This beautifully illustrated and eminently practical book offers a complete tour of Lightroom 2, the integrated digital photography workflow application that allows serious photographers to import, select, develop and showcase large volumes of digital images. Augmented by photos and case studies from a demanding road test in Tasmania, award-winning photographer Mikkel Aaland explains how Lightroom can improve the way you work. After watching -- and often helping -- Adobe create Lightroom entirely from the ground up, Aaland (author of Photoshop CS3 RAW) decided to try it out in the field. He organized a group of top-notch photographers for a trek to Tasmania, the exotic island south of mainland Australia, where the only studio was Lightroom on a laptop. In Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure, Aaland uses hands-on knowledge from the trip to demonstrate how Lightroom can help you create the best possible image under any conditions. This unique tutorial walks you step-by-step through Lightroom's:

• Library module for uploading, sorting, tagging, ranking and adding keywords to your images

• Develop module with Adobe Camera RAW for complete non-destructive color and tonal adjustments

• Slideshow module, where you select and size images, and export the show to HTML, Flash, or PDF formats

• Print module, which includes several templates for printing contact sheets or full images

• Web module, where you can create Flash or HTML web galleries

With many gorgeous examples shot in the exotic wilds of Tasmania, this book lets you see the results for yourself. Mikkel Aaland's trademark ability to teach complicated topics on digital imaging with straightforward, easy-to-follow text makes this book a valuable learning tool for anyone serious about digital photography.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 12 Ratings

An Excellent Overview for an Amazing Program - 2009-03-23
Reviewer Rating:
I recently picked up Lightroom 2 and have been very impressed with Adobe's product and the powerful and largely intuitive tool set that Adobe has given the professional and serious amateur photographer. That said, there is still a lot of room for learning and figuring out how best to get under the hood with Lightroom, and this book does a fine job of showing you how to do just that. I had read another Lightroom book by a well known Adobe evangelist, that I found to be a bit thin on details (and his constant attempts at cute humor quickly grew old) but this book manages a nice balance between brevity and detail, making it quick and easy to pick up what you want to accomplish with enough attention to detail that the correction or adjustment you are working on need not match the example exactly. The problem with many step by step how-to books is that the focus is often too narrow per example, but this book manages to give a thorough overview with enough detail to see your way through the points that don't hit the given example exactly. Enjoyable to read, and still useful, I would definitely recommend this book for beginning to intermediate Lightroom users (or those new to version 2 and looking for the how-to on new features).

My Favorite LR Book - 2009-07-22
Reviewer Rating:
Of the many Lightroom books I've perused, this is my favorite. It's one thing to create a book that efficiently teaches you how to use a complex piece of software and another to produce a book of great photos but this book manages to do both.

I love the concept behind this book (and its predecessor):a group of photographers and software designers (some of the Lightroom team) travel to faraway Tazmania to capture amazing images during the day and then edit those photos in the evening. As a software designer (and amateur photographer) myself I can't think of a more perfect way to develop a product. I can imagine how powerful it was for the Adobe folks to get detailed feedback from their target market and how empowering it was for the photographers to see the software evolve based on their suggestions and use.

I've been using LR now for nearly two years and when I discovered this book and how useful it was I immediately ordered the first version as well simply for its journey to Iceland. How many software books cause that kind of response?

I'll be teaching a Lightroom class this weekend and telling every student to buy a copy of this book if they want to get more out of LR and actually enjoy reading a software how-to guide.

More importantly, I can't wait for version 3 of Lightroom simply because I want to buy Lightroom 3 Adventure and see where they go this time!

LightRoom does its job - and so does this book - very well1 - 2009-09-17
Reviewer Rating:
LightRoom undertakes to convert RAW images into view-able .tif's or .jpg's, with your control over a great deal of the image characteristics. It wants to let you 'process' a great deal of images quickly and smoothly. We're talking multiple gigabytes per day. The pros I know use a number of 4 GB chips in their cameras per day.

LightRoom is set up to let you work with this many files, to weed out most of them, to make multiple simultaneous adjustments as desired, and then to let you trim and fine tune each one as needed. The controls are set up - coarse, then fine adjustments. I don't have near as many images as a professional, but I appreciate the control and ease of use. Mouse or keyboard - it just goes smoothly and quickly.

The book is a lovely thing to have - it taught me much of what I learned about LightRoom. the instructions include lots of screen shots - with circles & highlights. Within a short time I was well into using the program, and (figuratively) bickering with the author over subtleties. (note: so far, he has proven right when I really understand what I'm doing.)

I am now working well past the 'grandfather trap' level of picture taking, and into serious, RAW mode work. My pictures are technically better than ever before, for which I thank Mikkel Aaland and LightRoom. And Adobe for putting it all together.

In depth and well organized - 2009-07-20
Reviewer Rating:
I found Mikkel Aaland's book to be well organized and thorough. I have referenced the book multiple times after completing it and could quickly find the answers. By reading the book studiously you'll gain a very solid knowledge of Lightroom.

It's important to note that the book is for people starting out with Lightroom. It is not intended to help you master how to develop your raw photos. The author clearly explains all the options in the development module and the effect that they have. He also dedicates a chapter on some professional photographer's actual development of their photos. But developing photos is an art that you will have to practice. There are also many sources on the internet that will help you develop photos. Prior to taking advantage of the internet resources you'll need to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals. This is what this book accomplishes very well.

A great Lightroom 2 resource - 2009-06-01
Reviewer Rating:
Reviewed by: Zachary Zaletel, Alaskan Apple User Group Member
Product: Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure
Author: Mikkel Aaland
Company Website: http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com
PRO: Fun concept, well laid out, input from multiple photogs gives for many visual perspectives
CON: I don't have Leo Laporte's job and therefore don't get randomly invited to Tasmania.
Moose Rating: 4

Who hasn't said to themself, "Of course I want to go to Tasmania and learn Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2!?" If you're like me, then this question hasn't crossed your mind lately, but don't let our collective failure to do some out of the box thinking get you down. Not only has Mikkel Aaland had that idea, they went and did it, and even brought a bunch of photographer friends along for the trip, collected a number of photos from each of them and then combined the end result into a book. But was all this effort worthwhile?

Rather than your standard "How to Work the Latest Mousetrap 4.3", which plods through each menu, from File to Help, then each window with little thought to narrative, rhyme or reason (unless left to right, top to bottom is a good reason), Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure (henceforth known as L2A) gives a nice change of pace with the Tasmanian trip as an excuse for a How-To book. While it's hard to get away from left to right, top to bottom as a format for a manual, the variety of photographic material (both in terms of location and number of material generating sources) and depth of capabilities outlined in the program makes for a winning combination. L2A runs through the workflow, as laid out in Lightroom 2, giving a quick primer for each of the many tools. Sprinkled throughout are brief bios of the many photographers who were invited along on the trip, along with a 'recipe' for some sort of Lightroom wizardry pertinent to one of their pictures.

Lightroom 2 Adventure is as enjoyable a software guidebook as I've had the opportunity to read. As an added bonus, Leo Laporte makes a surprise guest appearance and introduces the tome to readers (this guy gets around - whether the bonus is for us or for him, the jury is still out). It's not a book I'd find myself curled up on the couch with for hours, but for a quick chapter here or there, or next to the computer, which I'd guess is where the majority of the usage of L2A takes place, it performs admirably, nourishing the Lightroom diner without having to rely on overwhelming amount of filler (who wants all that pasta salad anyway?). I will keep within handy reach for some time to come.

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