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Added 18 Apr 05 Updated 04 Dec 08
Publisher Peachpit Press
Publication Date 2003
Paperback - 384 Pages
ISBN 0321124014
Michael Kieran is a leading authority on electronic color, and the author of three books and more than 100 magazine articles on color technology. More than 50,000 people have attended his one-day seminars on color scanning, color printing, color correction and color management systems. Michael is vice-president of Services for E-Color, Inc. in San Francisco, where he is responsible for a team of consultants providing color management and color correction services. He is the author of Understanding Desktop Color (Peachpit Press, 1994) and Color Scanning Handbook (DPA Press, 1997)
It’s always been possible to produce great-looking images in Photoshop. However, Color Correction in Adobe Photoshop 7.0 makes it easy. This book is the distillation of color expert Michael Kieran’s ten years of experience in delivering workshops on color correction and color management. It includes tips and tricks that will enable Photoshop users to improve the detail, color balance, and sharpness of any photograph, regardless of its source, by applying color improvements you can see on both the computer screen and in print. The emphasis of this book lies in its visual techniques, with plenty of photographs and screen shots to illustrate how color correction really happens. Readers can deepen their understanding by following along with the sample images provided on the accompanying CD-ROM.
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The author sets out to describe a colour correction workflow and touches on all the major steps. Roughly the first third of the book establishes some background, covering Colour Fundamentals, Colour Management and a quick overview of the key Photoshop Tools of relevance to the process. It also warns against those tools which should not be entertained. The remaining part of the book covers the main steps involved in the colour correction process, so setting the Highlights and Shadows, establishing Neutral Tones, enhancing Contrast and then Sharpening tasks. The book finishes with a round up of Advanced Techniques, which touches on the more sophisticated aspects of Channel Blending, corrections in the CIELAB colour space, Synthetic Colour Profiles, and finally, for some reason, a quick nod to using PS in astrophotography. All of the main topics are covered in good detail and the book works well as an introduction to the whole area.
On to the issues. Some of these issues must of necessity be subjective of course. I come to this book as an amateur digital photographer with an interest in getting as much out of my photos as possible, at least the good ones. So the first point to be noted is that I work entirely within an RGB workflow and I am unlikely to be asked to prepare photos for a book, at least in the world outside my dreams :-). One of the stated aims of the book is to recognise that a key part of the colour correction process is to support successful colour separation, in other words converting RGB to CMYK, which naturally puts a limit on full relevance of the book to my workflow. That being said however, there were a couple of very useful looking techniques which involved going into the CMYK colour space to get hold of particular channels and then blending them back into the RGB photo to enhance the overall image. Very nice I thought, though still recognising that a number of other CMYK techniques discussed were of less relevance.
A further aspect of my workflow is that the vast majority of my ’published’ images end up on the web, for consumption by friends and family. Here the book is a bit disappointing. Two pages in one of the appendices covers colour on the web, and it basically says "Web not colour managed hence can’t do much about it". This may be true of course, but one would still like a strategy for handling this aspect of the real world.
One mistake I thought I noticed came up in the section on L*A*B*. There seems to be a disconnect between the text covering the use of curves in the L*A*B* space and the diagram of the same. Basically, it involves which corner of the curves tool contains the highlight and which the shadows, top right or bottom left? It seems the main text and the text supporting the diagram say opposite things. I am also not convinced that the curves diagrams for the a* and b* channels are the right way round. See Figure 8-19 on page 306 if you are interested.
Another disconcerting example concerns the use of the Hue/Saturation tool. In one case the author talks about reducing the saturation of Cyan in a particular image and then moves the Sat slider to the right, ending up with a +25% result. This would be regarded as such a basic ’error’ that I cannot help but think that PS has changed the way it handles the tool over time.
This brings us to the last issue, in that time has not been too kind to the book. The edition I read was copyright 2003 when PS7 ruled the roost. Of course, we are now three editions on from there, so there is no discussion of the Shadow/Highlight command, which might be used in preference over some of the curves moves in the book, nor the capabilities of the various sliders in Lightroom, nor the new Vibrance command, of course, which seems to be a preferable choice over the Saturation tool because it provides a non-linear effect, as I understand it. A bit unfair to raise these items as an issue maybe but it does mean that you need a little thought about how the techniques described in this book will be used today.
The above issues pull the rating back from 5 stars to something like a 4 minus, but I reiterate my opening comments; a good introduction to the whole area. I feel that it will be of of particular use for intermediate users of PS but perhaps a little bit of a stretch for beginners. I also recommend that you read this book, bring the techniques into your workflow and then go on to read the Margulis books on the same area, in which case you will get much more out of them. That is what I will be doing.
So why not five stars?
I subtracted one for the totally unacceptable number of errors in the book, a flaw mentioned by several other reviewers. This book badly needed a technical editor - if it had one, he/she should be fired.
I subtracted another because although the book is very strong on working with CMYK images, for some (not all) techniques it glosses over RGB correction.
I would have subtracted another half star for the poor quality of the images on the CD, were that possible.
If you are seriously interested in color correction there are actually only two serious books which qualify at this time:
- Dan Margulis The Professional Guide To Color Correction
- Michael Kieran Photoshop Color Correction
I’ve chosen the latter after comparing both and these are my personal reasons:
- Although Dan Margulis guide is certainly de facto the professional standard, it focusses almost entirely on CMYK color corrections. This is recommendable when you work in a professional pre-press environment, but not interesting when most of your work is screen or web oriented, or when most of your prints not go further than your own desktop printer (in the last case, is even better to stay in the RGB environment for your prints).
- Michael Kieran’s approach is far broader than the road Dan Margulis follows: his guide will learn you RGB, CMYK and even Lab corrections, so the choice is yours depending on the picture and destination at hand.
Now for the books specific plusses and minusses:
- The book is full color thru out, with clear explications of each pic and the procedure to follow to optimise the pic. As a plus most pics come on the CD-Rom, so you can see the result for your self. On the minus, the pics on the CD-Rom are low resolution, which is kind of cheap.
- As said before it covers RGB, CMYK AND Lab corrections, and motivates why different colorspaces are better for corrections than others.
- And most recommendable: there is a decent 83 pages on general information regarding colorspaces and colormanagement, which is essential when you want to indulge in color correction. There is not point in color correcting images when your monitor is not calibrated, because in that case you start out with the wrong point of reference.
So for people who’s work is mainly screen, web or desktop print oriented, I recommend this guide in stead of Dan Margulis Professional Photoshop Color Correction guide. The only reason I did not give it five stars, is because it’s kind of cheap to include low res pictures on the CD Rom.
If you are seriously interested in color correction there are actually only two serious books which qualify at this time:
- Dan Margulis The Professional Guide To Color Correction
- Michael Kieran Photoshop Color Correction
I’ve chosen the latter after comparing both and these are my personal reasons:
- Although Dan Margulis guide is certainly de facto the professional standard, it focusses almost entirely on CMYK color corrections. This is recommendable when you work in a professional pre-press environment, but not interesting when most of your work is screen or web oriented, or when most of your prints not go further than your own desktop printer (in the last case, is even better to stay in the RGB environment for your prints).
- Michael Kieran’s approach is far broader than the road Dan Margulis follows: his guide will learn you RGB, CMYK and even Lab corrections, so the choice is yours depending on the picture and destination at hand.
Now for the books specific plusses and minusses:
- The book is full color thru out, with clear explications of each pic and the procedure to follow to optimise the pic. As a plus most pics come on the CD-Rom, so you can see the result for your self. On the minus, the pics on the CD-Rom are low resolution, which is kind of cheap.
- As said before it covers RGB, CMYK AND Lab corrections, and motivates why different colorspaces are better for corrections than others.
- And most recommendable: there is a decent 83 pages on general information regarding colorspaces and colormanagement, which is essential when you want to indulge in color correction. There is not point in color correcting images when your monitor is not calibrated, because in that case you start out with the wrong point of reference.
So for people who’s work is mainly screen, web or desktop print oriented, I recommend this guide in stead of Dan Margulis Professional Photoshop Color Correction guide. The only reason I did not give it five stars, is because it’s kind of cheap to include low res pictures on the CD Rom.
Kieran’s experience is beautifully communicated and he makes complex theories and industry standards sound simple. It is like having a seasoned Pro standing next to you. (I wish I could find a book on computer networks that’s this good.) I’m only a few chapters into it, but already I look at color in a competely different way. My mind is racing as I recall pictures that I never got the most out of, and now I can!
I warn you; though some software and books make it seem like your computer can magically fix color, contrast, and produce beautiful prints on it’s own; this book will challenge you to learn. Kieran explains the difficulties associated with color reproduction, what the industry has done, and what you can do with what you have. Stop wondering and start knowing.
For example on page 327 the technique he explains does not work the way it is layed out if you use Multiply mode as instructed in the book, nor does it come close to matching his sample on the CD regardless of what blending mode you use. This person might know their stuff but certainly does not know how to explain it to someone else or is not paying attention to details. Don’t waste your money buy Photoshop Artistry instead which is 1000 times better.
Photoshop makes it easy to produce great-looking images full of detail and vibrant color, even when the original image is fuzzy and bland. Color expert Michael Kieran calls Photoshop Color Correction a distillation of 10 years’ worth of hard-earned knowledge in the field of color correction and color management. In it, he shows you how to improve the detail, color balance, and sharpness of any photograph, regardless of its source, by applying color improvements you can see on both the computer screen and in print.
This book gives an overview of the fundamentals of printing and color theory, and the whys and hows of calibration and color management. You’ll learn practical techniques, presented in simple language-how to give the most important areas of an image an extra dose of detail by careful control of Photoshop’s curves feature; how unsharp masking can bring images into focus; when to vary the black generation setting and what that means for printing and color correction; how to hold shadow detail; how to manage the Photoshop’s separation settings; and more.
High quality color doesn’t just happen; sometimes it requires a great deal of work. Photoshop Color Correction demystifies the issues surrounding the tonal structure of images and helps you build an impressive repertoire of skills for analyzing and correcting color. You’ll learn step-by-step processes for engineering great color in your photographs and enhancing color, clarity, and contrast.
A companion CD-ROM contains low-resolution versions of the sample images in the book that illustrate the possibilities of color correction using Photoshop tools.
This book teaches such essentials as:
* establishing proper highlight and shadow tones
* keeping neutral tones neutral
* adjusting sharpness to an appropriate level
* understanding various color model
Not convinced yet? Give it a try, you won’t regret buying this book. I didn’t!
However, the CD included in the book was a joke. They are only before and after pictures shown within the book. And when I opened up those pictures, they looked nothing like the ones in the book. I assume it’s because of the ICC profile differences. Somehow I feel they included this CD so that they could jacked up the price to $50.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about making your digital pictures look their best. That’s the primary focus of this book. The price is a little too high to include such a junk CD.
Note: Amazingly, I did not buy this book just because it has a 4 or 5 stars, I picked it out from a local book store. The other 4 books I bought and returned were all recommended by internet users on here and have 5 stars. I think if at all possible, it’s best to read a little bit of the book you were going to buy before actually buying it. Don’t buy it just because it has a 5 stars on here.
The book introduces the fundamentals and management of colour and applies this to Photoshop 6 & 7.
A good book for those finding themselves with digital photographs or image scans that appear rather ’flat’ and would like to understand why and how to correct them, without a trial and error process.
Presentation is excellent and text is clear and easy to read.
The book introduces the fundamentals and management of colour and applies this to Photoshop 6 & 7.
A good book for those finding themselves with digital photographs or image scans that appear rather ’flat’ and would like to understand why and how to correct them, without a trial and error process.
Presentation is excellent and text is clear and easy to read.
Want to know WHY tools like brightness/contrast aren’t so good and what to do instead ? Want to know how to REALLY do curves ? Without a PhD ? Follow the book and try it on your pictures and all is revealed. And no other book I’d tried had tackled fixing contrast in as much depth with full explanations of what is really happening. To get this much information and this number of techniques together would have taken about 3 books before and even then I hadn’t seen simple tricks such as using synthetic profiles rather than using levels and it took just 10 minutes to set up the profiles by just following the book.
Doesn’t matter whether you prefer RGB or CMYK - this covers both. The only thing really missing is how to get rid of noise from pictures - guess I need to keep on looking for a book on that one.
Want to know WHY tools like brightness/contrast aren’t so good and what to do instead ? Want to know how to REALLY do curves ? Without a PhD ? Follow the book and try
it on your pictures and all is revealed.
And no other book I’d tried had tackled fixing contrast in as much depth with full explanations of what is really happening. To get this much information and this number of techniques together would have taken about 3 books before and even then I hadn’t seen simple tricks such as using synthetic profiles rather than using levels and it took just 10 minutes to set up the profiles by just following the book. Well worth knowing !
Doesn’t matter whether you prefer RGB or CMYK - this covers both. The only thing really missing is how to get rid of noise from pictures, but none of the others really cover that either so I guess I need to keep on looking for a book on that one.
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