Best correction book ever written!

[TheTexan]

I have seen several topics related to image correction related to color and contrast and other variables. Let me recommend a book that has been invaluable to me. Professional Photoshop, The Classic Guide to Color Correction, by Dan Margulis. It is a college degree in itself. It is written for the advanced user. It spends no time explaining Photoshop. It assumes you know. Instead of teaching how curves and other tools work it tells you how to apply them in very advanced and useful terms.

It tells you how to get near perfect corrections using a scientific method of measurements and curve and level corrections. It goes into great detail about teaching you the methods and how to apply them. A great and indispensible reference. So far there has been no question asked in this forum about color corrections that I have read that have not been dealt with in this book.

By the time you finish this book you will see why cmyk, lab, gcr are the true way to correct an image and youll be much more expert at perfect corrections.

A must for our business.

check out the attached sample page and cover in the attachment two posts down..........

Tex

[Ed_L]

Thanks for the tip Tex. I think I'll check out our local library to see if they have it. Books are so expensive, I normally try to get a good look at one before buying to make sure it isn't over my head, and to make sure that it has what I expect it to have.

Ed

[Stephen M]

Ed, the book is expensive but more than worth the investment (this is an investment in your time, knowlege and skill development).

There is a LOT of freely available stuff written by Dan.

You can read two sample PDF chapters here:

http://www.ledet.com/margulis/articles.html

These two should give you an impression of the writing style and depth of commentary.

Many of Dan's books concepts were originally mentioned in a more raw form in his postings at his Applied Color Theory list and in his monthly magazine articles for Electronic Publishing magazine:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/colortheory/

(membership reqd)

http://www.ledet.com/margulis/ACT_postings/ACT.htm

(edited transcripts of the above list, if you want to test the waters before you join the list).

http://ep.pennnet.com/home.cfm

(use the search feature > advanced to search for make ready column articles with the keywords Dan Margulis...this should result in around 30 articles being listed).

Then get the book/s - as I am sure your appetite will be stimulated after reading all of the above a few times over (this could take a very long time).

Regards,

Stephen Marsh.

[TheTexan]

Heres the attachment

[DannyRaphael]

Margulis PS5 edition vs PS7 edition?

Since the theory of color correction hasn't changed much (or has it?) since PS5, would it be valid to get Professional Photoshop 5, The Classic Guide to Color Correction for a whole lot less money than paying full price for the PS7 edition?

I've got the PS5 edition. Not a particularly easy read, but exceptionally thorough and broad in coverage.

[mama alligator]

Another treasure trove...tanks Tex and Stephen M. I just joined EP. Now I'll never get to sleep again.

[Stephen M]

As I mentioned - Dan's Make Ready articles often have similar content to the book...but they are more raw and not as fleshed out as the books. With each new book, Dan refines techniques and introduces new ones etc.

So, yes in some ways the v5 book could help (better than not reading anything of Dan's) - but it would not be the most up to date on all methods.

Also in Dan's latest book, he has made some additions based on reader feedback so that some stumbling blocks in past editions have been smoothed out (as mentioned these books presume a certain level of knowledge of the application and some uses of the toolset).

So even though I have not come close to digesting all of the v6 book - I am very eager to get my hands on the latest book to see what has evolved since the last one.

Regards,

Stephen Marsh.

[Doug Nelson]

I do like the Margulis book, but its very heavily slanted towards prepress (ie: final output will be litho ink). He even used to insult anyone that didn't work in CMYK (though that has been toned down a bit in the last edition).

But he's a colorful character with an excellent reputation, so any accurate book that gets read is a good book (in my book).