Bookreview:  Color Management for Photographers
Author:  Andrew Rodney
Publisher:  Focal Press
Reviewed by:  Igno van Niekerk, Manager:  Adobe User Group, Bloemfontein, South Africa

No easy topic.  No easy read. Before writing this review, I had to discuss many of the aspects and issues covered with other photographers.  The author does his best to make color management as “accessible” as possible, but color management is like a safe with some very difficult combinations, not easy to open. 
The author starts by giving thorough explanations of color models, color spaces and other elements of color, aspects which often send shivers down the spines of anyone trying to make the most of color management.
The second chapter on Photoshop and Color Management is encyclopaedic in terms of what it covers, and if you are preparing for the ACE exam, you might find it very useful, but still not easy to understand as there is a vast array of definitions and numbers.  Suggestions are made to ensure the best possible color management, while the author also attempts to cover all the intricacies of different settings in Photoshop.  What is really great about this book is that the thorough theory (read: not as easy as it seems) is supported with practical exercises on the accompanying disk.  Let me also say at this point that any photographer who is serious about their photographs should be serious about color, and therefore, at some stage one has to wrangle with the issues discussed here. 
It is no surprise that Rodney’s next discussion is about display profiles and the calibration of displays.  Many serious photographers have had their work rejected by stock agencies because of lacklustre calibration.  Others will often attest to the fact that photos that were sent to a lab came out (let’s use the euphemism) unexpectedly.  No one likes these nasty surprises, and the only way to avoid them is to make sure you understand color management and understand it well.  By now you might be getting the gist of this review:  “It’s not an easy read, but hell, it’s necessary.” 
The next chapters on scanner, camera and output profiles are again important, as one has to understand the principles that one needs to adhere to.  Never forget the old gigo (garbage in, garbage out) principle.  As time goes by, hopefully the hardware will be easier to profile, but it is still very important to understand the fundamentals of profiling, because if things go wrong at this stage of the process, there is very little hope of recovering. 
The chapter on “Printing to a Press,” is a very useful chapter to assist anyone preparing for an ACE exam, or who often work with “the devil’s color space”.  Rodney shows photographers that, although one might want to skip dealing with the CMYK colorspace, it is essential to understand.  Just when you think this is not for photographers, there is an entire sub heading devoted to “Why photographers need to understand Prepress.”  The bottom line is that you can actually improve the final outcome of your work by doing the right things at the capture and imaging stage.
When one reads this book, it is clear, this is a bit like accounting, you cannot look at the data and think you know how it works.  Chapter 9’s tutorials is going to be the difference between those who wonder what happened and those who will be making things happen with regards to color management in photography.
The book reviewed was the 2005 edition.  This is not the kind of book which is going to be a bestseller, it’s just too intricate in terms of the subject covered, but it’s the kind of book which, in the hands of a committed learner can make a world of difference in terms of the quality of your photography.  Those who love it will keep it as a precious arrow in the quiver of their photographic knowledge base.