And that is how Photoshop World Las Vegas starts! The keynote kicked off with a hilarious video introducing the Photoshop Guys --I really think this was the bes t and funniest of the videos for a keynote so far. The behind the scenes of shooting that introduction was just priceless. From there the keynote just got more exciting keynote with some pretty amazing announcements from both Wacom and Adobe. Wacom announced a new Intuos tablet that really pushes the envelope for creatives. Adobe previewed new advancements for Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as unbelievable Creative Cloud pricing for both--just $9.99 US per month! This is pretty amazing stuff and is really transforming the way Adobe users utilize these tools.
Once these awesome announcements were made, the Guru and Vincent Versace awards were announced and we were off to our first sessions.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about copyright from none other than Ed Greenberg and Jack Reznicki. These two make up an awesome team that stresses the importance of copyright for anything you create, and break it down. This is such an important topic for photographers, and is something that any creative should look into and understand.
I also attended a panel called "Are You Ready to Go Pro", moderated by the now Adobe Hall of Famer Matt Kloskowski and comprised of Cliff Mautner, Joel Grimes and Erik Valind. Each of the panelists had a unique perspective of starting out in the photography business, but all agreed that it takes hard work to build a body of work and a brand.
The opening of the Expo hall is always exciting. The amount of vendors is enough to make your credit card scared, but many vendors have specific talks and demonstrations that are always entertaining and educational.
This afternoon was also my portfolio review session, and my review was with none other than Vincent Versace--I will dedicate a whole post to this and the importance of the portfolio reviews later in the week. This is a wonderful opportunity that is available to attendees-- it is an amazing learning experience! If you weren't able to do one this year, make sure it's on your to do list in the future.
For the evening classes, I chose to attend Scott Bourne's session about attracting an audience to your photography through Twitter. He had a lot of helpful information, and really gave the class a lot to think about.
The highlight of the first day is always the PSW After-Hours party. Scott Kelby's band performs live at the House of Blues, and they really rock! This is also another opportunity to mingle with other PSW attendees, as well as the instructors and NAPP staff who work so hard to put on an amazing conference.
I am ready for Day 2, and look forward to more amazing sessions, the Art of Digital Photography panel and Midnight Madness!