Sessions

Virtual Photography: Creating Photos Instead of Shooting Them

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Expose yourself to revolutionary photographic workflows that offer more creative freedom while saving valuable time. Learn to create reusable assets for an unlimited number of new projects — including photographs, animations, emails, social posts, web ads, and more.

Join Lisa Carney and Chris Converse in this inspiring session where they’ll reveal new workflows they created for big-name brands. Reclaim your time — and rediscover the joy of renewed creative freedom.

Topics include:

  • Thinking expansively
  • 3D software options
  • Workflow best practices
  • Bringing it all together in Photoshop

Make Photoshop Your Robot

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Some of the coolest things you can do in Photoshop require repeating the same mundane steps… over and over and over again. Stop the madness! You bought a computer so that you could tell it what to do, right? So it’s time to speed up your work and make Photoshop your… um… robot.

Learn how to automate tasks using:

  • Actions
  • Scripts
  • Batch processing
  • Transform Again
  • Data-driven graphics
  • And more!

Image Fixes in Photoshop

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Overwhelmed by Photoshop? Have too many images that need work, and too little time? Come learn some quick techniques for retouching, adjusting exposure, and fixing common image problems. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can get your files cleaned up!

You’ll learn how to:

  • Apply the same adjustment to multiple images simultaneously
  • Use the Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, and Spot Healing Brush together for the best results
  • Transform less than ideal images into usable ones
  • Quickly remove undesirable color casts that cause images to look unnatural

Taking the “Stock” out of Stock Photography

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As you know, stock photos can sometimes… suck. But just because they might be bland and unremarkable, doesn’t mean your work needs to be! Celebrated Photoshop legend, Jesús Ramirez, has more than a few tricks up his sleeve for using stock images creatively. Whether you need to extract a tricky subject, fix a color mismatch, or extend a non-existent background, he’ll show you how to make it work. In this must-see session, you’ll learn how to:

  • Leverage Photoshop’s distortion tools to match perspectives
  • Tackle color mismatches
  • Build creative backgrounds
  • Extend the canvas to suit your needs

Three Minutes Max: Photoshop

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This crowd favorite is back! Don’t miss this fun-filled, action-packed, highly educational, and mind-blowing session: Three Minutes Max!

Each of our instructors will have no more than three minutes to share their favorite Photoshop tip—then you get to vote for your favorite!

In past years, some of the best tips have been held for this session, so you don’t want to miss it!

Cheating in Photoshop

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Learn how to work smarter, not harder in Photoshop! Let Lisa Carney show you how to hack your production time with her all-time favorite Photoshop “cheats.”

Lisa will cover:

  • Automation made fun
  • Utilizing Camera Raw for so much more than you thought
  • Plug-ins and Actions that can help you create magic
  • Filter hacks

Pixel Magic: Photorealistic Illustration Techniques

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You seriously don’t want to miss this in-depth and inspirational session where internationally renowned Photoshop superstar Bert Monroy explores the tools and methods for creating any image you can dream up!

You will learn how to create photorealistic imagery from scratch, and how to use the tools in Photoshop to create images that can’t be photographed.

Topics include:

  • Creative uses of layer styles
  • How to use perspective grids
  • Creating and modifying brushes
  • Type effects
  • Using filters for special effects

Production Essentials for the Rest of Us

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Technical stuff like color management, resolution, file size, and vector vs. bitmap can be intimidating. This is especially true when you work with multiple applications at the same time. With so many different pieces to the puzzle, it’s no wonder that getting your desired output can feel unnecessarily complicated. In this session, Theresa Jackson breaks down and simplifies the basics for getting consistent, professional results with Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. If you’ve ever struggled with things like cross-app workflows, file size, resolution, consistent color, or why RGB really is okay—this session is for you!

Topics include:

  • Making the most of color settings and profiles for consistent color across Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
  • Leveraging the strengths of each app, and best practices for bringing them together
  • CMYK vs. RGB, does it really matter? When and why to use each or both
  • The difference between file size and resolution
  • How to create output files that aren’t too small or too big
  • When is a vector still a vector

Understanding and Adjusting Color in Photoshop

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For most people, adjusting color in Photoshop is a never-ending exercise in frustration. Which tools should you use? And how can you use them without screwing up your images?

In this session, you’ll learn to intuitively interpret RGB color numbers so you can visualize and describe the color in any situation — even if you are color blind or you’re viewing the image in black & white! Then you’ll see how those numbers can be used to precisely match colors between documents, identify and fix undesirable color casts, and much more.

In the process, you’ll see how most of Photoshop’s color adjustments fall into two categories, and understand the core concepts behind the way color works in Photoshop.

Ben will teach you all kinds of amazing things including how to:

  • Tell when you’ve pushed saturation too far and have begun to sacrifice detail
  • Sort out all the color adjustments to see which ones share similar concepts
  • Establish a core understanding of how color works in Photoshop
  • Understand how RGB color relates to CMYK

PS + ID + AI: The Trifecta

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We all have our favorite Adobe apps, but to really get the most out of them and maximize our efficiency, it’s crucial to understand how they work together!

Topics include:

  • How to properly set up Photoshop and Illustrator files for InDesign
  • Choosing between layers and artboards
  • CC Libraries: the secret back door conduit
  • Using cloud documents and setting up collaborations
  • When to link, copy, or embed artwork