Lightroom 4 Beta is out!

In case you want to try out the new version of Lightroom, check out the latest beta at this link: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=labs_lightroom4

Some key changes include videos, maps, books and more!

Also, while you’re at it, check out NAPP’s Lightroom 4 Center.

Photoshop World ’09 Boston: The Game Is On

Photoshop World ’09 Boston kicked off today with its popular Keynote.

One of the new things NAPP did this year is to have a live blog. Check it out now to know what’s new this year.

There are some announcements/videos there that are not being shown on the net yet, but here are some things that might interest you:

• Wacom introduced the Intuos 4. I’m not (yet) a tablet person but if you want details, check out the following links:
  • Terry White’s first impressions on Intuos 4
  • Wacom’s website for Intuos 4

• NAPP also made the WaterMark Creator
  • This is only available to NAPP members and it’s using Adobe’s Extension Manager.
  • It’s a pretty cool and handy tool, if you ask me 🙂
  • Here’s a screenshot (only a portion) of the WaterMark Creator:

Don’t feel bad if you’re not a NAPP member. You know  you can always join now and get some goodies free with your subscription (usually a DVD). Plus, you get 8 issues of Photoshop User Magazine.

Before I forget, one of the new benefits you get from being a NAPP member is this — a fee online class from Kelby Training each month!

If you haven’t done so, check out kelbytraining.com. It’s a great site to learn Photoshop, Photography, the whole Creative Suite and more — all at your own time and convenience. Plus, NAPP members have a discount! Told ya it’s worth it to be a NAPP Member… 🙂

And since you’re kind enough to read my post, don’t forget to check out Scott Kelby’s Blog extension for Photoshop that makes his blog available right inside Photoshop! Cool, eh! 🙂 This is how it looks inside Photoshop:

Later…

Top 10 Reasons To Go To Photoshop World (Part 2)

Okay guys, hope you enjoyed the first part. Now, here are more exciting reasons why you should attend Photoshop World!

#5 Portfolio Reviews

Believe me, I knew this was important but I never knew how big of a deal this is after I had done this. I read the description of portfolio reviews in the PSW site and I was kinda intimidated to sign-up. Finally, Ekky (my avid fan, supporter, fiancee) made me sign-up and said that I should take it.

Well, I did. So, to all you first-timers out there who plan to do this, here’s a glimpse of what happens in a portfolio review.

• the porfolio review happens during the Expo Time
• there’s an area at the back of the expo where this takes place
• the review takes probably around 10-15 minutes (I think mine was around 15 minutes), depending on the amount of photographs you have
• you can either bring your printed work or an electronic portfolio
• you basically go through your images and then you get a critique of your photos — your composition, your shooting style, clarity, colors, etc.

Since I wasn’t able to print my photos (and I didn’t want to carry around large photographs from the Philippines), I opted for the electronic one. It was a pretty simple setup:

• I made sure all my photos were placed in 1 folder (aptly named Portfolio Reviews) 🙂
• I selected around 15 of my best images. They were full-sized JPGs but at 72dpi
• I then opened them up in Bridge.
• I setup a workspace that just highlighted the photo (without the rest of the tabs). Don’t ask me why I didn’t do the slideshow view. I usually don’t use Bridge so I’m not an expert 🙂

Oh, before I forget, when you sign-up for this, you actually have to fill out a short questionnaire. This is for the PSW team to identify the field of photography you are into so that they can also find a match to the reviewer.

Rick Sammon was the one who did my Portfolio Reviews. It was a match because he is into traveling! He actually was able to visit the Philippines but it was quite some time ago. Told him to go back again soon! 🙂

A couple of things that I learned from Rick are:

• Make sure your photos are really sharp. There are times that photos might be blurry because you denote motion, but make sure the subject is in focus.
• Composition is important: Crop your photo to communicate the vision you have. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t conform to the traditional sizes – 4×6, 8×10….
• Photoshop is your friend. There are times that there are unwanted objects in your image. Make sure that you clean them to remove any distractions. I usually don’t do this because I usually just use Photoshop to fix the colors/saturation and to apply sharpening. But this is a good tip to me.
• Pay attention to all the small details. Rick pointed out some minor things that I could clean up in my images. I never noticed them myself but with him there, it was a welcome feedback.

I can’t begin to stress how important this review was. It’s really a great opportunity to have great photographers look at your work and give you straight-up feedback on what you need to improve on.

Btw, Scott actually had his portfolio reviewed by Joe McNally. Read his blog post about the review to find out more.

If you’re interested in this year’s Portfolio Reviews, check out this link.

#4 Midnight Madness

Let me tell you this, you go to Photoshop World, don’t expect to sleep. Why? Here’s why:

1st day: You wake up early either to (a) register and get your materials and (b) to make sure you’re in front of the line for the Expo. I’ll talk more about the expo in my next point.

2nd day: Again, you wake up Earlier because you want to line up for the tickets to Midnight Madness! I was there at around 6am and there were already around 5 people in front of me. It’s fun though because this is one of the opportunities you get to mingle with fellow attendees.

2nd Day Midnight: You attend midnight madness and you end up staying late again! 🙂 The good thing though is that the classes on the last day start at a later time. 🙂

What exactly is Midnight Madness?

Well, it’s right there, it’s Madness! It’s a night of fun, games, laughter with all the folks of NAPP and your fellow attendees. In last year’s Midnight Madness, there were games, lots of prizes (Adobe bags, caps, etc) and of course, a free Midnight Madness T-shirt, and of course, Krispy Kremes (with matching hats)! 🙂

Midnight Madness Hosts:

Midnight Madness Shirt along with the PSW Training Manual and the Pre-Con Training Manual (purchased at the bookstore):

I tell you, if you just want to laugh and enjoy the night, go to this event. Last year, because I attended this, I was able to see some of the behind-the-scenes videos that the video team created. They don’t show these videos to everyone else, so you’re special!

One of the funny videos there was Corey Barker Rick-Rolling! Note: the link here takes you to the You Tube video posted by ‘The Scriv’.

Also, the game last year was 1 vs 200. The questions were about Photoshop (filters, history, etc). The thing that surprised me though was that the ENTIRE game was done via Photoshop. Scott showed us the PSD file and it was all done in layers! Unbelievable! It just shows that there are people who really are Photoshop Addicts (or Geeks)! 🙂

#3 The Tech Expo

The Tech Expo is probably where you’ll spend a lot of your time and $$$. The is the busiest place in the event when there are no classes. If you often wish that you are able to try a photography product — be it software, plug-ins, actual prints, tripods, lenses, cameras but you just don’t see everything in your mall or you only rely on online reviews, then this IS the event for you!

It’s in this place where you will see everything, and at the same time, try them out. Some of the things I remember from the expo:

• MPIX and WHCC prints: I was able to check out how well their prints are and the different materials they have. They also give out samples of their prints so you know exactly what to expect if you order prints from them.

• Kelby Training: They setup workstations where you can see the online classes. Plus, they have some great deals and promos if you sign-up during the PSW event.

• PeachPit Press: Books galore! During last year’s expo, Scott’s new Lightroom 2 Book was just hot off the press and I was fortunate enough to get a copy here! The best thing is, Scott was there to autograph my copy of the book! Sweet!!! 🙂

• I was able to get a copy of the Pre-Con workbook at the bookstore. They give this away to people who attend the pre-con and the supplies are limited.

• Adobe: as one of the sponsors, they usually have a booth where they hold tutorials and demos of the Creative Suite products and Lightroom.

• Photoshop Plug-ins like: OnOne Software, Nik and Kubota — you get to see demos of their products and also, they usually have some discounts if you purchase their product there. Btw, you might just get to see the Kubota Man!!! See him here with Stephanie Cross:

• B&H Photo is there: free shipping for NAPP folks and certain products have a special expo price. I know I was able to get my ‘Justin Clamps’ for a good deal! 🙂

• Safari Books Online: I signed-up for their Safari Online Bookstore and with it came free books — The Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book by Martin Evening and Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds! It’s like I got the 2 books for $30 (I don’t exactly remember the amount 🙂 )…

• Canon and Nikon was also there. At that time, they were still quiet about the 5D Mark 2… but I was able to try out the 50D and the 135mm f2 lens (which I own now).

• Camera accessories like Really Right Stuff ballheads, bags, and tipods were also there.

• Drobo had a booth too. I actually tried removing a hard drive from it to see if it really works… of course it worked fine! 🙂 Unfortunately, I didn’t get one. Too pricey for me at that time.

• Lighting Equipments were also there. I remember Westcott was in the middle and Scott gave a demo of their new lights.

Before I forget, if you sign-up early, you can actually request for a free pass for a companion of yours to the Expo. That way, you’re not alone. If you have friends who are in the area, they can avail of these special discounts just by attending the Expo.

Oh, don’t forget to check out the classes and demos during the expo. Folks at NAPP and other instructors like Terry White, Joe McNally, Julieanne Kost usually do demos too. Free classes! 🙂 Take advantage of it.

#2 Keynote

One of the reasons why you wake up early on the first day and line up — to get good seats for the keynote. Three things to watch out for here:

• The opening: could be a video, presentation or a spoof done by the Photoshop Guys. Last year, it was Star Trek… pretty funny! Check out some photos of the keynote from my earlier post.

• Second: Scott’s surprise. Scott usually has something up his sleeves. Adobe’s Johnny L and Scott have been doing some jokes to each other. Let’s see what happens this year…

• Finally, Adobe’s announcement. Photoshop World is usually the venue where Adobe announces new products or major updates. Last year, it was the ‘CS Next‘ which eventually led to the announcement of CS4. This year, I’m thinking that it’s gonna be an updated Lightroom (maybe…)… See, there’s a Lightroom Track in Photoshop World this year, so maybe (just maybe), a newer version of Lightroom will come out. Let’s wait and see…

#1 The Photoshop Guys

I am a fan. ‘Nuff said. 🙂

Hah, it’s been a pretty long post so I’ll be short and sweet in my last point. To be able to meet ‘The Photoshop Guys’ — Scott, Matt and Dave in person, talk to them, see them teach and watch them tape an episode is… priceless! That alone is worth the trip and the attendance to the event!

Watching them being taped is fun in itself. You’d see how they make fun of each other (just like what you see in Photoshop User TV). And of course, it’s always a treat to see how ‘The Scriv’ just shakes his head when Scott does something crazy. 🙂

Don’t forget to check out my photos with the Photoshop Guys!

Hope to see you there next time!

Hope you enjoyed my lengthy post.

Top 10 Reasons To Go To Photoshop World (Part 1)

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! 🙂

That’s a total of $150 in savings! 🙂 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! 🙂

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. 🙂

#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. 🙂

#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:

• Live At Photoshop World

• Starstruck at Photoshop World

• Can’t Believe It’s Over…

• Photoshop World 08 Vegas Keynote

• CS Next – Photoshop CS4 Preview

• Photoshop World Videos

• Photoshop World ‘08 – Day 1 Session Reviews

Later…

Photoshop CS4!

Hey guys,

Late-breaking news – NAPP’s Photoshop CS4 Learning Center is now live! Go there and check it out to see videos of Photoshop CS4 in action. Also, here are the Top 10 new features of Photoshop CS4.

Some of the things that I’m excited about are the new user interface, the Depth of Field via Auto-Blend Layers and of course, the Adjustment Panels and the On-Screen Image Controls. The other new features are already in Lightroom (e.g. Graduated Filter, Adjustment Brush, Post-Crop Vignetting) and I’m glad to see them put it in Photoshop.

Also, some screenshots and pricing of the new Photoshop CS4 is available from Rob Galbraith’s site.

Pricing is US$699 (US$999 for the Extended version) with an upgrade price of US$199 (US$349 for Extended) from CS3. Photoshop CS4 and other Creative Suite 4 apps are shipping 4th quarter of 2008.

Here are some screenshots of the packaging of the new Photoshop CS4.

Enjoy!

Note: Photos/Graphics courtesy of NAPP/Adobe.

Photoshop and Lightroom Updates

Hey guys, a couple of Photoshop updates for you today…

First up – Photoshop.com is now live

Photoshop.com is now out. Photoshop.com was previewed during the Photoshop World Keynote as a service offered by Adobe where people can post their photos and share them online. If you are an existing Photoshop Express user, you already have a Photoshop.com account. It comes with 2GB of space.

There are premium services being offered too. If you get the new Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, they also come with a Photoshop.com Plus membership that comes with 20GB of space so you have plenty of space for your photos and videos.

They will eventually come out with something for Pros, so watch out for that. Check out Photoshop.com to try it out.

Next one –  NAPP’s Adobe Photoshop CS4 Learning Center (9.23.08)

In conjunction with the CS4 announcement on Sept. 23, NAPP is launching its Photoshop CS4 learning center. Wait for the updates to be posted at this URL: http://www.photoshopuser.com/cs4/

Next, Lightroom 2.1 Release Candidate is available from Adobe Labs. What is a Release Candidate? Here’s what Adobe Labs has to say:

“The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Lightroom team would like the community to help verify the quality of this update through normal usage as this will ensure that the application is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.”

You can download the Lightroom 2.1 from the Adobe Labs site.

Finally, check out Lightroom Exposed.

If you want an inside look at the structure of the Lightroom application, check out Lightroom Exposed by Troy Gaul of Adobe Systems. It’s pretty interesting to see how they developed it and how the interface has evolved.

That’s all for now. See you guys next week!

Can’t Believe It’s Over…

Wow, that was probably the fastest 3 days of my life. Photoshop World has just ended and I’m just finally getting my much-needed rest. I think I only slept a total of 7 hours in 3 nights. It’s probably caused by several factors like jet lag and too much excitement for Photoshop World.

I will post some more info on the classes I have attended so that I can hopefully entice you to attend the next one in March 2009 at Boston.

In the meantime, I’d like to thank NAPP for organizing a great event like this. This includes the staff, the video guys and the trainers. This was a great venue for photographers and graphic designers to connect with each other and learn something new. All the people helping out were very nice to the attendees not including the fact that they ALL work for NAPP! If you’re not a member yet, join now because it gives you access to a lot of their tips, plus a free subscription for Photoshop User Magazine.

Finally, to all the instructors – you guys are great! You all have the passion to teach and really explain everything to us. You are each experts in  your own areas and it’s a great experience to see all of you come together in one big event to teach.

Aside from the Photoshop guys, I’ve attended classes by Laurie Excell, Joe McNally and Rick Sammon and it’s really a pleasure listening to them teach and share their own personal experiences to us. I have also seen good photography from them when they showcased some of their work during ‘The Art of Digital Photography’ session yesterday.

Thanks guys, it was a great learning from you.

See you in the next Photoshop World (I hope I’m in the US again by then) 🙂

Headed for Photoshop World!

Can’t wait to be in Vegas this September for Photoshop World! It’s going to be my first time in Vegas and my first Photoshop World! I’m sure it will be a blast. Hope to see you guys there! I will post updates here on what I learn and see there.

One thing that I’m looking forward to is to meet the Photoshop Guys in person and probably watch a live show of Photoshop User TV! It’s gonna be a lot of fun!!! 🙂

Anyway, if you haven’t done so, go ahead and sign-up for Photoshop World. The early-bird price ends today (maybe till the weekend) and that’s also $100 off the price. 🙂

See ya!

NAPP’s Lightroom 2 Info

NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) also launched a couple of things for Lightroom 2. Here they are:

1. Lightroom 2 Learning Center

2. Updated Trainings on KelbyTraining.com by Matt K: http://www.kelbytraining.com/instructors/matt-kloskowski.html. Classes include: Lightroom 2 Power Session and Lightroom 2 In-Depth.

3. Lightroom Killer Tips Entry on the release of Lightroom

4. Scott Kelby’s Post on Lightroom’s launch

5. And finally, don’t miss Scott’s Entry on Lightroom 2 vs his LR2 wishlist…

Enjoy!!!

Finally joined NAPP!

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and I finally did it – I joined NAPP yesterday! For those of you who don’t know what NAPP – it stands for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. After paying the $99 membership, I immediately went to the site and checked out what’s special inside. Well, it IS worth it so far. I got access to all of the tutorials that are available for members. Plus, they also have a forum where you can reach out to fellow photographers/photoshop users. Oh, I also get a 1 year free subscription to Photoshop User Magazine. I opted for the electronic version because I’m located in the Philippines.

If you’re thinking about joining, go ahead and do it. They also have discounts to a lot of products for photography/photoshop. Click the link below if you want to join NAPP now.

You may ask – how did I get to know NAPP? Well, I ran across them via their Video Podcast – Photoshop User TV. If you haven’t seen this, I suggest you go to iTunes and subscribe to their podcast. They give you tips weekly plus of course, you get to hear their jokes. That’s always what I am looking forward to. The 3 Photoshop guys in their show are: Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski and Dave Cross. I also subscribe to their blogs. Here they are:

• Scott Kelby: www.scottkelby.com
• Matt K: lightroomkillertips.com
• Dave Cross: davecross.blogspot.com

I have learned a lot from watching their tutorials and reading all their blogs. I am even planning to go to Photoshop World in Las Vegas this September. I’ll probably sign-up this week. I have been postponing my sign-up and I just lost on the Pro-Pass for the event. 😦 Lesson learned, I should have signed-up earlier!!!

Well, for those of you who are also fans of NAPP or Photoshop User TV, I hope to see you online (in NAPP) or in Photoshop World.

Hope to see you there!