The Way of the Digital Photographer: Walking the Photoshop Post-Production Path to More Creative Photography

I've been using Photoshop now for over three years. I have purchased a number of books on the subject but find that his book is just a great introduction to all the features that make Photoshop a powerful tool for photographers. It covers in plain English the various features within Photoshop and does a particularly good job of explaining layers. Layers is the building block of Photoshop and many other writers skip the initial important information in a desire to get you into the powerful actions that can be done in layers. This author gives you everything from the basics on through the more sophisticated concepts. This is not a book on the latest bells and whistles contained within Photoshop but rather is a nuts and bolts approach to all the features in Photoshop and how to use them.I have had a number of issues that I found challenging in Photoshop which he cleared up in the text. An example of this was his comments on un-checking the "open documents as tabs" section in the preference box. This saves you a step from having to do this within the menu options and is a time saving tip in working with layers.I particularly like his sections on adjustment layers and how to utilize them to fix problem areas in a photograph. Almost everyone has a photo that they like which needs some lightening in the foreground or detail extraction in the background. This book goes into detail on how to correct these problems in a photo and end up with a final product that looks exception.I am not a fan of all his photos in this book. To my taste many of them are a bit over "Photoshopped". However since the techniques are outlined in detailed instruction, you can adjust the techniques to suit your taste as a photographer.The book is a wealth of information for individuals struggling with layers, adjustment layers, camera raw, blending modes, masking and compositing techniques. You would spend a lot more money than this to attend seminars only to come back from them and forget the manner in which to conduct actions within Photoshop. If you work through the book slowly, you will most likely receive the answers you have to operating all the basic functions within Photoshop.For all the iPhone photo lovers out there, he has a section addressed to turning your cell photos into a work of art. I think this is fun and a good way to keep yourself as a photographer involved in "self-assignments" to work on your craft daily.The book might be a bit better if there were some photos that people could download from a website to practice with in order to achieve the end photo result as shown in the book. However, you can master the techniques by utilizing your own photos.If you invest in the book and then invest in the time to read slowly through the book and try all the actions he is describing in the text, you will be less frustrated with Photoshop and realize the true power of Photoshop as a program and a photographic tool. If you are a wiz with Photoshop, this book will probably not help you. If you are a self-taught beginner and struggling to learn all the functions in Photoshop, this is your book.

Davis is a creative photographer who has taken some wonderful pictures, but his biggest contribution to the rest of us is the clarity and usefulness of his Photoshop instruction. He hasn't written another substitute manual, rather he's produced a book that shows us how to achieve some of the results he has, including the work he's done in developing what might be called his own subgenre, light table photography. He suggests how to capture the kind of images be uses in his innovative work, but the focus is strictly on post-production, as the subtitle of this book makes clear. Pursue this book and you'll come away with fresh approaches and the Photohop know-how to make them happen.

Harold Davis is as excellent at writing as he is at making images. It will take me some time to work through this book as it is designed to be lessons by example. I think this would be a great book for learning and understanding layers, not everything about layers but a very good foundation. Mr. Davis approaches this subject with the mind set of visualizing the concept as much as the technical instruction. His notes are very detailed so there's little guessing as to what he did but you're encouraged to think in simple simple terms that will help you not only in post production but in thinking about the images you're making 'for' post production.It's also very inspiring to see how Mr. Davis makes such amazing images from simple subjects. I'm left constantly wondering how many things I've walked by in my normal life and not seen.This is my second book by Harold Davis, his Creating HDR Photos book is also one of the best I've encountered on the subject.

I love this book because it validates the use of software to produce an image which conveys whatever it is that you want to say.Some books focus on the photography side, some focus on the mechanics of imaging software. This book is one of the rare oneswhich spans that middle ground where you use the photography and the post processing together to say whatever it is that you want to say. Too often the word "photoshopped" is used in a dismissive way. But Photoshop is also an important tool which can be used to show the photographer's original vision in a way which the camera alone cannot always do.Simply, this book makes me happy because it allows me to think of Photoshop as a legitimate tool which I can use to produce a beautiful image.

Book arrived on time as described. Used books are the way to go!

Much useful information that I know will be used and useful. Written in easy to understad way,thank you for that!Many examples that help . Well suited for readers already comfortable with photoshop. I realize now I need to use bracketing more often. I would recommend this to fellow photography enthusiasts.Marjut

Easy to follow, step-by-step guide to improving your photographs without even using the variety of Photoshop selection tools, which can be difficult to learn, especially when selecting fine details such as hair, fur, etc. out of a background. I'm impressed by the clarity of the instructions and believe that whether you are a new or experienced photoshop user, you'll find some great tips in this book.

This is a really nice book and offered many tips. Mr. Davis is the expert in photoshop layers and as a photographer this book is more useful than one of the photoshop tomes. It you do most of your processing workflow in lightroom a dedicated lightroom book may be of greater use.It is primarily for post shot processing.

Someone once said that there are forty ways to do anything in Photoshop and that may well be true, but unlike some illustrious photographers who have written very detailed volumes on Photoshop this author has produced a very straightforward and direct approach to the subject. He advice to newcomers on the way to approach this software, and the sequence in which to apply the various adjustments to images, provides the reader with the essential workflow he needs to adopt. There are many fine images in this book, the author has provided a clear insight into how each of these images was processed, this is valuable information for newcomers to this software.If you are newcomer to Photoshop then this book is essential reading. Well done Mr Davis

Very Good at Explaining the Complexity of Processing the Images. Good Buy.

This is great for ideas and encouraging you to explore and step outside the box.It's also very practical for someone who is intimidated by working much on their photos.Easy lessons on getting layers. Shows a lot of examples and what the screen shots can look like.It is good for someone who's ready to learn a bit more about processing their images and for theexperienced it gives you ideas on how to paint and work your image more to what you visualized.Harold Davis has a pretty clear writing style and his photography is more art than snapshot but he addresses both.There are a lot of "how to do" sections and a ton of pictures to demonstrate what he's referring to. His books always give youthe page number of a point he makes reference to so you can go back or flip ahead to familiarize your self with theterm or learn it. I find that incredibly helpful.This is not a book about photo shop and how to do basic stuff or outlandish composites, its learning the layer concept and about using layers to manipulate your image to create your art and photographic vision.

I am pleasantly surprised by this book and the useful, well chosen depicted and explained techniques. This is not a book on all the techniques of Photoshop nor everything that can be done on a photograph. Harold Davis manages to put together many techniques that are, in my humble opinion, the most useful and pertinent in a photographic workflow.

Harold Davies is the best, slowly I am collecting all his books on digital photography, he is the star.This particular book is inspiring, it's for after you have learned the basics & start to crave to be creative.Highly recommended,.................Lady Di