Photoshop Lightroom Adventure: Mastering Adobe's Next-Generation Tool for Digital Photographers

When I started using Adobe Lightroom I was really impressed with the feature set and work flow options. It turns out that I didn't know the half of it. I picked up this book and it was tough to put down. It's not really a technical reference manual. However, it is still a very good reference as relates to the Lightroom software. The book takes the reader through the Lightroom features while telling the story of testing the Lightroom product with a group of photographers shooting in Iceland. Through this format I not only learned how to improve my use of the Lightroom features, but it helped me improve my workflow. Since I shoot a lot of photos, this made it worth the read for the time savings alone. I also learned some significant things about digital photography. Not that I thought I knew everything, but I wasn't expecting some of the great info I found. The layout of the book is easy to follow and well organized. The example photographs are a stunning inclusion as well. Even if you already have a bit of experience with the software and photography this book is a great tool that will help you step it up.

Great book, not only from a reading perspective, but from an art perspective. The book is beautiful, inspiring, and informative. I really enjoyed the read, and the pictures are fabulous. Initially, when I requested a review copy, I thought it was for Photoshop CS3, I was unaware that Adobe made software called Lightroom. I have a Mac with Apeture, which is similar to Lightroom, but I downloaded Lightroom and tried it out as I read through the book. I love the way the book tells a story as well as teaches you about the software. Mikkel does a great job teaching about the software, I learned a great deal about the software and found that I really like it. The imagery in the book is breathtaking and, Mikkel really helped me develop my photography eye further to make my images much more appealing. I thought the book not only teaches you how to use the software, but also how to critique photos.

Terrific book. It explains everything you would want to know about Lightroom. I'm particularly pleased that Mikel Aaland delayed the book to include the 1.1 upgrade to Lightroom. The book is well laid out, with lots of photos and illustrations. The format is easy to read and specific info is easy to find, if, like me, you want to read up on a particular topic rather than read the book from front to back.

I am not a professional photographer, not even a really good amateur, just someone who always has a little camera in my pocket or within reach. But when Lightroom Beta was opened to the public (the Apple Macintosh public, anyway) I downloaded it just out of curiosity, and fell in love. This book is a wonderful introduction to the program for people who may be considering it and a good addition to the (few) Lightroom manuals. I think a beginner would enjoy its flow because it moves briskly through the essentials without going through the amount of detail found in the how-to books. It provides a lot of information without being ponderous. I particularly appreciated the clear illustrations of how to use or abuse features that were added in Lightroom 1.1. You do not need to be a professional photographer or use expensive equipment to benefit from either the program or this boo, But much of the value of this book is in the photographs shared by the other professional photographers on the Iceland field trip. (Their names and the sites for their web-galleries are listed on pages xvi - xvii.) I keep having to retreive Aaland's book from other people who just want to look at the pictures. And they are stunning. The only problem with them, perhaps, is that people like me stop looking for information and start looking at the pictures, and sometimes thinking "I need to try that, do I have anything in my Lightroom library that might work?" and then staying up far far too late. And learning as we go. If you like looking at photographs but never use Lightroom, you might like this book. If you use Lightroom and are less than a Guru, you will probably enjoy and benefit from this book. If you learn visually, you will cherish this book. Always assuming you can keep it away from the rest of your household.

I'm not a pro. I need clear and easy to follow directions and, as a visual learner, lots of visual examples. This book is easy to read (unlike most books on digital photography), beautifully illustrated, and very helpful in learning what is a first rate and user friendly program. I plan to use it in combination with the excellent books by Scott Kelby and Martin Evening, each of which is more encyclopedic. Among the many strengths of this book is that it's been updated for the vastly improved 1.1 version. The other two books I mentioned have online updates available. Mark