The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations Review

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The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations ReviewThis slim volume covers a few areas of image-processing. Some areas are covered nicely, while others are considerably weaker.
Harold Davis excels with his backlit images of flowers which have all the delicacy of water color. His technique (he calls it 'hand hdr') of combining multiple exposures is covered in detail. He also describes his unusual compositing techniques, which have given him strange and beautiful images. He enjoins the reader to experiment with different color spaces, particularly Lab Color. Virtually all of his transformations are accomplished without the filters (pastel, gesso, brushstrokes, etc) used by first-timers. This is all valuable information.
Where I feel that Davis falls short is in his actual use of Photoshop. While his techniques work, they barely touch on more recent developments in PS. For example, Davis recommends layering varied conversions of the same RAW file. But he doesn't touch on the subject of smart layers, which both simplify this process and confer greater flexibility. Nor is there any mention of adjustment layers, which I believe would accomplish many of his effects with less fuss. Much of his compositing (I'm thinking particularly of his Escher-like staircases) would be much easier with the new puppet warp feature. He also uses a brush to paint over many problem areas; while he's good at it, it's devilishly difficult to do and shows too little faith in judicious use of the new context-sensitive features of CS5. The section on glamour retouching should have been excluded. Many of the problems could have been eliminated by more careful studio lighting. Most of the remaining touch-up looks artificial. All in all, it feels like Davis's knowledge of Photoshop has not been refreshed in quite some time.
For an overall sense of good PS workflow, I still feel that the books of Martin Evening are in a league of their own. Once the user has an up-to-date feel for the program, there are still some nice tidbits in this book.The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations Overview
Award-winning photography/design team Harold and Phyllis Davis are back with a brand-new volume in their new Photoshop Darkroom series. Picking up where their best-selling first book left off, The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Advanced Digital Post-Processing will show you everything you need to know to take your digital imaging skills to the next level.

Great photographers know that the best images begin well before the shutter clicks, and certainly well before Photoshop boots up. Harold takes a step back, and shares his helpful tips for capturing the most compelling images possible by keeping in mind what type of post-processing you'll do before you start shooting. You'll also find complete coverage of important topics such as compositing, working with layers, and HDR. Packed with tons of eye-popping images which have won Harold national acclaim, this is a fantastic resource for photographers who want to think outside the box and create truly stunning artwork.

Compatible with any version of Photoshop
Useful case studies break information down into condensed, real-world examples which are easy to follow and put into practice immediately
Images and supplemental material are available for free on Focal Press's website
Amazon Exclusive: Selected Techniques from The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations
These images show some of the techniques explained in The Photoshop Darkroom 2:
I used multi-RAW processing to build up this striking portrait with a dark background. Photoshop's retouching features smoothed the skin and helped enhance the eyes.

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