Another Photoshop World is in the bag. This year Photoshop World was held in Atlanta for the first time and it was a great experience. This was my ninth time as an instructor, but the first time that I taught in the actual Photoshop track. More on that a little later.
The theme this years was based on Pirates of the Caribbean. Each year there is a different theme and while none will come close to the KISS theme a few years back, Pirates came really close. A great stage and opening skit produced by the folks at KelbyOne made for a fun opening to Photoshop World. You can see in these photos the rehearsals that went on up till the doors opened and the attendees got to enter the keynote area.
Check out Brad Moore capturing the behind the scene action as the last-minute details are ironed out.
Pete Collins practices his posing.
The backstage area is where the real magic happened. The crew makes it possible to put on a full production that you just don’t see at most conventions.
The room is packed, the lights are dimmed and it was time to kick off Photoshop World 2014, Atlanta edition.
After the opening skit, it was time for Scott Kelby to take the stage and set the tone for the conference. He was followed by Adobe who announced the Lightroom mobile app and gave an overview of where they think media creation is heading.
After the keynote, it was time for the actual sessions to begin. Usually at this point in the conference I have meetings or spend the time going over the notes for my sessions. This time out, I managed to spend some time catching some of the other classes being offered. First up was Bill Fortney talking about photographing Americana. I am in awe of Bill and his talent to find the perfect photo anywhere. Always inspiring to hear him talk and see his images.
Here is a shot of Joe McNally working hard to take a portrait of Mike Olivella. It is always amazing to see Joe work. Here you can see how he uses his hand as a flag to block the direct light from the flash so that Mike is only illuminated from the light being bounced from the seamless backdrop to Joes right.
Before heading off to do some portfolio reviews, I spent a few minutes on the expo floor. One of the great things is the Wescott booth where they set up scenes allowing folks to take photos under their constant lights. Sticking with the pirate theme….
Here you can see how the booth is set up.
The following photo shows the instructor lunch setup. We just run on caffeine. Actually there was a great lunch everyday, it just hadn’t been setup yet when I took this photo. On elf the great things about having Photoshop World in Atlanta was the abundance of Diet Coke. Made life so much better.
After a quick bite, I went off to do some portfolio reviews. I am always amazed at the quality of work I see by the attendees. Some really great stuff. Then it was time for my first class, Concert Photography. There was a great turn out and the class went really well. I did take advantage of the fact that there was no scheduled class after mine and went about 10 minutes long. One of the greatest things about Photoshop world is the accessibility of the instructors. I spent the hour after my class answering questions and discussing the state of concert photography with a great group of attendees.
Some self disclosure here… I left my camera in the room and didn’t take any photos of the bowling outing where I was really happy to break 100. I had a great time and can’t thank the folks from Smugmug enough for putting up with my bowling “skills”. Not only do they run a kick ass portfolio hosting site but they are really nice people too. My portfolio is hosted by Smugmug but it is something I pay for because it is a service I like.
The highlight of day 2 for me was teaching my new photoshop class on post processing night and low light images. I really want to thank all those that came out to the class. You all made it a great class for me.
THANK YOU
and thanks for the photo Brad
After my class, I headed over to catch Glyn Dewis and his class on creating Dramatic Portraits with the Invisible Black Background. It was a great class with Glyn walking through the whole process. He even got Joel Grimes to act as his model.
I then made my way to the Expo floor where I gave a talk at the Peachpit / KelbyOne bookstore on my current and future Fuel Books. A great opportunity that I thank Peachpit for. For more information on the Fuel Books, check out Fuelbooks.com
Turns out I really like talking with my hands.
Day three started with another Glyn Dewis class, this time on creating composites. Really eye-opening. especially his use of layer blend modes. Here is Glyn and Randy after the class. I think we had just demonstrated Randy’s unique bowling technique to Glyn.
I managed to catch a great talk by Joe McNally at the Peachpit booth. Here he is describing his love for small flashes…. or maybe it is how his editors sometimes want to strangle him.
Continuing with some expo floor classes, I watched Glyn present some of his tips and tricks on using a grey layer in his retouching. Good stuff and probably the most useful tips that I will be using on a regular basis.
And just like that, Photoshop World was at an end….
I just wanted to give a quick shout out to all the instructors who I managed to spend a little time with. they are some of the most talented folks on the planet and it’s always a humbling experience. Bert Monroy, Joe Glyda, Frank Doorhof, Zack Arias, Scot, RC, Pete, Matt and Corey, Rick Samon, Helene and Jim… and Aaron Blaise who can tug at a heartstring with just a few brush strokes…..
See you all in Las Vegas….
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