Photograph Like a Thief: Using Imitation and Inspiration to Create Great Images Paperback – April 28, 2017

Glyn Dewis has long been a favorite educator at Photoshop World events, and no wonder. He is exceptionally talented, entertaining and genuinely wants to raise the level of his students' work. This enthusiasm and talent for teaching difficult skills carries over into his books and his writing, and "Photograph Like a Thief" is no exception to his growing body of published books. Photograph Like a Thief breaks down how to reverse engineer an image--or how to figure out how a photographer created his or her image. Note: this is not "copying" a person's work; it is learning how the photographer captured the image and what his or her post processing was to achieve the final effect. Knowing how to reverse engineer an image is key to the growth of any creative; it is the method used by some of the greatest painters in human history (looking at a work and painting a copy to learn how the original artist made his or her creation) and then use these skills to create the artist's own piece. (hope that made sense) This book shows how many of the more unique lighting and captures were created as well how to post-process to finish the images. The photographer will be able to take these skills and apply them to his or her own work in a way that is unique to their own styles. Additionally, the photographer will be able to look at anyone's work and have a good chance of figuring out how it was done and will be able to incorporate these skills into his or her own work.This book is a wealth of knowledge and is suitable for both novice photographers and skilled photographers. There will be something for everyone in this book and it will serve as a resource to have on your desk while editing, too.

Came in looking like a champ..The actual book itself-that is. I have enjoyed this book for the reason that it was bought that that was for teaching a class. I have always taught photography and I am always looking for ways to bring new and exciting lessons and ideas to the course and this book really brought quite a few new ideas for the class. I thank the author and I continue to look for similar books that are out there that offer similar literature to broaden my vision in photography and teaching it in such a way that adds insight to those who have a passion and just need ways to balance that need, want, desire with ideas to further cultivate one's creativity.

I have replicated a few of the photos in this book following Glyn's easy instructions with great success.Pros:- the lighting setups are extremely simple- the post processing is discussed in an easy to follow step by step manner- several photography situations are coveredCons:- it isn't longer :-)Glyn wrote this book an easy to follow manner that can be understood by photographers of any level.If this review was helpful to you, please click the "yes" button below - it helps Amazon (and those of us who write reviews) know if the information provided is of value to others.

Glyn Dewis is brilliant. A talented educator that communicates very well with a high degree of knowledge. Ive learned a lot from Glyn and refer to his written and audio teachings over and over. I also agree that to find your own style, using parts of other people's techniques are crucial. Photoshop is not an intuitive piece of software and learning tips and techniques is the only way to puzzle things together to create unique and interesting final images. Thanks Glyn for being as talented an instructor as you are knowledgeable about image processing.

Outstanding reference & information by Glyn Dewis.This book is a combination of analyzing a photo to figure out how it was lighted & taken along with great retouching tips.He's really an artist at photography & composites. I'm just glad he openly shares his knowledge.I also have his compositing book which I regularly refer to  The Photoshop Workbook: Professional Retouching and Compositing Tips, Tricks, and Techniques .

Written in an English that is easy to follow for a non-native speaker. Excellent little tutorials that makes one itch to get into Photoshop and try it with own photographs. I thoroughly recommend this book for everyone who likes to take photographs and uses some artistry to take them just a bit further for the WOW effect.

Good book, takes you step be step through processes. Couple areas where I got confused but I figured it out.

This book is great! Glyn's teaching style doesn't leave you thinking that there was something missing, like other books I have read. His in depth method ensures that you can achieve the same results as he does.

It is interesting to see the idea of reverse engineering and thinking about other's work put into practice in a small number of examples - but not really enought about "using imagination and inspiration" Why are the things he copied interesting to him, how has this enabled him to develop his own style... There are several studies, but truth be told, after telling where the idea came from the studies are more about photoshop processing than anything else. There is some basic lighting overview, lots and lots about the processes Glyn uses in photoshop for compositing and retouching - all good stuff (except the obsession with 2 plugins) but I wasn't really trying to buy a book on retouching! But not reallly enough about the actual title of the book. Not a bad book and I think it is good when someone talks through their approach and method, but not quite on target!

Glyn's first book, The Photoshop Workbook, was the first of this genre to really give me the answers I was looking for when retouching and compositing. I was amazed at his generosity with the detail and information he provided so when this one was announced I was expecting more of the same. I was not disappointed. The style in which he writes reflects his 'no waffle' approach in telling you what you want to know and what you need to know. Impatient to wait for the printed copy to arrive, I ordered the kindle edition first, and I am very pleased I did as all the links to figure references, web links and links to download image files needed to follow along step by step are 'hot' so I can have the book on one screen while I work on another. I still love the printed edition for that tactile browsing.This is not a book about copying, cheating or 'stealing'. It is packed full of quality tips and guidance on finding and developing your own unique style.

Glyns first book  The Photoshop Workbook: Professional Retouching and Compositing Tips, Tricks, and Techniques  was excellent, but his new book goes so much further.Glyn's easy to read style takes you from finding inspiration from other photographers, reverse engineering lighting to how to retouch, cut out, smooth skin etc, etc, it's all covered!!! The style of writing and explanations are easy to read and follow and means you learn why a particular technique works and why you are doing it rather than "set this slider to X and that one to Y" (too many other books\trainers just tell you what settings to use and no more).The quality of the book is also refreshingly good. Great pictures, easy to read, good quality paper and a hefty 800 pages.I've been following Glyn on social media for quite some time, and learnt a huge amount from him, and have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this book. It did disappoint! I've already learnt several new techniques and tips and it only arrived 24 hours ago!But the most important thing to learn is how to take inspiration from others, adapt it, reverse engineer it, and then use that information to create your own unique images. In that respect, Photograph Like a Thief is unique! The Photoshop Workbook: Professional Retouching and Compositing Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

Excellent book by Glyn Dewis. I bought this having owned his first book and having this one recommended to me by friends. It is clear, easy to follow and has some great tips and tricks. However while it isn't for the absolute beginner I would say most people would be able to follow each step of the various projects and images to get a decent result.

This is a great book (I got the kindle version) for helping you re-create styles and develop your own creative style. It focuses mainly on portraits (lighting, composition ect) but I found the exercises using Lightroom and Photoshop extremely helpful in using techniques and processes I had not used before (I especially like the process for producing "amazing eyes".Although the processes are mainly dealing with portraiture, they can be applied to any form of photography.Highly recommended.