Picture Perfect Practice: A Self-Training Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Taking World-Class Photographs (Voices That Matter)

Picture Perfect Practice: A Self-Training Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Taking World-Class Photographs (Voices That Matter) Review

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Foreword by Skip Cohen

Translating the chaos of the real world into a breathtakingly simple, beautiful photograph can often seem like an impossible task. With busy, cluttered backgrounds and subjects who don’t know how to pose, how can you take control and get a great shot no matter the situation? In Picture Perfect Practice, photographer Roberto Valenzuela breaks down the craft of photography into three key elements–locations, poses, and execution–that you can use to unlock the photographic opportunities lying beneath every challenging situation.

Valenzuela stresses the need for photographers to actively practice their craft every day–just like you would practice a musical instrument–in order to master the art of making great images. With chapters that offer practice exercises to strengthen your photographic abilities, you’ll learn how to approach a scene, break it down, and see your way to a great photograph. The Location section features chapters that cover symmetry, balance, framing, color elements, textures, and much more. The Posing section includes the Five Key Posing Techniques that Valenzuela uses every time he’s shooting people, as well as a complete list of poses and how to achieve, customize, and perfect them. The Execution portion, with sections like “Lighting through Direction” and “Simplicity through Subtraction,” reveals Valenzuela’s overall approach to getting the shot. The book also includes an inspiring and helpful chapter on deliberate practice techniques, where Valenzuela describes his system for practicing and analyzing his work, which leads to constant improvement as a photographer.

If you’ve been frustrated and overwhelmed by the challenges of real-world locations, posing your subjects, or executing a great image–or if you simply want to become a better shooter but don’t know where to start–Picture Perfect Practice gives you the tools and information you need to finally become the kind of photographer you’ve always wanted to be: the kind who can confidently walk into any location, under any lighting condition, with any subject, and know that you can create astonishing photographs that have a timeless impact.

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Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image (Voices That Matter)

Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image (Voices That Matter) Review

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FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, YOU’LL LEARN ALL THREE ASPECTS OF WHAT IT TAKES TO CREATE STUNNING PORTRAITS
(HINT: IT’S NOT JUST THE LIGHTING)

Scott Kelby, the world’s #1 best-selling author of photography books, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Photoshop User magazine, and Publisher of the just-released Light It magazine, has reinvented how lighting books are written by finally revealing the entire process from start to finish. You see everything from the complete lighting setup (and all the gear used), to the shoot (including all the camera settings and a contact sheet of the progression of the shoot), to the all-important part that most books don’t dare include–the post-processing and retouching in Photoshop. This book also breaks new ground in the visual way it teaches you the lighting setup. There aren’t any sketches or 3D models–you see the lighting layout in a full-page photo, taken from above during the live shoot, so you can see exactly where everything’s positioned (the subject, the photographer, the lighting, the background–you name it–you see it all). Plus, you’ll see side, over-the-shoulder, and more behind-the-scenes views, so you can absolutely nail the lighting every time.

LEARN THE LIGHTING SETUPS THE PROS USE
Each year, Scott trains thousands of professional photographers during his Light It. Shoot It. Retouch It. LIVE! seminar tour and now, for the first time ever, he’s taken that incredibly popular style of learning and put in into book form. Now everyone can have a real-world reference for getting the same looks today’s clients are clamoring for.

You’ll learn:

• The step-by-step layouts for creating the most-requested and sought-after lighting looks
• How to get more out of one light than you ever thought you could (this is worth it alone!)
• How to control and shape your light without breaking the bank
• The camera settings, gear, and power settings for every shot
• The retouching techniques the pros really use to make their subjects look their very best
• How to retouch hair, eyes, lips, skin, and lots of other little retouching tricks that make a really big difference
• How to create high-contrast portrait effects without buying expensive plug-ins
• A host of insider tricks, invaluable shortcuts, and kick-butt special effects to give you a real advantage over the competition

Plus, Scott includes a special bonus chapter that shows how to create these same studio looks using off-camera hot shoe fl ashes and the modifi ers made for them. There’s never been a book like it.

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The Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)

The Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) Review

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This book breaks new ground by doing something for digital photographers that’s never been done before—it cuts through the bull and shows you exactly “how to do it.” It’s not a bunch of theory; it doesn’t challenge you to come up with your own settings or figure things out on your own. Instead, it does something that virtually no other Elements book has ever done—it tells you flat-out which settings to use, when to use them, and why.

If you’re looking for one of those “tell-me-everything-about-the-Unsharp-Mask-filter” books, this isn’t it. You can grab any other Elements book on the shelf, because they all do that. Instead, this book gives you the inside tips and tricks of the trade for organizing, correcting, editing, sharpening, retouching, and printing your photos like a pro. You’ll be absolutely amazed at how easy and effective these techniques are—once you know the secrets.

LEARN HOW THE PROS DO IT
Each year we train thousands of digital photographers and, almost without exception, they have the same questions and face the same problem—that’s  exactly what we cover in this book. You’ll learn:

• The real secrets of how the pros retouch portraits
• How to color correct any photo with out breaking a sweat (you’ll be amazed at how they do it!)
• How to use Camera Raw for processing not only RAW photos, but JPEGs and TIFFs, too! (And you’ll learn why so many pros like it best—because it’s faster and easier)
• The sharpening techniques the pros really use (there’s an entire chapter just on this!)
• How to deal with common digital camera image problems, including removing noise and avoiding halos
• The most requested photographic special effects, and much more!

THE BOOK’S SECRET WEAPON
Although Elements 9 offers some digital photography features that Photoshop CS5 doesn’t offer, there are plenty of features that Photoshop CS5 has that Elements 9 still doesn’t have (things like paths, Channel Mixer, etc.). But in this book, you’ll learn some slick workarounds, cheats, and some fairly ingenious ways to replicate many of those Photoshop features from right within Elements. Plus, since this book is designed for photographers, it doesn’t waste your time talking about how to frame a shot, set your exposure, etc., and there’s no talk about which camera or printer to buy. It’s all Elements, step-by-step, cover-to-cover, in the only book of its  kind!

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