I spent last Friday with Ben Willmore, courtesy of the NAPP sponsored ‘Photoshop CS3 for Photographers Tour’ on its stop in Kansas City. What a bargain. At $79 for NAPP members, I can’t imagine a better way to spend my money, or a Friday. For those who are considering attending one of these tour events, here is a review of my experience.
Firstly, you will find yourself in good company should you attend. The room was, in fact, nearly full. I estimated there to be at least 300 in attendance. The room was set up as a mini Photoshop World, with a stage at center front complete with large video screens on the left and right. There was an introduction video with Scott Kelby welcoming us all; we then each received an 80-page Seminar Workbook to follow along and take home for reference. I took an additional page of personal notes to remind me of several details that I wanted to review when I was back in front of my computer.
Ben’s presentation style is friendly and fun. In person, his voice and manners remind me of Dr. House’s sidekick, Dr. Wilson AKA Robert Sean Leonard. Once introductions and minor microphone issues were resolved, Ben jumped right in. No time to waste – he had five sections to cover: Getting Control Over Tonality; Adjusting Color with Curves; HSB Color Adjustments; Advanced Masking Techniques and, finally, Putting It All Together. Ben showed at least two, sometimes three, example images of each technique he teaches, but in spite of this, and in spite of all he had to get through, his pace was even and never seemed rushed.
As a certified Photoshop expert, there was much here that I already knew. Still, I found it really interesting to see, and understand the thinking behind, another expert’s approach to the basics. Ben’s general goal is to adjust images making as few selections as possible and I did pick up some great tips in the Advanced Masking session. My favorite session, though, was the final one, where Ben showed examples of his own work before and after, with all the layers turned on.
I’d recommend any beginner or intermediate Photoshop user attend: you are guaranteed to get a lot out of this seminar. Advanced users may find themselves a bit bored, but even so I found several great tips myself and would attend again. Ben also promised the updated version of the seminar will include an HDR section, so you can definitely count me in the next time it comes around.
By the way, Ben has written some great books as well. His Adobe Photoshop CS3: Up to Speed was the very first CS3 book I purchased: I was so excited when I received it that I read the entire book in one evening. I’ve already got my Amazon pre-order in for Adobe Photoshop CS4: Up to Speed.
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