Others say...

"iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual"
I love the way David Pogue communicates with his readers. Always easy to understand & follow.

"iPhoto."
Despite the fact that I am a professional photographer doing a good deal of digital work, this book has taught me how much more to this program than I ever expected. It has great value for the profesional image maker as well as a great place to start for the beginning shooter.

"Give you clear look of little giant"
This book gives you the bird-eye view of the world's renowned photo management software, it has some useful information for amateur photographer who is intended to use iPhoto software, written in plain english. It is little interesting that one-thirds of the entire book contents are cover how to choose the right digital camera and how to take a good shot, of course, you don't have to worry since its another two-thirds of pages are fulled about some kind of "soft" thing, which is about acquire, manage, tag, retouch and share or archive your pictures.

the bottom line : it is suitable to anyone who is interesting digital photography, and sleek, cool apps to manage your pictures instead of old grammy's rangefinder camera and shoebox.

"IPhoto6 Review"
iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual
By: David Pogue and Derrick Story
Published by: Pogue Press/O'Reilly

Reviewed by: Robert W. Humphreys

iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual is much more than just a book on the use of iPhoto. It is also a comprehensive introduction to digital cameras and good photography in general.

The book is divided into 5 parts, each on a major subject and with individual chapters providing detailed information on a portion of the main subject.

Part One consists of three chapters about how to purchase a digital camera, the various features to look for and what they will do. Included are chapters on the basics of good photographic composition and how to set up and obtain that special shot.

Part Two introduces the basics of iPhoto and includes three chapters on downloading photos from the camera, organizing them into albums and using keywords to locate a specific photo at a later date. The final chapter explains how to edit, repair, retouch, color correct and crop photos to correct any problems that may have occurred during the actual taking of the picture.

Part Three moves on to the publishing of photos for viewing by others. It explains how to create slide shows, make prints, publish to the web, and make cards, books and calendars - all from within iPhoto. It then moves on to making QuickTime movies and creating iDVD slide shows.

Part Four consists of a number of "iPhoto stunts." It explains how to convert photos to screen savers, saving and exporting photos in several different formats, the use of Apple Scripts and Automator to back up libraries and files and how to burn CD and DVD discs.

Part Five provides appendixes on troubleshooting, a complete list of iPhoto menus and a list of additional resources for expanding one's knowledge of photography and iPhoto.

The book has a complete index to help find a particular subject. Throughout the book, there are tips on the subject being discussed. There are numerous full-color figures with screen-shots explaining the various topics and showing what to look for in order to accomplish a desired action. Each page is marked near the top edge with the subject of the section in order to make it easier to find by just leafing through.

I whole-heartedly agree with the statement on the cover - "The book that should have been in the box." I believe on-line help files to be too restrictive and difficult for readily finding the information I need. I much prefer a written document, which permits me to look through and jump from section to section in order to find an answer to my question. I can also frequently discover new tidbits by just stopping and looking at an interesting page that I happen to notice as I skim past. While reviewing iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual, I discovered numerous capabilities of iPhoto that I hadn't realized were included in the program.

I found iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual to be a valuable addition to any library on digital photography and a comprehensive text on the use of the iPhoto program itself. I recommend the book for all iPhoto users. The book is easy to read, either by starting at the beginning and reading it from cover to cover, or by just opening to a section and reading an item of interest. The book is priced a little high at $29.99 (US), especially for a subject that will most likely have a major update or even be replaced within a year. However, for all the good information on the use of iPhoto and digital photography in general, the book iPhoto 6 - The Missing Manual is well worth the cost.

"Another exemplary title in The Missing Manual series!"
Even iPhoto veterans will appreciate the excellent coverage of new features offered in iPhoto 6 over previous versions of iPhoto.

The first part of this book goes outside the iPhoto application itself and presents the basics of digital photography with brief discussions of camera selection, terminology and image capture techniques (in roughly 60 pages). Nice for a digital photography newbie, but fluff for those who already own any one of a multitude of books on digital camera photography.

Parts 2 and 3 cover the majority of iPhoto's features in enough depth and detail to represent the missing manual moniker perfectly. This is great for relative newcomers to iPhoto, but some chapters will seem like a re-hash of the basics to an iPhoto veteran. Part 3's chapters cover the sweet spot of iPhoto 6's new features and their integration within the iLife '06 suite of products. It also makes a compelling case for purchase of iLife '06 if you don't already have it.

Some of the most valuable information for the beginner and experienced user alike, can be found in the sidebar topics that cover gotcha's, FAQ's and power user tips. These are sprinkled throughout the book, and keep the reader's interest.

Part 4 covers more advanced topics like using iPhoto to generate desktop backgrounds correctly, automation & scripting, and file management. I was hoping for much more depth on creative ways of using Automator and AppleScript with iPhoto 6, but then again this isn't a book on AppleScript or Automator.

The last chapter on iPhoto file management skips talking about one of the biggest mistakes that many iPhoto users make. That is; mucking around with the iPhoto library files by renaming, relocating, and deleting files and folders directly in the Finder. Thus breaking the iPhoto database. From a troubleshooter's standpoint, I'd like to see the authors advise readers to resist the temptation to do this. It'd make a nice sidebar to their core discussion of managing iPhoto libraries and archiving. The appendix covers techniques to recover and/or rebuild the iPhoto database once broken and misbehaving.

This book is a great reference to have at your side when working in iPhoto, especially when using it as part of an iLife '06 workflow. Highly recommended!