digital photography

Katrin Eismann's new Photoshop book is the updated version of her very successful restoration/retouching Bible. She is a brilliant teacher who uses her vast knowledge and precise communication skills to demonstrate sophisticated techniques at workshops throughout the world.

In this book Katrin provides a carefully crafted manual for repairing and enhancing photographs using Photoshop 7, Adobe's latest update of its challenging image software program.

This second edition offers step-by-step demonstrations describing how to approach the most common problems one encounters when working with faded, damaged photographs. Among the many subjects covered are: color, contrast, tone, exposure correction, mold damage, stains, cracks, red eye, torn edges, working by the numbers, replacing missing information and removing dust and scratches.

Katrin's approach to portrait retouching emphasizes the subtle touch. In her extensive chapter on developing a portrait retouch strategy, she thoughtfully discusses and demonstrates the steps for removing blemishes, reducing wrinkles, and improving eyes, lips and hair.

A comprehensive website supplements the book. Readers can download most of the photographs, making it easy to practice using techniques on the same images found throughout the book.

This great book by the "Photoshop Diva" will teach you more about Photoshop than you can possibly imagine.

Sooner or later most web developers will be approached by family members with the idea of setting up a web site to share all those old family photos. You may have even volunteered to do this. After all, it sounds like fun, until you are faced with hundreds of photos that have lain in attics, garages, basements and barns for the last 50 years. Getting these photos into some sort of presentable condition is not just a matter of scanning and sizing. This kind of work calls for an expert, and in this book Katrin Eismann does her best to make you one.

Eismann's book is not for Photoshop novices: you will need to know how to use the tools and work with layers. But everything else you need to restore photographs, even torn, stained, faded and moldy ones, is presented clearly and in great detail here. You will get the most out of it if you take the time to download the practice images from her web site and go through the step by step instructions. Even if you have considerable experience with Photoshop you will find new tools and techniques. The retouching sections are very interesting to just about anyone who works with photos. Here you will learn how to remove blemishes, wrinkles and unwanted pounds as well as any plastic surgeon.

Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, 2nd Edition is not just a "how to" book, but a "why" book, and a terrific way to learn how to work with photographic images of all kinds.

There are numerous books on this subject, and it wasn't until I browsed through many that I finally selected this book.

Few reasons why I selected this book against others:
1. the audience is photographers, especially those who own older photos that requires restoration.

2. the format is great - plenty of diagrams and photos and text in bulleted and easy to follow sequence.

3. plentiful tips - 350 pages jammed packed with ways to make your photos better.

4. tips are easy - there are books out there that provides tips on sharpening, correcting exposure problems, etc. But this book makes them so easy!

I'm an intermediate photoshop user, and this book suits me well.