Meehan, Les. Digital image making; a complete visual guide for photographers.

Watson-Guptill, Amphoto. 128p. illus. index. c2002. 0-8174-5453-5. $24.95. SA

This attractive book lives up to its subtitle, demonstrating a wide variety of techniques for making images electronically. The author, a freelance photographer and former computer programmer, includes over 400 full-color illustrations showing step-by-step sequences of evolving images, with accompanying screen grabs. The text is easy to understand, though directed at those with some background in photography and computers. The first part of the book covers "Digital Essentials": digital files, scanning, and basic software techniques. Meehan then goes on to discuss "Darkroom to Digital," examining ways to correct a raw image and explaining digital procedures in terms of traditional techniques, such as creating combined images. The third section, "Flights of Fancy," discusses the creation of abstract and fantasy art, images springing from the imagination rather than from reality. In the last section, "Creating Final Output," making a hard or print copy is the focus. The examples here should help inspire photographers of all levels to experiment with digital techniques.