IPHOTO 2: THE MISSING MANUAL

Anyone can click a button and capture a digital photo. It’s what happens next -- polishing, organizing, and editing your photos -- that isn’t always easy. Fortunately, Mac users can download iPhoto 2, absolutely free -- and get themselves a copy of iPhoto 2: The Missing Manual. iPhoto 2 is elegant and uncluttered -- but that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. The second version of this software is a major upgrade, and the online help files don’t do it justice. That’s where iPhoto 2: The Missing Manual comes in. Longtime Mac aficionado (and New York Times technology columnist) David Pogue will help you get the most out of iPhoto 2 -- and your digital camera. If you haven’t yet bought your digital camera (or are planning to upgrade), Chapter 1 offers expert advice. (Which features do you need? What do you need to know about memory capacity? Battery life? Image resolution settings?) Then, before he even gets to iPhoto, Pogue gives you a thorough grounding in the “artistic” side of taking digital pictures: stuff most “software” how-to guides don’t cover. What’s the “rule of thirds,” and how can it improve the composition of your photos? How do you avoid backgrounds that distract from your photos? Pogue shows how to go beyond simple snapshots to take better action and sports photos; portraits and self-portraits that truly capture their subjects; better pictures of your fidgety kids; better travel photos, indoor theater and museum photos, even better underwater pictures. (That’s assuming you’re equipped for it. Digital cameras are not born waterproof!) There’s even a tip on avoiding red-eye without using your camera’s blinding “red-eye reduction” features. By now, you’re itching to get your images into iPhoto 2. Part II covers all the basics: importing, organizing, and filing photos, searching and finding images you’ve filed, and editing them to fix lighting or composition problems. You’ll especially appreciate iPhoto’s major improvements in keywords -- and the new Keywords palette, which simplifies both keyword assignments and searches. And, while iPhoto’s still no Photoshop, Pogue covers its significant photo-editing improvements -- including the Enhance tool for “punching up” washed-out