Book Review: The Creative Digital Darkroom by Katrin Eismann and Sean Duggan – Review by Dennis Hays

Visited 198 times, 1 so far today

In the past years, the number of books, both printed and ebook varieties, published about digital photography, is too many to count. Any photographer, from novice to professional, has a difficult time culling the available titles to find something of value.

When asked if I would review Katrin Eismann and Sean Duggan’s The Creative Digital Darkroom,” I readily accepted as I know of the authors. To me, one of the first criteria I look for in a book to join my library (don’t ask, I have hundreds), is the author. If I don’t know their past work, the material would have to be exceptional. If, as in this instance, the authors are well known to me and the material is exceptional, then it’s, as they say, a “no-brainer”.

I need to explain up front, this book appeals to me so much due to its strong link with analog photography (film and wet/dry darkroom). That Katrin and Sean draw directly from the film and darkroom processes enhances my understanding of the material. The bridge between old school and new is covered quite well in the first 39 pages and, from there, the book is solidly in the digital camp.

What’s important to understand, prior to buying this book, is most all of the techniques are relegated to those accomplished through Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom (the latest versions of these two excellent applications). While quite a large population of photographers use these two products, there are a healthy number which don’t. Those photographers using other programs shouldn’t be totally discouraged as the procedures outlined usually can be translated to many of the other digital photography applications.

The Creative Digital Darkroom stresses the recognition of the image needs and the procedures necessary to fix and enhance it. The ability to allow the image to “speak” to you is an important element in the book. If you learn to listen to the image, applying the tools, from any software application, in my opinion, is secondary.

There is a quote by Abraham Maslow, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” For those new to digital photography and the software applications used to develop and fix images, the tendency is to pound away at the image until sometimes its barely recognizable. And this syndrome is exactly why The Creative Digital Darkroom is needed on a bookshelf adjacent to the computer. Whether new to digital imaging or an accomplished professional, the procedures Katrin and Sean deliver tell you how to bring the image along in sometimes subtle, but necessary, ways.

The book’s table of contents describes an order to the entire imaging process:
Chapter 1: Silver to Silicon
Chapter 2: Digital Nuts and Bolts
Chapter 3: Scan, Develop, and Organize
Chapter 4: File Preparation
Chapter 5: Tone and Contrast
Chapter 6: Dodging, Burning, and Exposure Control
Chapter 7: Color Correction
Chapter 8: Creative Color
Chapter 9: Creative Enhancements
Chapter 10: Enhancing Focus

Most all of the above describe the procedures to both bring an image along in the process and also how to “add” something creative to the image. Therefore, reading The Creative Digital Darkroom cover to cover is, in my opinion, a necessity, to both discover these concepts and maybe bookmark them with little Post-It® notes so you can find your way back to some clever techniques and to have a mental tug when you are working with images and need guidance.

Some of the more interesting items I discovered are methods to manipulate exposure, contrast and tone that are different than what I had been doing and with greater dexterity. For instance, Katrin and Sean have created an extensive section on using curves (with adjustment layers) to adjust tone and contrast with precise control, by using lockdown points. This became one of those “aha!” moments for me and the pages quickly added to my extensive Post-It® collection.

That was one of but many discoveries I found in The Creative Digital Darkroom that put this book on the shelf, near my workstation, within easy reach. Most of us working with digital images tend to use but a handful of techniques—our favorites—as they are remembered through repetitious use. The art of digital image manipulation is having a quiver of procedures at our disposal. The Creative Digital Darkroom becomes that quiver and, once read, becomes the go-to source for finer control.

The only caveat I have for The Creative Digital Darkroom is its limiting software source: Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Lightroom. While versions of Photoshop pre-CS3 are explained, there are some of us out here still using version 7 and no Adobe Lightroom. I found it not to be a great problem to interpolate the steps backwards, but it will take even more effort to mentally revise the procedures to software other than the aforementioned.

If you’re a Photoshop/Lightroom user, buy this book—don’t argue, don’t procrastinate, don’t even think about it—just get it. If you don’t use these applications, The Creative Digital Darkroom is still a worthwhile investment.

My rating: A+

The Creative Digital Darkroom – Katrin Eismann and Sean Duggan
Publisher: O’Reilly Media, Inc. © 2008
ISBN-10: 0-596-10047-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-596-10047-6
US/CN $49.99 – Amazon.com/US: $29.99
[Clicking on the graphic above directs you to Amazon.com - proceeds from any sale help with the costs for this web site]