lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama

I edit my photos in Lightroom and want to be able to send selected photos to Photoshop from time to time to take advantage of Photoshop's more powerful editing features.

I just ordered and received a copy of THE ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CC BOOK FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS, by Scott Kelby. My purpose in ordering the book is to become more familiar with Photoshop CC.

The book surprised me. It does not contain screen shots of the Photoshop program I am familiar with. Instead Kelby's book states that another program, Camera Raw, does the same things Photoshop does and is much quicker. The book appears to me to be a tutorial of Camera Raw, with all of Camera Raw's screens. Camera Raw seems to do many of the same editing adjustments as Lightroom. I see no discussion of "layers" and several other concepts contained in Photoshop that I want to learn more about.

Did I buy the wrong book? How does Camera Raw fit into the Lightroom/Photoshop structure?

rcdovala

You state, "Instead Kelby's book states that another program, Camera Raw, does the same things Photoshop does and is much quicker." Are you sure that is what Scott said because ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) does much of the same thing that Adobe Lightroom does and is much quicker? The disadvantage of ACR compared to Lightroom is that you can't access plugins from ACR. But getting back to your point about buying the wrong book, I'm not familiar with the contents of Scott's book but if what you state is true, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, the title of the book is very misleading. I would consider asking for a refund and explain why it is that you believe that you are entitled to a refund.

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

If the book only covers ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) then it is not covering 95% of Photoshop. ACR is the RAW processor for both Lightroom and Photoshop. but it is only the first step to using Photoshop when working with RAW files. It seems to do the same things as Lightroom because it is the same, just a different interface.
To learn about moving from Lightroom to Photoshop (and back) go to YouTube and do a search on 'Lightroom to Photoshop'.
I like the Anthony Morganti videos but there are tons of others out there.
Send the book back if it claims to cover Photoshop but only covers Camera Raw.

lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama

Thank you for your comments. I am returning the book to Amazon for a refund. Any recommendations on good Photoshop CC tutorials?

cmc65

I would (and am going to) buy the adobe ps classroom in a book. 2017 version. I have used these on and off for different versions of adobe through the years and always found them to be layed out well. They usually include a cd with tutorial cds that you can use to work through the chapters.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I looked up the book on Amazon. I got a lot of very good reviews, but when I went to the one and two star reviews, they made the same point that it is mostly about Camera Raw and skimps on most of the features of Photoshop, especially the newer ones.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Camera RAW converts your RAW files to something that Photoshop can read and work with, much like Lightroom converts propitiatory RAW files to DNG format (open source) when you import.

All yah need to do is right click on the image in Lightroom and tell it to Edit With Adobe Photoshop. Easy peezy.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

That's not the issue. The OP is saying the book has very little in it about actually editing in Photoshop.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Try this list of books on PS: (a couple of Kelby's are on the list, just ignore them if you want)
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/20-top-books-for-learning-adobe-photoshop--29743

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Photographers don't use pixel editing very much. Most of the time we don't need to replace a sky, make someone skinny, get rid of phone lines etc. I know, there are times that you want to do those things, but MOST of the time we don't. That is why he probably focus' on ACR (Adobe Camera Raw).

ACR and Lightroom have the exact same sliders and can do exactly the same thing. If you adjust an image in Lightroom, then open that same raw file in ACR, the sliders will be in the exact same position as they were in LR.

I'm not familiar with Kelby's book but if I were you I'd look through the table of contents and see if he talks more about pixel editing such as the things I mentioned above. If not, maybe you did order the wrong book. ACR or Adobe Camera Raw, (you refer to it as Camera Raw), is part of Photoshop. So if the book is about Camera Raw, that's good. Like I said, it's part of Photoshop CC. As far as work flow goes, all photographers that I know of will make adjustments first in ACR or LR first. Most of the time, that is all that is needed. The next step in the workflow process would be to open the image in Photoshop by clicking on the open button at the bottom of ACR or in LR hitting Ctrl-E. Now you can edit in layers etc.

I just looked at a video from Scott and he does mention layering in the video. I think you just need to flip further back in the book to see pixel editing. Use ACR first, then pixel edit. Simple as that .

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Sounds like the book is either off base or more likely the answer lies in the title "THE ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CC BOOK FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS", by Scott Kelby. It is that "FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS" portion of the title. I Believe I have his older "The Adobe Photoshop CS6 Book" and it does not have this problem. He may have two series now (or he has gone nuts). All the Photoshop Books I have discuss the complete program, if briefly, including Adobe Camera Raw and Layers, Pixel Editing, Cloning, and most of the Tools, etc. Yes, much of Lightroom is a fancy interface for ACR. I do a lot of my initial PP with ACR, then check Levels, adjust Brightness/Contrast, and Crop using Full Ps. I do too much in ARC to outline here and you need to work up your own workflow. I personally don't use Lightroom. Tried it, could not really get into it (after having learned Photoshop; i.e., Lr as a fancy ARC plus good cataloging).

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's one problem with photo books. They often tell you everything but what you want to know. I 'd return the book, if possible.

EDIT: That's a relatively expensive book. Go through the return process with Amazon and tell them it's not as represented. Then read the reviews of the other books and see what people say about them. Also, be sure to post a review of your book to warn others.

Mundj Loc: Richmond TX

I checked the Table of Contents at Amazon. He is starting with how to use Adobe Raw to do non permanent editing of your images to start. Later in the book he discusses layers and the more powerful editing features of PS. I would suggest you look at a PS essentials class offered at Lynda.com. It is a monthly subscription service that you can sign up for say a month or two while you take a course and then suspend until you want to take another course.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

Great book... yes, weighted towards ACR, but that is where you can do most everything. I really like how Scott lays out the workflow process step by step. It sounds like you are not interested in RAW processing, so maybe the book is not for you. I leafed through mine at Barnes and Noble and bought it specifically because of the emphasis on RAW. Good luck....

repleo Loc: Boston

Chelsea and Tony Northrup's book ' Photoshop CC Essentials for Photographers' may be what you need. Like you, Northrup does most of his edits and crops in LR and then switches to Photoshop for anything else. It does not go into ACR at all, but covers all of the main PS photography tools like layers, masking, selections etc. The book provides access to 10 hours of accompanying online videos, mentoring forum and downloadable ebook.