Today was the second of Photoshop World here in Atlanta (find the day 1 recap here), another great day of inspiration. My husband attended two sessions, visited the Expo Hall, and met some of my KelbyOne (formerly NAPP) buddies, which made it extra special for me.
Here’s what I did:
Session 1
Class: Thinking Outside the Box
Instructor: Joel Grimes
Track: Photoshop Skills
I was a little late for this class, which started at 8:15 a.m. (that’s my perfect excuse), but I wish I’d seen the whole thing. He showed samples of stacking images in camera (like on this website) and I totally want to know if it’s possible on my Nikon D700.
Session 2
Class: The Creative Portrait
Instructor: RC Concepcion
Track: Photoshop for Photographers
I had major technical difficulties during this class—my iPad locked me out for nearly an hour (I think my keyboard in my purse wasn’t turned off and I was accidentally typing the wrong password over and over) and my phone locked up and eventually needed a hard reset—but I took two pages of notes on borrowed paper.
Quotes:
“Find your courage.”
“Sharpening is like pasta: it’s all to taste.”
Session 3
Class: Top 10 Headshot Blunders
Instructor: Peter Hurley
Track: Photography Techniques
Peter Hurley’s classes make me want to hang my white backdrop and start shooting headshots.
Quote:
“Posing isn’t authentic.”
Session 4
Class: Creating Your Own Custom Photo Books with Lightroom 5
Instructor: Scott Kelby
Track: Lightroom
Why haven’t I made Blurb books from Lightroom’s Book Module? Beats me. This looks so fun!
Tips:
Keeping a small 7″ x 7″ book in your camera bag can open doors.
People prefer looking at the 8″ x 10″ book instead of the largest sizes.
The softcover books are great quality and what Scott orders most.
You get a 20% discount on your order if you leave the small Blurb logo on the back page of your book.
Session 5
Class: Live Food Photography Shoot
Instructor: Joe Glyda
Track: Lighting
Fascinating stuff! Joe didn’t even talk about his X-Rite MSCCPP ColorChecker Passport
Quote:
“The secret to food photography is backlight.”
Session 6
Class: Bad A$$ Text Effects
Instructor: Corey Barker
Track: Creative Cloud/Graphics
By this point I’d officially attended a session in each of the 7 tracks. Corey never fails to amaze me with his creativity.
Tip:
The 3D and Properties panel are the most needed for Corey’s heavy duty text effects.
Session 7
Class: Zack’s Daily Lightroom Tips & Practices
Instructor: Zack Arias
Track: Lightroom
Zack is one of my favorite instructors: genuine and informative. I wrapped my brain (or at least my notes, practice makes perfect) around a technique that I’d seen but not understood in Lightroom. I realized today that my favorite images came from photographers who did the least editing. Go figure. This is an interesting revelation to a girl who loves to edit.
Sadly, the Lightroom track is on a hallway that’s too stinkin’ cold, but I’ve been to the Cobb Galleria Center enough to know to carry a sweater or jacket.
Great Scott Kelby Interview
Check out this new interview with Scott Kelby about the new KelbyOne and the vision behind his company. I’m all about continuing education and honestly, I bawled over this video. Watch it and see. It will make you want to go teach somebody something that you love.
I look forward to another great day of classes tomorrow!
