The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers

My background: I've been using Photoshop since version 5 for both photographs and illustrations and Camera Raw since its inception. I have my own numbering photo-job system, but have reached the point where a good photo management software is needed for my thousands of pictures. Everyone suggested Lightroom 4 (LR4) both for speed, filing system, organization and quick photo development and when it went on sale, I bought it. Everyone said it was a cinch to learn..."Debbie, it's just like Camera Raw, it's so easy!!!."Wrong!!!!! Lightroom 4 has a steep learning curve for both the newcomer and, in my opinion, an even steeper one for the longtime Photoshop user. And although the "Develop" component of LR4 is similar to Camera RAW, it took me several evenings with videos from Lynda.com to figure out that LR 4 is actually 4 softwares in one. I wish that Adobe would have color coded each component...it would have been easier to follow. Once that basic concept is understood, the learning curves straightens out.To help with my learning curve, I purchased two LR4 books from my favorite authors for Photoshop: Evening's LR4 and Kelby's LR4. Both are the best for a certain type of photographer or project. I had a project, opened and stored in LR4 and I was stuck. So Kelby's LR4 book to the rescue. A quick afternoon read of his book helped me out of my jam. But Evening's book is a fantastic reference for your library. It is targeted for the advanced photographer or a photographer with film and studio background that want a full understanding of the why behind all the sliders and tool boxes. Once you have the time to sit back and really learn a software program inside and out, Evening's book is the one to buy.My favorite things about Evening's books: 1. he uses his own beautiful photographs as samples. Each image is a treat to behold and an inspiration; 2. Half of his shots are filmed in the US Southwest...one actually shot a few miles from my house...so his recommended settings work perfect for many of my photos; 3. He has wonderful tips and in-depth explanations for the "why" of all features of LR-4. I am always amazed at how he can explain complex information and still have a beautiful, artistic, clean and easy to read book layout; 4. An in-depth overview of how and when to move and edit photos in Photoshop; 5. Plenty of space in the book to make my own notations; 6. You can tell that Evening is not only a talented photographer, but a great teacher as well; and 7. Evening always provides, in addition to natural light, the why and how to use LR4 for photos shot in the studio with photo examples of each...(I do both, so I appreciate all his information)Only one con: Throughout the book he details the difference between LR 4 and previous versions, Process 2003/2012 vs. the new LR4 Process 2012. (I am glad I have LR4). I wish he had color coded this information, or italicized it. Since I've never used the previous LRs, it was wasted information that I could have skipped. I do, however, appreciate the wonderful updates Adobe has done in this new LR4 and it is critical reading for those that have updated to LR-4.

When I first got Adobe's Lightroom 4 it had been years since I'd used a version of it- I'd spent the intervening time with Capture One, and had missed the changes that had been put into LR over the years. Once I realized that this was a program with an awful lot going on beneath its skin, I knew I'd be on my own once I got through the helpful videos that Adobe posts online. (At that time the latest version of its PDF used guide was for LR3)That was where I was coming from, and Martin Evening's book looked like a good investment, and I suppose it was.At this point, I've actually read about a third of the book, and I have to tell you, he does go into detail. If you're the kind of photographer who often has to sit in front of a computer loaded with a version of some image processing software that you've never seen before, well, this book is going to be comforting at first, because all the answers really are in here. Even more than its big brother Photoshop, LR 4 is just chock full of keyboard shortcuts and right click menus that make the program sit up on its hind legs and beg- which are really the kinds of things you need to know if you get thrown into a full bore production situation.But having said that, I don't think I'm ever going to read the sections that I won't be using - e.g. I can't see myself publishing a book of my product photos, so I'll probably skip that chapter. But I can easily see a wedding guy finding this chapter captivating reading.This book is clearly written, and detail oriented to the max- it's not the author's fault that there are so many details to cover that after a while the reader needs to come up for air.In fact my problem with the book is really my problem with the program- it's too much for what I need, but I am happy it's there for when I do need it.

I've read a few books by Martin Evening on both Photoshop and Lightroom and this one - just like the others - is thorough, practical, and well-written. Is it for a beginner? That depends on whether or not he or she has the fortitude to wade through and absorb the 700 plus pages of detailed information and suggestions contained in this book. If a newbie to Lightroom is capable of sticking out the onslaught of new concepts, detailed explanations, and suggested techniques, then there is no other book that can compare. Is it for a photographer experienced in image organization and processing and/or already familiar with Lightroom? Absolutely! It's hard to believe that one person can know so much about a subject and also be able to convey that knowledge so aptly, but Martin Evening is just such a writer.

As Martin Evening points out in the introduction, as with most Adobe products, Lightroom has gotten so feature packed that it is no longer possible to write a brief how-to book. The result is a 680 page book that will probably frustrate anyone who was hoping for something simple. To get you through the program, or at least the changes vs. LR3 it really helps to have a true expert who knows what Lightroom is doing and how to explain it. And this is what sets guys like Martin Evening and Jeff Schewe apart from guys like Michael Reichmann and Scott Kelby. If you have the time and money by all means get all the books on Lightroom and watch the videos as well. But if you want a single reference to keep by your computer, this is the one to get.

I have to admit to bias: I think anything written by Martin Evening is worth the effort. So the comments that follow are coloured by that perception.I wish I had bought the hard copy version. I read the book -no, I dip into it as needed- on a commonly available Tablet, and an Android phone. I am used to pinching an image to reduce its size, or the opposite to enlarge it. Works well for text, but not the images. They are all locked to their original size. This is my first purchase of a Kindle version of a book about photography.The images in the book are important, key even. The Kindle format does not do them justice. A great shame.The links in the Kindle version work: but since most people (I assume) will be reading on a device that probably hasn't got LR on it...... So the related source files, images to work on, and movies will need to be accessed on your PC or Mac. Added value, yes; but with a twist.Evening's written style is careful; when he repeats himself there's good reason to do so. A little gentle humour here and there. But the effort he has made is obvious. Lots of attention to detail - a good deal of thinking things through from the user's perspective.Nothing for it, I'll need to buy the hard copy as well. I'll try to make that mistake only once. That's good marketing is it?

"You don't buy Martin Evening's books on Photoshop if you are a beginner".This truism also extends to this volume which is aimed fairly and squarely at the professional or advanced amateur photographer.That said, it gives a detailed account of the Lightroom program in technical but not dry language, importantly including explanations of why you might want to use this or that tool, as well as how to do it. It include workflows for those wishing to organise and control their photo collection and to process and retouch camera raw files.Chapters on printing, exporting and presenting photo work are also included, each in the rigorous style for which this author is well-known.For me, this is what I wanted and it gets five stars, but for a beginner this is probably not the best book to choose.

An excellent book, I used the authors book on photoshop CS4. Coming from Photoshop and Bridge I had a difficulty seeing where Lightroom would fit into my workflow. With my first couple of uses of Lightroom i emulated the workflow that I was familiar with while using Bridge which ment Lightroom was little more than a keyword sorter for my images. The author writes clearly and explains functionality well, to make the most of lightrooms capabilities you need to really understand its image management system and the book did this very well. Lightroom is a large program with a lot of features. You won't learn it in a day or a week. But with the help of Martin's book you will learn to love it.

I recently bought this book as I was bought lightroom 4 as a present, and I found I needed a manual for it, as it is quite daunting software at first glance, so I searched Amazon and I saw this book, by Martin Evening, it's a great book,It by and large helps to understand lightroom 4It gets a little ploddy at times but it is a thorough book, and a great reference,so I can recommend this book,So if you need help with lightroom 4 buy this book

It's a great pity that although the author is English, the book came as an American translation. It even credited the American translators. This made certain passages a bit difficult to understand because of differences in vocabulary and grammar of the two related languages. Very disappointing from that point of view, otherwise a very comprehensive guide.