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The Creative Digital Darkroom

By Katrin Eismann, Sean Duggan
December 2007
Pages: 429
ISBN 10: 0-596-10047-7 | ISBN 13: 9780596100476
(Average of 4 Customer Reviews)

Book description

This tutorial takes photographers beyond the quick tips and gimmicky effects of many digital photography books. Author Katrin Eismann -- an internationally acclaimed artist, bestselling author, and gifted educator -- offers high-profile work, including her own, as examples for teaching photographers how to use the digital medium to create, edit, and output images that reflect their true vision.
Full Description

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Cover | Table of Contents | Index | Sample Chapter

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Featured customer reviews

More than teaching Photoshop, this book is an education in how to see.,  June 12 2008
Submitted by Donna Kamper   [Respond | View]

This is not a “how to use Photoshop” book. This is a book for photographers who use Photoshop and want to produce excellent photographs. Beginning at the moment an image is acquired, whether by shutter or scanner, the reader is walked through the entire workflow process. Not only the steps and details of what and how, but the often-missing “why” is also provided. Now it makes sense!
Both Katrin Eismann and Seán Dugan, authors of this book, have traditional film photographic backgrounds. It is our good fortune that they turned to digital photography and created this book. Artists in their own right, they are also talented educators with the oft-elusive ability to explain complex subjects simply and understandably.
Relevant images can be downloaded from the book’s website to use when working through the examples. It’s very helpful using the same image the author shows in a lesson – for one thing, if your results differ you know it’s not the image.
When I worked through the lessons I didn’t always see a change until I Zoomed in – wa-a-ay in (200%-500%). Once I knew what I was looking for, I could then Zoom back out incrementally and the difference was more apparent.
This book is more than an education in Photoshop; it’s an education in what to look at and how to see.
Chapter 1 introduces the five steps of the “Digital Darkroom Workflow.” These are Part 1: Acquire; Part 2: File Preparation; Part 3: Global Enhancement; Part 4. Selective Enhancement; and Part 5: Output. The rest of the book breaks down the first four parts into easy-to-understand chunks with lots of detail.
Chapter 2 reviews the requisite digital darkroom components. These include the working environment, the hardware, and the software. How to properly set up the Preferences in Photoshop is covered in depth, as are assigning profiles and choosing color settings.
Chapter 3 starts with image acquisition and quickly moves into file organization. This includes how to properly set up and use Bridge and Lightroom. Each image adjustment palette in the Adobe Camera Raw interface is shown, with instructions on how to use each one. The pros and cons of file formats such as DNG and RAW and the virtues of high bit-depth images are discussed in enough depth to actually be understandable.
In Chapter 4 we (finally) open Photoshop and begin working with images, but don’t get too excited. This is the file preparation step. The authors compare this part of the process with the need to stretch and prime canvas before actually painting a picture. Tedious, perhaps, but not to be skipped over or skimped on because it directly affects the final image’s quality. The work done here comes under “general clean-up:” noise reduction, input sharpening, lens and perspective correction. Not to be skipped over!
Global and Selective enhancements are the next steps. These take us from Chapters 5 through 8. Here the image, both as a whole and its component features, is evaluated and adjusted for tone, contrast, and color. The array of techniques and features available to work in this area can be mind-boggling. Working through them with the authors brings order to the process and makes sense of what to use and when – or even if. The authors not only stress that rules are made to be broken, but that a critical skill is knowing when to stop.
Once the original pixels of an image have been changed, there may be no going back. Throughout the book, techniques for doing as much editing in as non-destructive a manner as possible are emphasized frequently. Non-destructive editing gives you the freedom to experiment and know your decision isn’t irrevocable. Multiple lessons teach you how to achieve this using Layers, Masks, Adjustment Layers and Smart Objects/Smart Filters.
This really gets exciting when you finish working on a lesson and the little light goes on: you suddenly realize how to apply the technique you just learned to your own images! Two hours later when you come up for air, that technique is yours forever. Next!
“Creative Enhancement” is the subject of Chapters 9 and 10. The authors use these chapters to explore ways in which you can change the image beyond its original message. Techniques include how to create special lighting effects, distress an image, add texture such as film grain or paper texture, or creatively enhance edges.
The final step, Output, is not addressed in this book. However, the authors have a 20-page bonus chapter “The Print” that’s available on the book’s website. This is a rich resource that covers resizing, final output sharpening, working with profiles, soft-proofing, printing from Photoshop and working with a service provider. This is as well written as the rest of the book, and the information is invaluable.
This is a must-have for my bookshelf. Working through these lessons not only teaches what a certain feature or tool does, but gives insights on other ways to use them that carries over to new images. That’s the real value of a book like this. Highly recommended!


To my opinion, probably the best book on Adobe CS3,  May 07 2008
Submitted by Andre Cajolais   [Respond | View]

To my opinion, probably the best book on Adobe CS3

Katrin Eismann and Sean Duggan are experienced photographers and their style is clear and effective in the Creative Digital Darkroom.
The book is dedicated to intermediate and advanced photographers who are all ready familiar with the basics of image processing.

The Creative Digital Darkroom is essentially aimed at the techniques to help the photographer achieve his own vision, a theme developed by the authors.
It's the best book I've seen yet on Photoshop.

The Creative Digital Darkroom is a detailed course on Photoshop CS3 that could also be of interest no matter which image processing software you are using.

The authors explain accurately the step by step instructions on the different tools and techniques of Photoshop. There are also plenty of interesting tutorials that cover all the aspects of image manipulation. You will also be invited to download most of the images used as example in the book from the book's website.

You will then be able to practice the tips and techniques described by the authors. You will also find interesting chapters on Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Lightroom.

I learned a lot from this book and keep it at hand while processing my images.


The Creative Digital Darkroom,  March 03 2008
Submitted by Kari Sheppard   [Respond | View]

I attended part of the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) convention in January. I ran into a friend who was excited about being able to attend a class by Katrin Eismann and asked if I was also going.

I had never heard of Katrin, but my friend’s
excitement piqued my curiosity. When I saw the
book “The Creative Digital Darkroom” was co-written by Katrin Eismann I decided to check it out.

The idea of a darkroom is familiar to “old school” photographers. It is how we worked. The film was shot and then we took it to the darkroom. I did not have my own darkroom, but had access to one in school. I was always fascinated by the process of working in the darkroom, but by the end of the day, was tired of the chemical smell.

So, what is a “digital darkroom”? It is the way we translate what was done in a traditional darkroom with film, chemical and light to what is done with a digital camera (or scans), computer and printer.

As I started reading this book I was struck with the comparison of working in a darkroom. It does not require that you are familiar with a darkroom setting, but it does give a history or basis for what you are doing.

I really like the way the book is set up to walk you through the steps of setting up your digital darkroom and carrying through all your digital processing of your images.

Each chapter has several samples and easy to follow instructions. These are written for Photoshop but generally translate to Photoshop Elements or other digital editing programs. Sample files from the lessons are not included with the book, but there is a website set up where you can download the images as you are ready to work with them. Unless you want to download them all at one time, but at 246 Meg, I would suggest that you have a high speed connection if you are going to do this.

Also included at the website is a bonus chapter on printing. As I see it, the final step in your creative process is to have the print that you can hang on a wall or share with friends.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more and improving their photos. Not only does it help with your post processing, but I think that there are many tips that will actually help in seeing and taking better photos.

The Creative Digital Darkroom
by Katrin Eismann & Seán Duggan
List price: $49.99
www.oreilly.com/
ISBN-10: 0-596-10047-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-596-10047-6

book review by Kari Sheppard
Bay Area Macintosh User Group of West Central Florida
www.bamcentral.org

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Media reviews
"The most complete book I’ve seen on the topic, and packed with so much in-depth info they probably didn’t sleep for a year."
-- Scott Kelby, Photoshop Insider


"I rarely rave about a book, but this one is an awesome blend of Photoshop technique, artistic process and photography know-how. The subject of the “creative darkroom” is covered thoroughly and expertly...I consider this book a perfect resource for mastering the creative digital darkroom. The techniques are extensively documented, thorough and come from some of the best workflows in use today. The writing is excellent and copious, and not bogged down with large images. The theory behind the techniques is timeless and relies on the fundamentals such as channels, Lab color, luminosity and blending. I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you are a digital photographer with a creative bent."
-- Jeremy Schultz, Designorati


"The Creative Digital Darkroom is one hefty book filled with so much Photoshop and Lightroom goodness that you'll be busy and in bliss for a long long time. The layout is appealing and the photos inspiring, just what you need when tackling a subject like this. And then there's the writing...This is a book that will show you how to gain maximum enjoyment and pride from your work as a photographer, and for that both Katrin and Seán should be applauded. This is as fine a book as one could wish for on the technical intricacies of working in the digital darkroom."
-- Jennifer Apple, The Photoshop Blog - PhotoshopSupport.com



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"The most complete book I’ve seen on the topic, and packed with so much in-depth info they probably didn’t sleep for a year."
--Scott Kelby, Photoshop Insider