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Photoshop World 2009 - The Long Road Home

We're in the car again! Ahhh! Well, as before, time in the car = blog posts galore, so we decided to recap everything we did at Photoshop World. This is mainly due to the fact that Chris kinda looks like he's not wearing any pants in some of the video posts from earlier...so...what can we do? Plus, we're a bit more coherent now that we're not sleep deprived. Time flys when you're photoshoping...what can we say? We wanted to thank everyone for checking out the blog while we were in Boston. The coming weeks are going to be all about posting up our images as we demonstrate all of our new techniques. (Or at least that's our hope). Stay tuned for more!

End of Conference = Time to go Shooting!

Hello all! Well, it's the end of the conference, so that means it's time for Chris and I to go shoot some photography. We decided to get out and shoot downtown Boston during the evening to get some good light on the buildings and people. I love 5:00 sunlight. Chris and I gathered our Boda Bags, Manfrotto Tripods, a Nikon d700 and Nikon d300 and hit the town. We actually hoofed it over the campus of M.I.T. to shoot some panoramas of the Boston skyline. We have this cool notion that we can take HDR shots and panoramas and combine them together in Photoshop. We'll see how it works out. As soon as we get the photos processed, we'll post them up. Here's a video on how we did it:

Photoshop World 2009: Day 2 (Part 1)

Hey everyone! It's been a busy first day at Photoshop World, but we've been having a blast checking out all of the awesome vendors at the Tech Expo. We were able to get some videos done, so definitely check them out. At the expo, Chris and I stopped by our favorite booth...Nikon. We got a chance to play with the 45mm Tilt-Shift Nikkor lens, as well as the 14-24mm f2.8 lens. We were very impressed by both lenses and we'd love to add them to our arsenal later this year. (hint hint Bradley) ;) We got a chance to shoot with the Nikon D3X, which is nothing short of amazing. Another booth we visited was the LensProToGo.com service. At this booth, we got a chance to check out the 500mm, 300mm, and 200mm Nikkor lenses. Wow! All the lenses were great, but of course, not very practical for a wedding photographer to sling around all day.

As far as classes go, I attended my first session with Matt Kloskowski, entitled, Photoshop Restoration Rescue. In this session, he demonstrated some fantastic techniques on how to restore photos that have dust, scratches, are ripped/torn, have missing pieces, water damage, color shift, etc.. The techniques were very easy to follow, and I've noticed that Matt tends to teach by the book, which is great for the more complex retouching steps in Photoshop. He is very easy to follow in class, and I do recommend signing up for his class next year or at Photoshop World 2009 Vegas if you get a chance / if its offered.

The second class I attended was Mastering the New Adjustments and Masks Panels with Ben Willmore. I've always found Ben to be a very technical instructor. He moves quickly, so if you take a class from him, make sure to take notes / find out where his notes will be available. He has a great web site: www.thebestofben.com. Check it out to see some of his work. The class was geared towards all of the changes between CS3 and CS4 in terms of the adjustments and masks panels. A term that was thrown around a bunch the first day was that CS4 is no longer "Modal" meaning that you don't lock out yourself out of all the other Photoshop features just because you're adding an adjustment layer. Ben used some of his raw "unprocessed" photographs to demonstrate how he selects his color tones and how he masks objects. It was really cool to see what his original image was and how he used his skills in Photoshop combined with Photomatix to process his HDR photography.

Chris will add to the post a bit later with his class overviews, but for now, check out the videos!

-Steve

Photoshop World 2009: Day 1 (Part 2)

Chris and I decided to do a recap video of our Pre-Conference (Pre-Con) workshop. The workshop was entitled Photographing Fashion Live! with Kevin Ames and special guest Jim DiVitale. The session was geared towards providing the attendees with a good working knowledge of how booking and executing a fashion photography shoot actually gets pulled off. Kevin brought two wonderful people to assist him with the pre-con, Marci Duarte (Fashion Stylist) and Mariolga (Makeup & Hair). You can find their portfolios on www.teamtheagency.com. Marci explained the importance of booking a stylist that can help you (as a photographer) realize your vision of what you want the shoot to be...or more importantly...what you client(s) want their shoot to be. It was very intriguing to hear the process of how stylists shop for high fashion items and the little tips and tricks they use to keep the shoot within budget and looking great. Mariolga worked with the model, who appeared in Kevin's other classes, Virginia. Jim DiVitale took care of all of the technical aspects on the laptop. (Always great to have an experience assistant, right?) The thing that I really loved about the session, and of all the classes I attend at Photoshop World is that it's very conversational. You don't feel intimidated to ask questions because hands down, the instructors love to teach. That comes across abosolutely. I think we've all had instructors in high school, college, what-have-you, that just didn't seem to really understand their audience, and that set up an atmosphere that didn't foster learning. At Photoshop World, you have such close contact with your instructors and they are so approachable; it just makes the leraning environment second to none.

Kevin showcased an assortment of different lighting gear and setups, many of which we'd tried before during our Kaufman Kramer Photography Weekend. It was interesting to compare Kevin's class to Jack Reznicki's Canon Live Shoot last year. Jack seemed to be much more about the technical side, and Kevin seemed to follow the mantra of do what it takes to make it look good. I think Chris and I definitely appreciate both points of view. I tend to side with the "do what it takes" approach, but like you always hear..."you have to know the rules before you can break them".

The session concluded with Kevin using his ring flash, which I actually had never seen in person before. It was very interesting to see the effect of the ring light on Virgina. It was also worth noting that working with a professional model is simply wonderful. Virginia understood precisely how she wanted to be photographed, what her highlights were, and how to come up with new poses during each shot. The only downside of the entire shoot that Chris and I noticed was that the Canon EOS software used to control the camera through the laptop kept crashing. It's unfortunate because the same thing happened to Jack Reznicki the year before. (Although Jack and Eddie Tapp were transmitting photos wirelessly, and Kevin and Jim were tethered). It's a bit glitchy, but hey, if photography were predictable, it wouldn't be any fun. To quote Kevin Ames from the session, "Mistakes are where the magic happens".

All in all, a great session. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how fashion photography works.

Photoshop World 2009: Day 1 (Part 1)

Ah...Tuesday. The First Day of the Conference. Also known as the mad dash at the registration desk. The trick to registration day is to get there early, grab you're stuff and go. The NAPP members will really like the package that they'll receive this year. As a Pro Pass attendee, you'll receive a cool NAPP backpack, which is really nice! PSW hat, t-shirt, promotional materials, a ticket for the PSW Party, a ticket for an extra conference book, and of course the actual conference book itself. The book alone is well worth the cost of the conference. The amount of material that these instructors cover is so indepth and so quick paced, that if you tilt your head to one side, you just might have it leak out of your ears. The conference book provides you with very detailed notes about virtually everything that is discussed. In actuality, I like to leave the book in my hotel room, (it is VERY heavy) and just bring a small notebook to write in. I find that I tend to remember things better when I write them down. If you do decide to leave the book behind, remember to rip the conference evaulation forms out of the back and bring them with you. Your instructors always welome feedback. I like to travel around the conference as light as possible. I don't typically bring a laptop, since you never know if you'll have power or internet. However, there's free wireless in the conference center, or so I hear, so that will help me stay on top of emails in between sessions. Biggest piece of advice when attending classes: If at all possible, get to your next class as early as possible, and stake out a good seat near a projector. I see so many people in the back of session struggling to see the screen, and I'm no exception, I'm usually as close as I can get with my glasses and jotting down notes. Check out our vid if you get a chance. Chris and I go over the conference materials as well as some shooting around Boston.

-Steve

Photoshop World 2009: Walking the Freedom Trail

Hey guys! Chris and I walked the "Freedom Trail" today in Boston. This was (in total) about a 12 mile hike all around the city of Boston which showcased some of America's most famous sites. The trail is laid out for visitors by a brick / red line that runs throughout the city. So, if you're interested in seeing the sites, just follow the trail and it will lead you to each point of interest. We started out at the Statehouse, and followed the trail to the cemetery where Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin were buried. We walked through Little Italy and found the Old North Church of (one if by land, two if by sea) fame. We then crossed the river bridge over to Charlestown where we saw the U.S.S. Constitution (a.k.a. "Old Ironsides") as well as the Bunker Hill Memorial. There's lots to see along the way, but those were by far the most interesting. The museum at the Naval Yard is open and free to the public, but the tours of the actual U.S.S. Constitution were closed, and it looked like it was only open during the warmer months. It's worth the long walk just to climb the 294 steps up to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. The views were amazing! We found a whole bunch of great things to photograph along the way, and of course, many great restaurants to try out. Little Italy has a lot of character and is definitely a place we'll be revisiting on this trip. If you would like a guided tour of the Freedom Trail, stop by Boston Commons (kinda like the Central Park of Boston) and see when the next one is leaving the visitor center. We saw 4-5 groups at one point. It's kinda "tour-isty" but hey, if you don't know the history, it's a great way to develop your appreciation for how much has happened in this city.