Customer Reviews:
 Essential for Lightroom users December 11, 2008
This book falls into the `essentials' category for Lightroom users. It is packed with good advice and tips which are time-saving and which encourage good practice in processing digital photographs. Kelby is quite open about sharing the techniques which he has evolved, probably after much trial and error, thus making life easier for all of us. The sections on working in tandem with Photoshop and on black & white conversion are particularly illuminating. The whole text is enhanced by Kelby's amusing style.
One word of caution: this book can be quite baffling for absolute beginners to Lightroom, as the initial chapter is perhaps not the best introduction to the subject. For example, how many people will ever use Lightroom with the camera tethered to the computer? Yet Kelby addresses this in the first chapter. I would suggest that beginners should first work their way through Lightroom 2 for Dummies and then progress to Kelby's book.
Kelby suggests that the book should be read sequentially, from beginning to end. I would suggest that it should be used as a reference book for the best solution for specific techniques.
Much better than expected November 8, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)
Excellent book that I have learned more from in a week than I did from Rob Sheppard's Lightroom 1 book in several months. I know that some people find Scott's casual style a bit irritating, but it is not at all intrusive in this book. In fact I think it helps me to remember things. Screen shots linked directly to the "stepped" approach, provide both a readable book and a reference work. The practical "real life" approach suits me and I would think many other photographers - Thoroughly recommended!
A lot more to Lightroom than the obvious October 8, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Mr. Kelby always does a good job with all his books, but this is his best yet.Written in a clear, and concise manner, and the screen captures this time are readable without the aid of a magnifying glass. The book follows a good workflow throughout, and proves what a comprehensive programme Lightroom is. This is not evident at first or even second glance, and yet Mr. Kelby makes it all appear so easy, which few writers manage to attain with so called technical books, this is his big secret.
The book is also a valuable reference.
 I never knew there was so much in it! October 2, 2008
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
With the beta release of Lightroom 2, I decided to see what all the fuss was about and try it. Once Adobe released it to manufacturing, I was happy to switch my workflow from CaptureOne + Adobe Bridge + Photoshop to Lightroom 2 + Photoshop. I was up-and-running very quickly, but I knew I was just scratching the surface. Obviously, there's a lot in Lightroom 2 and I wasn't exploiting very much of it.
I was rather pleased, then, to see that Scott Kelby was releasing this new volume and pre-ordering it was a no-brainer. I particularly like Scott's informal, conversational style of writing. I expect some may find it irritating, but for me, it makes his books more pleasant to read. Consequently, it makes it easier to retain the knowledge that he imparts.
I'm reading this one from cover-to-cover, as Scott recommends, and it's certainly working. Within the first few pages, I found useful ways to incorporate Lightroom facilities that I simply hadn't encountered. As I continue to work through, there's more and more that is helping improve my workflow considerably.
I sometimes wonder if Scott's books are a little lightweight. They certainly don't tax your brain too much. I guess that's because most of the books I read tend to be detailed technical references where there's a vast amount of information to impart in a limited space. The way Scott writes, it seems too easy. But then, that's the point, isn't it? When you're working with hundreds or even thousands of photographs at a time, it really does need to be easy. So, thumbs up to Mr Kelby for helping me find new ways to improve the efficiency of my workflow, yet again.
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