The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers

Book excerpt: "Derrick shows that Photoshop can be friendly as well as powerful. In part, he does that by focusing photographers on the essential steps of an efficient workflow. With this guide in hand, you'll quickly learn how to leverage Photoshop CS4's features to organize and improve your pictures."-- John Nack, Principal Product Manager, Adobe Photoshop & Bridge Many photographers -- even the pros -- feel overwhelmed by all the editing options Photoshop provides. The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers pares it down to only the tools you'll need most often, and shows you how to use those tools as part of an efficient and enjoyable workflow. This book explains an easy method for processing your images using the new user-friendly features that come with Photoshop CS4, including Adobe Bridge, Photo Downloader, and Adobe Camera Raw. A perfect fit for your laptop bag, this guide is designed to help you process photos in the field. Professional photographer and bestselling author Derrick Story teaches you how to quickly and efficiently organize and edit your photos without compromising the originals. With this book, you will: Import your images and apply metadata with Photo Downloader Rate your images and add keywords with Adobe Bridge Make basic (and reversible) edits with Adobe Camera Raw, such as cropping, color balance, and tonal adjustments Use advanced ACR tools for black & white conversion, spot removal, batch processing, and more Refine your images with Photoshop using adjustment layers, masking, and smart objects Apply advanced Photoshop techniques for retouching portaits, swapping colors, correcting lens distortion, and much more To use Photoshop effectively, photographers must know which tools they really need and which ones they don't. The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers gives you the knowledge to create your own efficient path to great-looking photos.