Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As night follows day, so a Scott Kelby publication follows the release of another version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 (LR5). I have previously reviewed several Lightroom books by Kelby and right up front I have to tell you that this version just seemed to me to have more meat on the bones than any of its predecessors. I am not sure if it is because Lightroom itself has become a more robust program (which it is) or whether the author felt the urge to go into more depth. As evidence of this, I must note that this book is almost fifty pages longer than the previous version (LR4). So let's get into the guts of this version. First the hard facts. It is a soft covered tome of 533 pages measuring 8 inches wide by 10 inches long (hmmm - 8 X 10, a popular printed photo size, coincidental?). As of the writing of this review, it was available on Amazon.com for $36.55 for the paper version and $23.99 for the Kindle version. This book follows the same format as previous versions in that the text flows side-by-side down the page with the illustration referring to that text. I find it the most convenient arrangement because the reader is not forced to look back or ahead for the illustration to which the text is referring. Also, the size and structure of the book makes it easy to keep it open to a specific page while referencing a subject without having to weigh it down with another book. The book is rated at an intermediate to advanced user level. Also up front I will put in my pet peeve with Kelby's books. The author prides himself on his ability to produce "jump in anywhere" books. Yes, he advises the new Lightroom user to follow the flow of the book because it is laid out in the order that the reader will probably use the program. However if you are a veteran of Lightroom, you probably would like to quickly look at the sections on any new Lightroom features or improvements in this version. But how do you know what they are so that you can "jump" to them? I, for one, would appreciate a page or two in the beginning of the book that let's the seasoned user know what's new and where it is. As now constructed, the veteran Lightroom user must gather that knowledge from other sources or skim through the book looking for new Lightroom features. Let's move on from that slightly negative aspect to a feeling of the book's worth. First, because of his constant contact with photographers via his training programs and his long association with anything that begins with `Adobe', he is well qualified to know what these folks want to know about a program. And that knowledge shows up in the text and illustrations. Most of the photo-type illustrations are available for downloading so that the reader can follow along on his or her computer if that makes learning easier. A web site is provided to get the photos. The illustrations that show screen shots of LR5, or a portion thereof, are usually very clear. In short, it is a well illustrated book. Kelby also provides two other information sources; one concerning the Lightroom Web module which he explains has not been revised in the last three versions and the web site of a bonus video on creating identity plate graphics with transparency. As stated previously, the chapter layout follows a typical Lightroom workflow. It, of course, starts with getting the photos from your camera into Lightroom. It continues with an in depth description of the Library module and how to organize your photos. Now Kelby looks at customizing your way of working with Lightroom. The next several chapters get deep into the Develop module where all of the image adjustments are done. Having adjusted images, the reader is then instructed on ways of exporting the images including getting them over to and back from Photoshop. After all of the image tweaking is done, Kelby leads the Lightroom user in ways to creatively use those images such as in photo books and slideshows. Other chapters include working on movies taken with a DLSR camera and printing your photos (including some very sophisticated print layouts). As an added bonus, Kelby provides a web site where the reader can download 24 presets that can be used in the Develop module of LR5. These presets can save considerable time and give the LR5 user a number of development options that may not occur to the user. The book ends with a section wherein Kelby describes his step-by-step process from shooting to printing a portrait; in other words, his portrait workflow. At the end of each chapter, the author provides a page or two of Lightroom Killer Tips, short blurbs that refer to the previous material but which may save effort or furnish a short cut in the use of the program The style of the book is informal. As with his other books of this type, it is very task oriented. By that I mean the reader can have a specific task in mind for LR5 such as sharpening photos. A perusal of the Table of Contents shows a section on that specific topic. The reader can then go to the pages indicated and find a five page dissertation on exactly how to accomplish sharpening in LR5. That will be the only subject in those five pages with text and illustrations to aid the reader. Each part of the book is built on that concept of task orientation relieving the reader of the chore of trying to remember previous lessons leading up to this point in the book. The Table of Contents is a very useful tool in and of itself. When using this book as a reference volume, the TOC makes it easy to get to a specific subject. As I stated at the beginning of this review, I think that this book on LR5 represents Scott Kelby's best effort in this series. Each chapter and section is chock full of useful information. The flow of the book is reasonable in that it follows a normal Lightroom workflow thus keeping things in a logical perspective. I would recommend this book to the new Lightroom user as well as the veteran who has several versions of Lightroom in his or her past. Because of my pet peeve stated previously, I would give this book 4.5 stars out of 5.