Creative Processing Techniques by Guy Tal

If you do nature photography and want to get better at digitally processing your images, Creative Processing Techniques by Guy Tal is the book you’ve been looking for.

Guy Tal is not just an awesome photographer, he’s an equally good writer and teacher. Guy walks you through the process of making compelling digital images from start to finish, always with the focus on helping the photographer best realize their vision.

He starts with taking the photograph and how best to use your camera to get a RAW image with the most shadow and highlight detail.

He then walks you through converting your RAW file in Lightroom and Adobe Camera RAW. I don’t have Lightroom, but his description of Lightroom was so similar to Camera RAW that I didn’t miss anything. Guy makes very clear what are the best adjustments to make in Lightroom and what are the best adjustments to do in Photoshop after RAW conversion.

Though a master technician, Guy is first and foremost an artist, and he treats the reader as the same. The reader is constantly reminded that technique is not an end in itself but a way for one to realize their photographic vision.

Guy’s descriptions of blending exposures in Photoshop are so clear and simple that I’ll think twice now before opening Photomatix again.

I’ve been scanning film and processing my scans in Photoshop for about 15 years and shooting with a DSLR for over a year and I was amazed at how much I was able to learn from Guy. His writing is so clear and his respect for the reader so apparent, that reading and learning from this book was never a chore. It was always fun.

This is only one of a number of eBooks that Guy has available. You can purchase it and see his other offerings here.
Creative Processing Techniques by Guy Tal

~ by danbaumbach on May 8, 2011.