 Photoshop for Photographers Workshop
02/28/2008 - Phoenix Arizona
Instructor - Ben Willmore
We all had the chance this week to take a short 105 mile road trip and check out the Kelby Training, Photoshop for Photographers workshop as it traveled across the country, hosted by photoshop guru Ben Willmore. This was one of the most attended workshops we have seen in our coverage of the other Kelby training seminars in Phoenix as Ben give valuable tips on how to get the most out of your images with Adobe Photoshop. Using OnScreen demos and step by steps, it was audibly obvious that Ben tapped into a previously unanswered question when you could hear the room together "ah, that's how you do it!"
 Our first introduction was understanding the curves process in Adobe Photoshop CS3. While the curves process was demonstrated in CS3, the application works well with CS or CS2 as well. How many times have photographers taken photos and lighting has been affected with elements that have come into play only realized after the picture has been loaded into photoshop? Simply adjusting brightness or contrast can take feature out of the picture that wasn't intended. Ben's description of the curve process has put it into perspective as to look at the picture and curves as dimmer switches that can adjust the dark spots or light spots of the photo. After this segment we took a break to allow our brains to absorb the information we received to return and pick up tips on working with color.
 Ben's excellent explanation of the color wheel allows users to adjust colors using curves. He stated that every color has an opposite and with that, the colors can be adjusted. Cyan is the opposite of Red, Magenta is the opposite of green and blue's opposite is yellow. Carol made the comment that this was the best explanation of color she has ever heard. In the adjustment of color layers, imagine taking a photo with a model that has sunburn and then being able to adjust the curve to take away the red burn area of the sunburn. It's quite a few steps however can solve a problem rather then re shooting a photo. This was just one of the Step by Steps we were shown on the two huge projection screens in the room. After another break we returned to learn even more about color with Hue and Saturation.
The segments on working with Hue and Saturation to bring out the color in photos that may not have come out correctly was well received. Taking a photo that was time deteriorated and removing most if not all of the yellowing that had built up had many of us wanting to rush back to our studios to fix some of the color photos that had been blemished over the years. It's easy to say, "well, ben just makes it look easy" but in essence, the tools are there in Photoshop, it is just a matter of figuring out how to use them, which Ben has provided for many.
 One of our favorite segments was on working with Mask and knocking out the backgrounds of photos. There are third party programs to do this task however Photoshop has them built into the program. It is just a matter of using the right tool for the right task. One of the demonstrations we received was knocking out a photo of a women with blond curly hair without it looking like she had a haircut. Tough and time consuming for many, but with the proper selection tools - it can be done precisely and with some time saving technique. During the break segments, Ben made a point to be available to answer questions to attendees that needed clarification or thoughts on other solutions for other projects they were working on.
 Ben also mentioned that he would like to put together a seminar on Shooting for Photoshop for the photographer that knows his work can be manipulated and worked with photoshop. We'll be keeping an eye out for that one! Ben also reminded us he is homeless. Yes, one of the running gags at Photoshop World was "Where Is Ben?"
He travels around the country and does these seminars as well as taking pictures of some of the areas he gets to visit. . The seminar wrapped with some great giveaways and us just anxious to get home to try out some of these techniques.
Carol actually did one of the best things and joined the National Association of Photoshop Professionals! She received a DVD with her membership of Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Integration with Rafael Concepcion.
Some websites to follow Ben as he travels across the country is http://www.whereisben.com . Another one is http://www.thebestofben.com. To learn more about his books and DVD series is http://www.digitalmastery.com Be sure to check out the freebie link!
On hand was also a vendors area where attendees can sign up for the National Association of Photoshop Professional. With the One Year membership, the signups get a bag of goodies and all the benefits of the NAPP membership including discounts on partner products, the Photoshop User Magazine and access to help and tips in video form on the http://www.photoshopuser.com/ website.
BH Photo and Video from New York was on hand with the Digital Photographers catalog and also some awesome camera bags and gear for sale for every digital photo enthusiast.
We also had the chance to talk with Wacom about the new smaller Cintiq product which sells for about a $1000 less then the popular industry standard 21" model. The smaller, black and less desk consumer Cintiq 12WX features a screen size of 12.1" and can be digitally drawn on while flat or on the lap with its 6.5 foot cord. A stand can also be extended to allow the user to position the Cintiq as a monitor.
A Plug in company, OnOne Software showed us a plugin for Photoshop, Genuine Fractals 5 , which allowed for enlarging images without loosing sharpness or image quality. An impressive print was displayed which was taken with a 1.3 Megapixel camera and enlarged to larger then 15" x 19" with no detail loss! The company has a website at http://www.ononesoftware.com/ A suite of products of plug-ins for Photoshop are available from the company as well.
We would recommend the Kelby Training Workshops to anybody interesting in getting the most out of your software. The Photoshop for Photographers tour shared some invaluable tips and tricks and techniques that we will use for years to come.
To attend or for more information
visit the Kelby Training Site
http://www.kelbytraining.com
To Join the NAPP visit
http://www.photoshopuser.com
Related Links
Photoshop User Conference - Las Vegas 2007
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