humor.
  
  The product manual that comes with Lightroom is a very high level overview of the product and has little value, so I was faced with the choice of either learning by doing, which can take hours and I end up missing a bunch of important things, as Lightroom Help is just reference material, or I could look for other sources. I had already spent around 15 hours using Lightroom and had played with all the features, imported photos, played with developing and printing, exported photos, etc. so I was familiar with the basic operations of Lightroom before I bought this book.
  
  The header on the cover of the book says "Unlock the Pros' Secrets to the New Digital Photography Workflow...", so I had high expectations. But this book spends most of the time telling me things that are obvious if you spend any time using Lightroom before looking at this book. This book assumes you have not used Lightroom at all and walks you through each menu item and each dialog box in the order as they would appear as if you just installed the application and started using it for the first time.
  
  UI dialogs and menus are the focus of each page, with text in the margins that explain the dialogs in a step-by-step format. Lightroom is a product where I found it easy to pick up the beginner/intermediate concepts - you don't need a book for that. Sure, Mr. Kelby spends a few words at the beginning of each "lesson" that are his words of advice and drops a tip in here and there, but these tend to get lost on me by having to go thorough the rest of the text. I could get the same result by clicking on every menu item and button and seeing the result.
  
  I found very little "Unlocking of the Pros' Secrets" by the time I had finished the book. In fact, I found the free video tutorials on the Adobe web site for Lightroom, which I did watch before opening this book, taught me 70-80% of what this book covered. It was not until page 113 where I learned my first nugget about how to create a new library using the key when Lightroom starts up.
  
  From a book like this, I don't want a Lightroom 101 tutorial that shows me every dialog box possible in the product, in the order they appear. I want to learn from an expert the cool new tricks, new scenarios I might not discover, ways to make me an expert with the product, ways to save time, etc. - for example - advanced developing techniques.
  
  The first 100 pages of the book deal with basic importing and the library, which are great features of Lightroom. These first 100+ pages will be old news to anyone who has used a PC or MAC and is familar with file/document handling (naming, renaming and copying) operations or anyone who has dealt with digital media and you understand tagging, keywords and metadata. I already know these things - these are not the secrets of a Pro - so please don't spend page after page telling us how to use the Lightroom version of the File->Open dialog box. I would have preferred he started off with what this book advertizes and unlocked the secrets for me from the beginning. I would gladly pay $50.00 for a book that was a 100 pages long and every page had great information that saved me hours having to discover it on my own. This book is 400 pages where I had to hunt and hunt to find any secrets.
  
  If Mr. Kelby would have organized the book by scenarios with follow-on instructions, that would have been a lot more useful to me as he includes some important scenarios but they get lost in the "page after page step through each dialog" style that he uses. I would have liked to see each cool scenario explained in full via text, explaining the reasons why a certain scenario is important, when I would use a certain technique or feature and then show the step-by-step instructions how to accomplish it. Tell me the secret first and why it would make me more efficent or make me better at producing the great photos we all desire to produce, then show me the steps to accomplish it.
  
  Sure, I learned a few new tricks, but nothing that would warrant the length of this book or time spent finding the nuggets.
  
  Mr. Kelby does spend a lot of time covering all the keyboard commands available in the product (and there are many), but he spreads them out all over the book. A nice addition would have been to include a quick reference section on all the keyboard commands in one place. Things like this would have made the book a lot more useful to me.
  
  Sorry to disagree with those rating this book 4-5 stars, we all have our opinions and preferred styles - in my case - this is not my preferred style. I was hoping to be "shown the beef" and when I finished the book I was left hungry in many of the advanced areas.
  
  Your call on if you like to learn this way or you want a book more for the basics of Lightroom and less on the secrets.
  
  

• A very instructive and clear book on working with Lightroom

  
  By A2E3F04ZK7FG66 on 2007-04-05
  This book is about "Lightroom", which is a workflow tool aimed at digital photographers that don't want to take the time to become familiar with the mammoth application that Adobe Photoshop has become because it really isn't necessary for the scope of their work. The book gives you step-by-step directions on the detailed tasks of:
  1. Importing your photos into Photoshop Lightroom
  2. Sorting and organizing your photos using the Library Module
  3. Making minor adjustments to photos using the Library Module's Quick Develop panel
  4. Performing major adjustments by editing in the Develop Module
  5. Fixing common problems such as red eye, noise, chromatic aberrations, etc.
  6. Changing color photos to black-and-white using several different methods
  7. Sharing your photos via the Slideshow Module including adding music and choosing playback options
  8. Using the Print Module to print your photos in a variety of ways such as adding text, setting up color management, and printing multiple photos on one page.
  9. Using the Web Module to create a gallery for your photos viewable via the web.
  
  There are two final chapters that act as capstones. The first of these final chapters takes you through the steps you have learned in this book to produce a wedding portrait workflow whose ultimate goal is to have photos that the clients can proof on the web. The second of these two chapters has a workflow that is specifically for outdoor photographers. All through the book the author leads you through his formula for working through each problem. His method doesn't allow you to go off and take several paths. By working through the author's method of doing things, he hopes you will walk away with a clear idea of how to use Lightroom his way and use that as a jumping-off point for your own investigation of the tool. The photos that the author works with are downloadable so that you can follow along with him using exactly the same photos as he does.
  
  Overall, I really liked the author's approach and I thought it was quite clear with plenty of screenshots so that the reader does not get lost. The only thing I did not like about the book is that it has a jokey style that is done to the extreme in places. In particular, the first part of the book has a largely bogus Q&A session that does answer some serious questions but also wastes some serious space just joking around. Likewise, the first page of just about every chapter has a conversational "surfer dude"/Andre Lamothe verbal style before the author gets down to business. However, if you can overlook this, the book is very good at teaching the reader how to work with Lightroom.
  
  

• Wanna learn Lightroom? Buy it! Don't like Scott's humor? Buy it anyway.

  
  By A1ACBJ6766ZI5B on 2007-05-16
  Whenever I see the reviews that talk about how they don't like Scott's humor, I immediately disregard them. Geez, Louise, lighten up! Learning a new piece of software like Lightroom doesn't have to be droll, pedantic and boring. Whatever. Scott knows his stuff. And he's a funny writer. You don't like funny, too bad. Buy another book. You want to learn Lightroom? Buy this book. You WILL learn Lightroom. He makes his point that to get the most out of the book you should read it from start to finish. The PC users won't have a problem doing it, but it is difficult for us Mac users, but it works. I learned a lot about the intricacies of Lightroom. Scott never ceases to astound and amaze with all his little tidbits of knowledge on "how to" or "isn't that cool!" Just learning how to get rid of a Metadata template I screwed up was almost worth the price of the book! I was about to unload on Adobe for not making it easy. It is easy...tricky and not real intuitive, but easy, thanks to Scott. That's just one small example of how helpful this book is. And he really brings it all together in the last two chapters. I read it all. I even read the chapter on wedding photography, and I absolutely detest anything about wedding photography, but I still learned a lot. It's a good book. Worth the money. I work faster, and smarter now, and have more time with my camera rather than "fiddlin" with Photoshop. I still use Photoshop a lot, but getting organized, selecting, evaluating, correcting and printing is much faster. Thank you Adobe. Thank you, Scott.
  
  
• It will get dog eared!
  By A1QAIMAT3R65ZR on 2007-05-14
  I have read the 3 books on lightroom that are currently shipping, and downloaded 2 video tutorial series. IMHO, Scott's book is the best of the bunch. Scott adds significantly more detail, along with personal recommendations, which are very necessary for such a new product. I have purchased the book 3 times (for my brother and dad) because I was not willing to send them my copy. It will remain next to my computer for months, or at least 'til the binding separates.
  
  
• Didn't Think I Needed It Till I Read It
  By A59Y4G891E0BM on 2007-05-26
  A friend recommended I buy this book. I resisted because LightRoom is much more self-explanatory then PhotoShop. However, now that I have it I highly recommend it. Here is why: Scott tells you how to use Lightroom in the most productive ways possible. There are many functions and he puts it all together to maximize your "Workflow". Kelby is the master. This book has already enhanced my appreciation and usability of a wonderful software program. If you want to get the most out of LightRoom buy and use this highly readable and useful addition to your knowledge base. You'll be glad you did.
  
  
• dry humor but still the best guide for photographers
  By A35YD4AHVH5BS2 on 2007-05-02
  I did not mind Scott's conversational style of writing; if you can get past his omni-present dry humor, you will find one of the most practical and informative guides available at this time on how to get the most out of this piece of software;
  
  it is a thoughtful, intelligent, and yet very practical guide detailing the things most photographers really need to know about Lightroom for everyday use;
  
  the book is well written and well illustrated showing and describing step by step how to use the various features of Adobe Lightroom; it includes virtually all the essential facts that a digital photographer might need to know to use Lightroom to its best advantage
  
  If you can withstand Kelby's attempts at humor, you will find underneath one of the best conceived guides that will take you from a beginning level user to an intermediate and even, some cases, an advanced user of Adobe Lightroom
  
  
• Save your money
  By A1WO03WYAZZD3P on 2007-05-07
  Anyone familiar with Kelby's work will recognize this book immediately for what it is--a rewrite of already available information but for more money. Unfortunately, this book is badly written if you want a ready reference for such an important but large program. You must have Lightroom but not this book.
  
  
• Great guide - very informative with common sense information and opinions
  By AC23DQ8YMKP2P on 2007-04-29
  I'm a professional photographer and I've read several sections of the book and plan on reading the entire thing cover to cover. I bought Lightroom before it came out and have used it frequently. In the sections I read Scott has showed me how I can do things faster and easier. He's explained things I didn't understand and confirmed some observations I've already made. I love his comments about how useful he thinks things are. They really help in deciding whether to do something in Lightroom or Photoshop. Very useful book for photographers in learning how to use the tool to make their life much much easier. I also enjoyed Scott's humor and examples. I find cut and dry manuals a pain to get through, I start nodding off. I found myself laughing and smiling as I was reading this book and I can't wait to have time to read the entire thing. I can't say there have been many technical manuals I've felt that way about. Not only is this book chalf full of useful stuff to make my life easier, it's also great fun to read.
  
  
• Best computer book I've read yet
  By A1Y221Q1SX4NBW on 2007-05-25
  I am a very experienced computer user, and have read countless books. This is the best yet. It is extremely well organized. Each section is written in a step by step fashion of what to do. It is written by a photographer - not a computer geek, so the steps are really practical to improve your workflow. I'm not a pro - just an amateur. But with my digital SLR, it's not unusual to generate 200 - 300 images at a shoot. Scott Kelby's tips on improving workflow are awesome. Further, using Lightroom with the tips from this book will make me a better photographer.
  
  The entire book is beautifully printed in color! It is divided in to very manageable sections, making it a breeze to use. If you want to learn Lightroom, you owe it to yourself to read this book.
  
  
• Just super
  By A2I9W7UN0J3DJ2 on 2007-04-24
  after waiting for months for this to come on the market I can say it was worth the wait.
  
  The book is layed out very well and in a logical order that will take you right through the workflow of photography and Adobe Lightroom.
  
  If you have ever read a book by Scott kelby in the past he continues with his same wit and laughs that keep you entertained as you read. If you are looking for just another boring computer software book that is as entertaining to read as the phone book, you will not find it here. On the other hand if you looking for a book full of great and useful tips this is for you.
  
  Unlike his books on Photoshop this book is meant to be read front to back. That is because unlike Photoshop Lightroom is a workflow tool, and things need to be done in a certain order.
  
  Overall you will not find a better Lightroom book on the market today. If you have Lightroom you must get this book
  
  
• A 'MUST' for every photographer ... whatever their skill level!!!
  By A2SCO84YV3GH3Q on 2007-05-15
  I'm guessing that anyone who has a camera and at least gets the occasional Photography magazine will have heard of Adobe's latest additonal to their arsenal of software ... Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The software is without doubt a great piece of kit giving the photographer a 'one stop shop' from importing images to ending up with the final print in your hands. However...this 'great' piece of kit becomes 'awesome' once you've got your hands on the new book by Scott Kelby, "The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book".
  
  I'm very much the kind of person that likes books to bombard me with information, but that being said, if it's written in a clinical, factual style then I'd probably get to then middle of chapter one and be done with it. From then on, I'd jump in and out of chapters picking up on little things, but undoubtedly missing out on the big picture.
  
  Scott Kelby's style of writing is sure not to suit everyone, but I for one find it a pleasurable read. Scott writes as if he's in the same room chatting with you, which serves to work extremely effectively. Some readers may not warm to his sense of humour, but you've got to ask yourself "Do I want to get the most of out of this book or not?" If you don't warm to it, then look past it, cos there's plenty of information there to take your mind away from it and onto the task at hand...learning.
  
  In summary then, I really do feel that occasionally books get written and there's alot of hype about how good they are. Naturally the publishers are gonna 'beef it up' so as to increase sales, but believe me ... this just isn't necessary in this case. The book speaks for itself, and I genuinely believe that if you're a photographer then you need to be using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom; and if you have Adobe Photoshop Lightrooon, then you need this book.
  
  One more thing ... do as Scott suggests and read from cover to cover; you'll be glad you did, despite the overwhelming temptation to skip to the last 2 chapters which bring it all together.
  
  
• Using Lightroom
  By A1B84KUH61A3DV on 2007-06-09
  Scott Kelby is without doubt one of the best authors and instructors for all things photographic. Although Adobe Lightroom has been available in Beta version for a couple of years, it was recently released as Version 1.0 ( V 1.1 is reported to be released "soon"). Lightroom is nothing short of being a beautiful digital image workflow management tool. Of all the Adobe programs, it is probably the easiest to learn and most intuitive of their entire line. If you are new to Lightroom, Scott's book is a must inorder to learn and appreciate the power of the program. If you have used the Beta versions, as I have since 3.0, the book is a must.
  What sets Scott Kelby's book apart from other Lightroom texts is his teaching method and clear explanations. Unlike, say Martin Evening's Lightroom book, Scott does an actual shoot then walks the reader through the entire management process including involvement of some images in Photoshop CS3.
  Along the way, the reader picks up many tricks and tips on features of Lightroom that aren't generally known or explained clearly in other available books. Although the book is designed to be read from cover to cover to truly appreciate what Lightroom is and isn't, the book also is an excellent reference for those who have some comfort level using the program.
  I would strongly recommend Scott's book as your first choice if you are using or are considering the purchase of Lightroom ( say, versus Aperture ) and want a clear, concise learning tool in your hands.
  
  
• Not satisfied
  By AJ6A4QYZRMG0C on 2007-07-04
  The book leads you through various feature sets of the application, but his direction in getting you there can be tedious and painfully boring. Enough of the jokes - which is about 20% of the book. In some cases, the author spends way too many pages describing a basic process - where as a simple paragraph would suffice. The narrative and screen shots didn't always match what's in his book - he must have wrote it when the application was in the beta stage. This was probably one of first books on this subject matter to hit the market, and at times I felt that this was the author's objective in writing the book. I didn't feel enough emphasis was placed on the workflow process, which was one of the main reasons I purchased the book. The sections on Organization Photos were random exercising in experimenting with the various application features, but the author failed to convey the overall methodologies as to why a person would select a particular approach.
  
  The book is okay, but you might want to keep looking for another one.
  
  
• Like Lightroom Itself - Not A Bad First Effort
  By A36IHC0K68NS2 on 2007-04-28
  I had enough free time on my hands this weekend to read completely through Scott Kelby's "The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book." On the whole, I thought that it was a very good book. It was well written and informative, and while I could have done without some of the weird humor, it was well worth the money and the time. Some things that Kelby presented in the book I knew, of course, but he offered a number of hints and tips that really were helpful and new to me. They will help me make better use of Lightroom.
  
  The book is a bit like Lightroom itself--pretty good for version 1. I did find a few errors. (He boldly states that Lightroom's controls treat RAW and JPEGs exactly the same--that there are absolutely no differences in the tools. Wrong! You get more white balance settings with RAW photos in Lightroom than you do with JPEGs. Also he contradicts himself from chapter-to-chapter on one or two things.) But mostly the book appears to be relatively error free.
  
  I especially enjoyed the sections on work flow for wedding and landscape photography. (These are located towards the end of the book.) I found his recommended work flow not all that different from what I already do. Still, he offered several suggestion that will make my work flow (and hopefully my photographs) even better. (Kelby pushed hard for integrating Photoshop CS3 with Lightroom, so, sigh, I guess I am going to have to order a copy as soon as it gets released.)
  
  Now it's time for me to get some of my portrait shots and a number of recent Yosemite Park shots together and try some of the new things I learned from the book. I can hardly wait!
  
  
• Pretty good
  By A2W5SSC1DABTB5 on 2007-05-18
  The good:
  -Well organized & readable
  -Covers the basics very well
  -Comprehensive coverage of Lightroom
  -Great coverage of black-n-white photography
  The bad:
  -No tear-out of LR shortcuts
  -Section on printing skimpy
  
  
• New! Updated for Lightroom 1.1
  By A2UXGOTJI7OY1N on 2007-06-18
  This book was wonderful already, but now Mr. Kelby has updated it for the recently-released version 1.1 of Lightroom. Buy the book here, then go to http://www.peachpit.com/register and enter the ISBN number (on the back of the book, or see above) to download your free update. Have your copy of the book handy to answer a question. Like the book itself, the update is easy to use with clear explanations and examples.
  
  And if you like this one, you'll like his Digital Photography book, too. Lots of good information, clearly presented.
  
  
• Excellent Reference
  By A3RNQLM1YFD8LD on 2007-04-24
  This is the first review that I have taken the time to post.
  I find this book to be very concise and well thought out. He puts things in a very-matter-of-fact format that allows the user to get the information he or she needs without going through a great deal of trivial fluff. I also have his book on Photoshop CS2 For Digital Photographers, which brought me up to speed quickly with Photoshop and I'm confident this will do the same with Lightroom.
  
  
  
• A Great Guide
  By AQB3WXPTGSRN4 on 2007-05-25
  This book is the perfect companion for LIGHTROOM -- I would even go so far as to call it essential. It's very easy to read, extraordinarily thorough, and has helped me get the most out of the program. Some people complain about the author's writing style, but I wouldn't let that stop you from buying the book. The bottom line: it does what a good "how to" book is supposed to do -- gives you all the tools you need to understand and use with confidence every aspect of a great, but complicated, program. I highly recommend it.
  
  
• Great guide
  By A2WZBREQ7ZD5LH on 2007-04-26
  First, I am not a professional photographer, more of an avid fan of programs like Photoshop and Painter. I was hesitating about buying this book - after all, how hard can Lightroom be compared to Photoshop? But I am so glad I did - I have a much better feel for what the program can do and how it can help me improve my photos. Because of this book, I know that my investment in Lightroom will be maximized. Mr. Kelby is easy to understand and takes a step-by-step approach. His section on Lightroom's develop module is an invaluable aid. I visited one of the sites he mentions in the books for downloading presets and, boy, was that a neato site! The only reason I did not give the book 5 stars was, as another reviewer pointed out, Mr. Kelby's ego & flippant attitude is annoying at times. But the book is still a definate recommend.
  
  
• If you want to learn about Lightroom
  By A3AWQ0KN8681FH on 2007-06-06
  Lightroom is new, so educating yourself is going to be important. This is a very comprehensive book that walks you through the features and layout of this soon to be favorite of photographers.
  
  As someone relatively new to Photography and Adobe, I highly recommend this book. It has directed me to a better work flow and editing methods.
  
  
• Like the obnoxious kid in school you hate to sit next to
  By A3KWK7CALCK8AA on 2007-08-21
  For a program that is evolving - with it's potential beoming obvious as we incorporate it's use in our workflow, a go-to sections with the basics would be oh-so-nice. A central features section to reference is sorely missing.
  Many points were glossed over because Scott did not use those features in his own personal workflow.
  Learning the step-by-step process by wading through his "cute" comments was fatiguing. It was hard enough to see the details in the screenshots due to thier dark tones.
  Again, keyboard shortcuts, menus, features etc. diagramed in one place for a quick reference would make this more usable. I found Scott's humor (which is not the reason I bought the book) was a total irritation and distraction.
  
  Please, someone tell Scott to get over himself, and write something useful, not "entertaining" - because it isn't entertaining and becomes less useful.
  I feel that his sucess with the PhotoShop Publications and NAPP make him think that his writing is why people are buying the books. It is because they get a jump on the other books by their close association with Adobe and in spite of his writing. Better than nothing is how I would describe it.
  
  
• Line Out the Useless Information During Your First Read
  By ANXU17A9DYOA8 on 2007-06-23
  I am using this book a lot to learn Lightroom (as I relied upon Kelby's Photoshop CS2 Book in the same teaching format). I learn by repetitiveness. If I don't use a technique more than once or twice, I have to go back and reread the instructions. That's what I like about Kelby's book; it's a how to tutorial-- step by step with recommended settings which I've found to be a good starting point when learning a technique for the first time.
  
  
  
  Okay, what don't I like about the book? Kelby has this compulsion for throwing in irrelevant, useless, time consuming, time wasting anecdotal crap. When I'm in a hurry, wading through this useless information is frustrating to the point of exasperation. Here's an example.
  
  
  
  I've come to a photo that I need to quickly crop. I go to page 200 in the book an read Step One to see where do I start. I then am forced to read through all of the following garbage in Step One before getting to the point or the information I need. "The photo shown here has a huge problem--the horizon line isn't straight. IN FACT, IT'S SO BAD, WE'D BETTER FIX THIS FIRST (BY THE WAY, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THIS SHOT WAS TAKEN DURING THE TIME FRAME THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED BY SOME AS "HAPPY HOUR," I JUST WANT TO SAY FOR THE RECORD, I WAS NOT THE LEAST BIT HAMMERED WHEN I TOOK THIS CROOKED SHOT--IT TAKES MORE THAN SIX OR SEVEN DRINKS I HAD BEFORE I SHOOT THAT CROOKED. OKAY, YOU KNOW I'M KIDDING HERE, RIGHT? GOOD). To be able to straighten your photo, you have to start by clicking on the Crop Overlay button, found on the left side of the toolbar below the Preview area..."
  
  
  
  Imagine being intensively focused on your work, looking for quick help on how do something. But, you are forced to take a time out -- to read words that Kelby inserts to stroke his manly drinking abilities -- before learning that you need to find the "Crop Overlay button" in Lightroom.
  
  
  
  This is why I only rated this 4 Stars. I depend on this book. It's my bible at times in helping me with my work flow. But, the first time that I read through the book, I used a pen to line through all of the time-wasting irrelevant words that would always slow down my work flow. That way, I can quickly focus on the important information that Kelby does offer.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Pleasantly Surprised
  By A1ZDGOH3KD16ZL on 2007-07-12
  After reading many of the reviews of the Scott Kelby books here on Amazon, I was not going to buy Kelby's version of Lightroom instruction, but the reviews of the other books were not as good as I would have expected, so I went ahead and bought this one, as it was well rated.
  
  I am pleasantly surprised about the quality. Lightroom is not quite as intuitive as one would expect, and there are many powerful functions one would miss if they don't buy a book. Yet, you don't want to spend forever learning Lightroom. You want to get in and get down to business fast. This is exactly what this book does. Step by step, it quickly gets you up to speed on Lightroom in clear, non-convoluted steps.
  
  I agree, though, with all of the reviewers of this and the other Kelby books that the humor is often off-putting. The frat boy humor is at times sarcastic and other times winks at drinking to excess. It is not the type of humor that is appropriate for a self-proclaimed professional to use in a professional capacity. A book can be made very humorous and informational without the humor being offensive. This is the only blot on an otherwise fine book. I still recommend it highly.
  
  
• A lot of pages.. for simple information
  By A1168Q7BOXM31M on 2007-07-13
  If you are the least bit computer savvy you do not need this book.
  In short Kelby tries to entertain with waste of time jokes. Don't get me wrong i like to be entertained but it soon wears off when the bulk of the book is lame jokes. You have to read long paragraphs of aim less banter just to get simple information that could be said with a few lines. If your a busy person like me you will be disappointed.
  
  The later chapters are of some use as it talks about workflow.... but i think you could be better served searching for a Lightroom forum on the net. Which is free. ;)
  
  
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers,The (Voices That Matter)
  By A2J23OBV4T0LR on 2007-05-15
  can't get any better was up and running in a week
  
  
• Photoshop Lightroom
  By A1239X8WATIZ3K on 2007-05-21
  I can't work without Scott Kelby sitting on my desk to answer all my emergency questions. His book on "Lightroom" is easy to understand and is quick reference. Chapter one is an absolute "HOOT"! He keeps that humor up throughout the book. I recommend this book for novice or professional use.
  
  
  
• Best Lightroom book available
  By A1L032VM3EM20H on 2007-06-09
  I am a serious ameteur photographer shooting in RAW format and using Photoshop CS2 and Adobe Camera RAW. I just purchased Lightroom when I found out the price was going up $100.00. (Got it for $199) I own and love Scott Kelby's Photoshop CS2 book, and as expected, this book is more of the same. I have a decent library of photography books, but these two are my favorite. Kelby's no-nonsense step by step explanations for any and everything you'll want to do couldn't be any easier. He even makes me laugh sometimes, and it's fun to read. Not the typical boring textbook reading. Just simple,exactly what you want, clear explanations with all the settings he uses and why. Anyone-of any level-could do anything in this book with ease. Just buy it already and look no further.
  
  
• AWESOME!
  By AR0Q576A4RS05 on 2007-06-08
  This is THE book. Buy no other! Ok, well you can buy others but this is the one that puts it all together in very simple terms. Kelby knows how to get the point across clearly. You need to add this to your library.
  
  

• The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers
• The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter)
• The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2

• The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)
• Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Voices)
• The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2
• The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers
• The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters (Voices That Matter)