Rangefinder - November 2014

A FEW STEPS

The Handbook’s author, Stephen
Laskevitch, is acutely sensitive to the
pitfalls that lurk within this image-
manipulation system that nearly all
photographers rely on in one way or
another. “The Adobe Photoshop prod-
ucts,” he writes, “are some of the most
complex programs many of us will ever
use… Although we are provided with
thousands of complex techniques for
editing images, most users (and most
images) don’t need all of that complex-
ity. In fact, only a few steps are needed
to get the vast majority of images to
shine.”
Despite the good intentions, of many
of the authors who walk the circuitous
road of digital post instruction, they
have dif;culty identifying those “few
steps” for their readers. Laskevitch is
clearly dedicated to an uncomplicated
agenda. “My goal,” he writes, “is to pres-
ent [Photoshop techniques] in a reason-
ably accessible way.” As the founder of
Luminous Works Training and Consult-
ing in Seattle, Washington, Laskevitch’s
teaching credentials are impeccable;

he’s an Adobe Certi;ed Instructor and has been teaching for 30 years, designing work;ows for hundreds of photographers and companies, and training creative individuals and ;rms.

WORKFLOW WITHOUT
PHOTOSHOP MISCHIEF

With the two most recent versions of Photoshop CC and Lightroom as his

Also On Our Radar The Photographer’s Eye: A Graphic Guide Instantly Understand Composition

& Design for Better Digital Photos

By Michael Freeman

The great thing about this book is that author Michael Freeman backs up every idea with stunning work samples, each of them displayed and deconstructed, using his signature diagrams, outtakes, and acute design sense on every spread.

A companion volume to his 2007

bestselling The Photographer’s Eye, the 190-page package makes for a rich master class in composing powerful, arresting images—both in camera and during digital post. As always, Freeman brings his carefully thought-out devices to the party—having human subjects react to o;-camera action, for example, to suggest a narrative, or selectively focusing (or defocusing)

foreground and background detail, juxtaposing action, in the field or by stitching disparate elements in after-capture, using prominent curves or rectilinear shapes to define the active part of a frame.

The Art of the Photograph Essential Habits for Stronger Compositions

By Art Wolfe and Rob Sheppard

Veteran photographer Art Wolfe is best known for the startling graphic power of his imagery. In The Art of the Photograph, he brings together his extraordinary imagery with background anecdotes on every shot, each image bearing its own distinctive lesson in technique and esthetics.

Wolfe uses every photographic device in his toolbox—from color and optics to framing, post production techniques and pure instinct—in order to craft an extraordinary one-volume course in creative imaging.

Co-authored by former Outdoor Photographer magazine editor Rob Sheppard, the book is a fabulous resource of great technical and creative advice synthesized from two distinguished photographic careers. And, with the possible exception of one memorable chapter, “The 10 Deadly Sins of Composition,” the whole thing is accomplished without a rule in sight.