Highlights From The Photoshop World 2017 Conference

What an AWESOME week!!!!
I know I say this pretty often, so I’m going to paraphrase one of our longtime attendees, (known as drchevalier in the KelbyOne community), who came up to me at the end of the conference and said,

This is my 7th time at Photoshop World, and out of all of them, this was the best!”

I could not agree more. I heard the same thing again and again — even from some longtime instructors who said they felt this was absolutely the best Photoshop World ever!

The one phrase that came up again and again…
…was that everyone there felt like family. We felt like we were all in this together. I have to give a lot of the credit for that to the attendees who came ready to learn, and laugh, and get involved, and make new friends, and a team who was so psyched to meet everybody — there was a real spirit of community all week long, everywhere you went — you could feel it in the air. I know Brad and Rob shared some shots from the show with you last week, but I want to share some of the highlights and standout moments (in captions below) with you today if that’s okay. Here’s goes:

I know Brad and Rob shared some shots from the show with you last week, but I want to share some of the highlights and standout moments (in captions below) with you today if that’s okay. Here’s goes:  (photos by Brad Moore and Rob Foldy)

Above: Moose Peterson’s aviation photography workshop with World War II-themed models posing with classic Warbirds in a hangar on location. 

Above: The classic WW2 Poster pose, as the workshop participants photograph the planes and people. 

Above: Moose coaching his class on how to get the shot.

Above: Shooting on location – the whole class gets involved at Erik Valind’s workshop.

Above: Using reflectors during the workshop.

Above: Lindsay Adler had multiple shooting bays for her workshop

Above: Is it just me, or is that one huge umbrella? 

Above: Kaylee Greer getting the doggies ready for their close up during the workshop. 

Above: Lots of wonderful dogs for the students to shoot at Kaylee’s workshop on location. 

Above: Tim Wallace had two cars in the classroom for his workshop on how to light car interiors and exteriors. 

Above: Glyn Dewis talking about lighting and what to look for when they start shooting. 

Above: The temps were great outdoors (unseasonably mild), but the sun still makes it tough to see the screen on the back of your camera. 

Above: Frank Doorhof and his location workshop class totally rocking it, with their stylist and model Nadine. 

Above: We even snuck in an episode of ‘The Grid’ live on location. That’s Photoshop World instructor Victoria Pavlov on the set as my guest. She was so much fun (and such an incredible talent).

Above: After the workshops, we head for ‘The Meetup’ at the Rocks lounge in the Hyatt Regency, our host hotel for the event (it’s connected directly to the convention center — a perfect location!). 

Above: The instructors and staff are there to meet everybody just as the party starts up. 

Above: The crowd is ready to rock! 

Above: Inside, they’re hyped for the opening keynote to begin.

 

Above: The next morning, we kick things off with the opening keynote, and I come out after our “Photoshop COPS” spoof video (it’s a tradition to kick off Photoshop World with a parody video). 

Above: WIelcoming the standing-room-only crowd at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. 

Above: The star of the opening keynote is Adobe’s own Julieanne Kost. 

Above: All eyes on Julieanne!

Above: Julieanne did an awesome presentation – she showed so many cool features, techniques, and different programs and apps, but it was her Mobile apps presentation that really wow’d the crowd.

Above: After Adobe’s presentation, we honored Photoshop World instructor and master photographer Jim DiVitale with his posthumous Photoshop Hall of Fame award. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after the wonderful tribute video to Jim and his career (put together by Jim’s dear friend Steve), his wife Helene took the stage to accept the award on Jim’s behalf, and she was met with a tremendously long standing ovation, as Larry Becker presented her with Jim’s award. It was a very special moment for all of us. 

Above: The always awesome (and witty) Larry Becker wrapped up the keynote, and then it was off to class for everybody. 

Above: Crowd favorite, Adobe’s own Terry White doing a great session in the Adobe booth

Above: Joe McNally just killed it in his “Town Hall” session where participants could have Joe critique their images. 

Above: Moose comes out front during one of his many sessions. He crushed it (as always!).

Above: Adobe’s Bryan O’Neal Hughes sharing some Adobe Mobile awesomeness.

Above: Everybody loves “The Justins!” Two of the most talented wedding photographers and fast rising stars in the industry, sharing their secrets with the crowd.

Above: KelbyOne member favorite and hero to photographers everywhere, the awesome Stella Kramer teaching for her first time at Photoshop World. 

Above: Hanging out in the Partner Pavilion, chatting with the vendors and checking out their latest goodies.

Above: Photographer Levi Sim showing off Athentech’s new Perfectly Clear 3 plug-in. 

Above: Oh Yeah — that’s Gabe Biderman, and yes, B&H Photo (the greatest camera store in the world) was there in a big way! 

Above: Robert Vanelli doing his thing in one of the Pavilion’s theaters. 

Above: Photoshop World instructor Rob Sylvan teaching in the Peachpit Press theater. 

Above: We had six ‘Shooting bays” set up in the Partner Pavilion, where attendees can simply walk up and start shooting. 

Above: These shooting bays, most with live models (which are much better than the ones with dead models), are lit with continuous light (Westcott Spyder Lights) so everybody can shoot at the same time. 

Above: James Bond with his white tux, red carnation, and a sleek Bond-like fake pistol with silencer. 

Above: The shooting bays were super popular, and they changed each day with different models and themes. High five to my wife Kalebra who planned, styled and set up the shooting bays. :)

Above: Besides the six indoor studio-lit shooting bays, we had an entire section of Natural Light shoots as well, making the most of that beautiful Florida sunshine!

Above: Later that night it’s party time again — this time at B.B. King’s Bar and Grill. 

Above: The awesome house band let me get up and play a few songs with them. I played one on drums, one on keyboards, and one on guitar. Note the awesome Fender Strat my wifey got me for our 27th Anniversary last year. Had to take it with me to Orlando!

Above: Can you feel the soul? It’s not as impressive as it looks – I’m just singing backup. 

Above: Nothing like playing to the home crowd! The band was just so good (with a horn section and the whole nine yards), they were really just such good players – it was a treat to get to jam with these guys and gals. 

Above: Did I mention Midnight Madness? It’s a tradition — for ‘Photoshop Geeks who just can’t sleep,’ we stay up really late one night, playing games and doing really silly stuff. 

Above: The doors swing open, our DJ cranks the music, and the late night fun begins!

Above: Yes, we even played Photoshop Bingo. I’m not proud of this. ;-)

Above: Another Midnight Madness tradition — Krispy Kreme Donuts for everybody! I was surprised she ate the entire box herself. ;-)

Above: Getting hyped for the madness!

Above: Your Midnight Madness hosts (from L to R): Matt Kloskowski, Yours Truly, and Terry White. 

Above: The next day, we’re back at it. Canon was on hand to clean attendees cameras (I had two of mine cleaned while I was there). What do they charge? Nothing. Not a dime! What an incredible thing they do for Photoshop World attendees. High-five to our friends at Canon for being so awesome! :)

Above: Joe Glyda giving a one-one-one portfolio review. These are a huge hit with our participants.

Above: The one and only Dave Black during a one-on-one portfolio review. 

Above: I wonder if he’s asking Kaylee about her hair? ;-)

Above: We did a special after-hours event called “An Evening with Stacy Pearsall” that was absolutely just spectacular! Her stories and images from her time as a military combat photographer are just incredible!  Her class last year in Las Vegas was such a huge hit, we knew it needed more time and a chance for more people to hear her message. 

Above: Stacy absolutely captivated the audience. Her Veterans Portrait Project is really something special. If you get a moment, it’s so worth giving it a look – here’s the link. 

Above: At the end, the crowd was on their feet cheering Stacy. It’s a night they’ll never forget. 

Above: Before you know it, we’re back on the big stage for the Guru Awards ceremony (a competition just for people who attend Photoshop World),. Here’s the talented Mark Rodriguez receiving his Guru Award from Larry Becker. 

Above: So many people’s careers have been launched after winning a Guru Award. Very happy for all the winners. 

The days really did just fly by…
…it was so much fun, and great to see so many familiar faces. It’s always a treat seeing old friends, and it was really fun to make some new ones as well.

Thank you to everyone who came out and made this Photoshop World so special. Thanks to all our sponsors and vendors, including Adobe Systems — without whom none of this would be possible. Thanks to our brilliant team of instructors who are the very best at what they do. A special thanks to our Conference Director Julie Stephenson, and the awesome crew here at KelbyOne who worked their butts off to make this the best Photoshop World yet! :)

Thanks for letting me share a glimpse of the conference with you. Details on the next Conference coming very soon – stay tuned. :)

Best,

-Scott

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16 comments
  1. Scott, I want to thank you for an unbelievable time at this year’s Photoshop World. You folks lined up a great group of instructors teaching a LOT of new things. One thing that always impresses me is that the classes are never stale, where it’s the same thing being taught year after year. That never happens at PSW. My best memories are from the impromptu chats with Matt Kloskowski, Kaylee Greer, Glyn Dewis, and Dave Clayton. Truly wonderful people and top-notch instructors.

    It was great to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Grid filming, too. Just so much fun! Thanks for the invite. I’m already looking forward to PSW2018, wherever it may be. But how are you going to top this year??? :-)

    –John

  2. Scott,

    I had a blast! I went back and forth on it so many times, and it turns out I had no reason to do that. I loved the classes, and the ability to interact with the instructors, and overall it was the best 4 days I’ve had in years! I had so much fun, and I learned so many new things too, got my cameras cleaned thanks to CPS being there, even got one of my favorite images printed by Canon, met up with friends from The Grid, saw and briefly talked to Joe McNally again which is always a treat and a half, been part of an Adobe focus group which was freaking amazing, what can I say, it was AWESOME! Thank you for bringing this back to Orlando, and doing such a wonderful job with this conference. It was so nice to finally meet Kalebra too! She’s so wonderful, I love her so much! And Stella Kramer finally came! I mean, that was like the cherry on top!

    I really hope it returns next year, but even if it doesn’t, I’ll rent an Airstream if I have to and drive to Vegas. Maybe convince Mark, Gilmar, Cathy and Fran to join me for a PSW road trip! Wouldn’t that be something?

    Great job, and Congratulations again on selling 5 million copies of your books too! This was just an incredible week.

    Thank you! :)

  3. This was my 5th PSW and I have to say THANK YOU to all the Kelby One staff and to all the Pros who educated us by sharing their amazing talents and skills. Thank you for a wonderful learning experience and really fun time. I just loved every minute of it. Can’t wait for next years. :)

  4. This was my first Photoshop World and I hope it’s not my last. What really stuck out to me was how much the instructors loved to teach. Every class I went to from Joel Grimes to Lindsay Adler to Dave Cross, each instructor’s personality shone through. A lot of engagement, a lot of laughs.

  5. Thank you Scott, Kalebra, the KelbyOne team, all of the instructors and volunteers for 4 action-packed days! It was great to learn from all of the instructors! Kaylee Greer, Joel Grimes, Tim Wallace, Glyn Dewis loved their sessions and how they kept us engaged. Not to mention Stacy Pearsall’s presentation was unbelievable!
    It was my first time attending PSW and hoping to come back next year!

  6. Thoroughly enjoyed my time out at PSW. There’s was something really special about this one…everywhere I went there were smiling faces, people chatting…just a great vibe! HUGE thanks to everyone who came along to my sessions…seeing so many of you at 8am on the Friday morning was such a buzz :)

    HUGE thanks to you Scott, and the team for putting on a great show!

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