COMPANY: O'Reilly | URL: (See Barnes & Noble link at bottom) | TYPE: How-to | LEVEL: Beginning/Intermediate | PRICE: $34.95
The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers By Peter Krogh

List Price: US $34.95 | Can $48.95 | UK £24.95
November 2005 | 1st edition | 296 pages | Softcover
ISBN: 0-596-10018-3

In the world of digital photography, Digital Asset Management (DAM) refers to every part of the process that follows the taking of the picture, through final output and permanent storage. Anyone who shoots, scans or stores digital photographs is practicing some form of DAM, but most of us are not doing so systematically or efficiently.

In The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, photographer Peter Krogh presents a solid plan and practical advice on how to file, find, protect and re-use photographs, focusing on best practices for digital photographers using Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Can you find your digital photographs when you need them, or do you spend more time rifling through your hard drive and file cabinets than you'd like? Do you have a system for assigning and tracking content data on your photos? If you make a living as a photographer, do your images bear your copyright and contact information, or do they circulate in the marketplace unprotected?

As professional photographer and author Peter Krogh sees it, "Your DAM system is fundamental to the way your images are known, both to you and to everyone else." DAM, or Digital Asset Management, in the world of digital photography refers to every part of the process that follows the taking of the picture, through final output and permanent storage. Anyone who shoots, scans or stores digital photographs, is practicing some form of digital asset management. Unfortunately, most of us don't yet know how to manage our files (and our time) very systematically, or efficiently.

In The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, Krogh brings clarity to the often overwhelming task of managing digital photographs, with a solid plan and practical advice for fellow photographers on how to file, find, protect and re-use photographs. Following a thorough overview of the DAM system and de-mystifications of metadata and digital archiving, Krogh focuses on best practices for digital photographers using Adobe Photoshop CS2. He explains how to use Adobe Bridge, the new CS2 navigational software that replaces the File Browser introduced in Photoshop 7, with full details on integrating Bridge, Camera Raw and Digital Asset Management software.

Compellingly presented in four-color format, The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers brings Krogh's award-winning creative approach to a subject that could have been technically intimidating. Instead, Krogh's twenty years of experience and instructive visual storytelling make this material not only accessible, but compulsory reading for serious digital photographers.
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Is All This DAM Stuff?
Chapter 2: Metadata
Chapter 3: Creating The Digital Archive Part 1: The Information Structure
Chapter 4: Creating The Digital Archive Part 2: Hardware Configurations
Chapter 5: Setting Up Bridge
Chapter 6: The Editing Workflow
Chapter 7: Using Cataloging Software
Chapter 8: Derivative Files
Chapter 9: Strategies For Successful File Migration
Index
Photographer Peter Krogh brings a creative, award-winning approach to technically challenging and visually compelling photographic storytelling. Working with all formats of equipment, from digital photography, to large format film cameras, to complex location lighting assignments, Peter brings twenty years experience, a fresh approach, and a bold eye to his projects.