Hey guys,
It’s no secret that I attended last year’s Photoshop World at Las Vegas. I can tell you, it was a blast! If you’re a photographer or a creative/graphics person, you should attend this. I’ve always considered myself a student of photography, so I had a lot of fun learning new things from the pros and the experts.
The event is not just about the classes though. There are a lot of things happening. So, in case you’re interested to find out what’s going on there and why you should go, I’m sharing with you my Top 10 Reasons on WHY you should attend Photoshop World.
Before I begin, I know that the economy is not at its greatest now, so if you want to save some money, make sure you do the following:
- Register NOW (or before Feb 20); early bird saves you $100. If you’re not a NAPP member, you automatically become one. That’s a great bonus!
- Enter the code from MPIX: PE09-APXM (in the last page of the registration); I got this from Layers Magazine and it adds an additional $50 off your price. Thanks, MPIX! đ
That’s a total of $150 in savings! đ Pretty cool!
So, without further ado, here’s part 1 of my list:
#10 – It’s an event for Photographers and Creative individuals
If you’re a newbie, an amateur, a pro photographer, or even a graphics/video guy, THIS is the event for you. Why? There are classes that cater to your every need. The event covers all areas of the creative world. If you’re a photographer and you want to learn lighting, there are classes for that. If you want to learn video or Flash to add to your portfolio, there are also sessions for that. If you’re looking into Photoshop effects, 3D, Photoshop video, they also have it.
This is a great way for you to get inspired and to meet other professionals in the field.
#9 – Freebies!
Yes, you can win something just by attending classes. Take for instance, the product below. I got that for FREE from attending a class on color calibration. How? Well, let’s just say that sometimes, there are sponsors in the classes and at the end of the class, the instructor usually draws names randomly. So, you have a chance to win something!
Lucky for me, I actually won the Eye-One Display 2
! It’s worth $180 at amazon.com. That’s almost half of what I paid for for Photoshop World! đ
So, in case you’re wondering what the other prizes were, one thing that I remember was that they were giving away vouchers for OnOne Software or Nik Software. đ
#8 – The Photoshop World Manual
This is one of the materials you get after registering. I warn you, it is a THICK book, the size of a phone book. It contains almost ALL (I say almost all because some classes don’t have their presentation materials here) of the presentations and steps that the instructors go through during their classes. With this, even if you missed some classes (because you can’t split yourself), you can still use this book as a reference in the future.
This is useful for me especially because I can easily go back to this manual when I need to look at other tips for my photography.
#7 – Get Inspiration
One of the effective ways to learn and improve your vision and technique in photography is to look at the work of the best in the industry. This is what happens in ‘The Art of Digital Photography’ session at Photoshop World. A group of photographers form a panel and then share their portfolio to everyone.
Imagine this… Joe McNally and Jay Maisel sharing their photographs with you. Some photographers have it as a slideshow where they put music. Others share stories (especially Joe McNally, who has a lot of fun stories behind his shots) of how they were able to capture those images. If that doesn’t inspire you to go out and shoot, then I don’t know what else would. That’s an experience that can’t be replaced.
While attending last year’s ‘Art of Digital Photography,’ I actually learned that it’s good to constantly challenge yourself to find subjects to photograph. And, to also find a theme. It may not take me 1 day or 1 month to finish it, but it’s a compilation of these photos over time that would make it great. Here’s how I applied it in my photography: in my recent trip to Hong Kong, I shot signs. A lot of them. I also have some photos of signs from other countries that I’ve been to. Someday (I promise), I’ll post a slideshow to showcase all these photos. đ
#6 – Learn from the best
I’ve attended a lot of training events and I’ve had my share of good teachers and bad ones. However, at Photoshop World, I was really really impressed. The speakers and instructors are very well-versed at their craft and they have the passion to teach. To me, that’s the most important thing. They want to share their knowledge with the group so that we all get better.
A sign of a great instructor/teacher/speaker is that he can take criticism and comments. That’s surely one thing that’s being done at Photoshop World. At the start of each session, participants are asked to take down notes/comments for the class they’re attending. And then, at the end of the session, everyone is asked to submit those comments. There’s always a staff that reminds all of us to do this.
To me, this is an indication that instructors, as well as the staff, take comments seriously in order to give us the best experience we can get at Photoshop World.
If you want to know who’s teaching at this year’s Photoshop World, here are the instructors.
Stay tuned for the next part of my Photoshop World coverage.
Btw, in case you’re bored, check out my previous posts about Photoshop World:
Later…
mikelao photography 