A Look Back at Photoshop World 2009 Boston
What an amazing week! I think Joe McNally (shown above during one of his lighting sessions) said it best during the closing ceremony when he talked about how much energy there was at the event, and he was right—it was one of the best, most energetic Photoshop World’s ever. The crowd was so into it; so responsive, and so much fun—it was absolutely contagious.
Later that night Joe encapsulated it to me in a way that I think explained why it was such an incredible show. He said, “The people here, really needed to be here right now.” They were totally immersed in it. They needed to learn. They needed to laugh. They needed to put the rest of their lives on hold, forget the economy and all the bad news, and do something fun, something creative, and something to help them come out the other side. I think he was right on the money.
The attendees were amazing. Their response—incredible, and there was such a buzz, it was all any of us could talk about. Matt, Dave, RC, Corey—everybody felt the same thing. I could go on and on, but I thought I’d let the photos and captions tell the story. (Photos by Brad Moore, Drew Gurian, and RC Concepcion).
My thanks to everyone who made this Photoshop World such wonderful place for sharing, learning, laughing, and cheering. I’ll never forget it!
Above: Shooting the Groom at the reception, during David Ziser’s on-location Wedding Shoot pre-conference workshop.
Above: The model gets prepped during Kevin Ames Fashion-shoot pre-conference workshop.
Above: Waiting for the doors to open for the opening keynote to kick off Photoshop World 2009 Boston!
Above: This year we had a football theme, and above you see Matt, Scott and Dave at the “halftime report” news desk which kicked off the keynote.
Above: Adobe’s graphics evangelist Russell Preston Brown in full football gear (and dreadlocks), lends his support to our football theme, along with Adobe VP, and featured speaker at the keynote, John “Johnny L” Loiacono.
Above: Canon’s Steve Inglima during the keynote as Canon gives away a DSLR kit to the audience-chosen winning image taken during the Canon Live Studio pre-conference workshop.
Above: NAPP’s own RC Concepcion during one of his sessions on the conference tracks.
Above: Adobe Evangelist and Photoshop World instructor, Julieanne Kost does a training session in Adobe’s booth on the Expo floor. Adobe’s theater was standing room only for three solid days!
Above: Photoshop World instructor Frank Cricchio during a one-on-one portfolio review—free for registered full conference attendees.
Above: My band “Big Electric Cat” during our live set at “The Estate” in Boston, as seen from the 2nd floor balcony, during the opening night attendee party. Everybody was dancing all night long!
Above: Here’s a closer shot of the band: That’s (L to R) Tony Llanes on Lead Guitar, Kalebra on lead vocals, Scott Stahley back there on the drums, Felix Nelson on bass, and me on keyboards and rhythm guitar.
Above: Playing in another smokey bar. I thought I had grown out of that. 
Above: Felix sang “Home” by Daughtry and I played acoustic guitar on that one, and electric guitar on Joan Jett’s “I hate myself for lovin’ you.”
Above: Tony rockin’ out with Kalebra singing over his shoulder.
Above: One of the most popular and talented instructors at Photoshop World, Terry White (from Adobe Systems) during one of his Adobe InDesign sessions.
Above: During the taping of our live Expo floor version of “Photoshop User TV.” The show, set to air next week, takes viewers on a quick tour of the floor, mixed with our usual tutorials and tips.
Above: During the taping of the show, I ran into Joe McNally’s new assistant Drew Gurian, and made him stop and say hi for the cameras. Drew was also there as one of the official show photographers, and took some of the very shots you see here.
Above: If you’re lucky enough to get a ticket to “Photoshop Midnight Madness,” you get a very cool, limited edition t-shirt.
Above: If you’re unlucky enough to get suckered into participating in one of our crazy Midnight Madness games, you’d better be prepared for anything!
Above: Getting hands-on on the Expo floor.
Above: The amazing photographers from our “Art of Digital Photography” after hours presentation: (From L to R): John Paul Caponigro, Vincent Versace, Joe Glyda, Jay Maisel, Jim DiVitale, Moose Peterson, and Joe McNally.
Above: Having Adobe at our event is always a true honor, and to be able to have our attendees get to meet the real people behind the most amazing software program ever, is a real treat!
I hope these images gave you just a taste of what the Boston experience was like. See you tomorrow! -Scott
Sure looks like fun! Is there another one of these in Vegas this summer or is there only one per year? I’d like to make plans now if there is another one this year (gotta come check out the band and yell “Free Bird!”.
Two per year!
Full Contact Photoshop
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
Las Vegas, NV
October 1st–3rd, 2009
Hey,
You should really think about doing a EU version of this stuff
I follow the event every time as much as I can but it would be so nice to be there in person instead. But travelling from Denmark en Europe to the US is simply to expensive
Thx for what I believe to be the greatest event in the business and high hopes for a Europe version
//theis
how come Joe did not get the “word” to wear black pants? seriously, that is a very august group with varying photo styles but all (except for Joe are dressed in black) …. maybe that is what is wrong with my approach … guess I better get a new wardrobe ……
nice recap by the way …..
Scott, you look good in a suit. Dave Cross looks EXCELLENT in a suit. Matt… did he have to borrow a suit? (just kiddin)
Ha! Actually, yes I did. The shirt and tie fit great. The jacket was about two sizes too big and I had to borrow it that morning from NAPP’s COO, Dave Moser.
…and I was wearing David Ziser’s jacket. I felt strangely compelled to go and shoot a wedding…..
Hah… Looks like it was blast
Scott,
Thanks for the recap. For those of us who are not able to attend, it is great to see what is going on. I was finally able to get a copy of your CS4 book last month, ( hard to deliver to Libya), I got the software at New Year’s but without your book, it was not effective. I am blown away by the Adjustment brush in Camera Raw!!!! Life in front of the Cintiq just just got a lot easier.
May be RC should change his statement about the schools being open on Photoshop’s birthday.
Scott it really looked like a great time was had by all!
How much money did you make as a profit from the entire
three days? I always wondered about this. Thanks.
The obvious answer about how much money Scott made. None of your business!!!!
Damn, I saw so much, gave so much, got so much and missed a whole lot of the experience? Hmm, I guess that means I have to come to another one, and another and another!
My first photoshop world was everything I expected and more. I lugged home 5 new books and have lots of work that will last me til the next PS world.
Thanks again, it was beyond fun. Such a great opportunity which I hope continues for years to come.
Hey Scott. Your Photoshop skill is amazing. How natural looks the picture you, Matt and Dave with tie. What a nice job with masking. I almost start to thinking is real shot.
For those who weren’t there, those pictures only touch on a small part of what was a really big experience!
Hopefully I’ll make it to a PSW some day…Looks like sooooo much fun, along with all the learning opportunities. Thanks for posting the awesome pics and giving us non-goers an idea of the happnin’s.
Thank you Scott and everyone at NAPP for making the conference such a incredible experience for those of us fortunate enough to attend. We learned, we networked, we were inspired, we had our horizons broadened in directions we never dreamed of, we met our photographic heroes. Now if only we could use the clone stamp tool on ourselves to enable us to attend all the classes we missed out on that were on at the same time!
If I were Joe McNally, I might be worried. First Brad jumps from the mothership and then Scott is seen getting very close to Drew. Is that the recruiting pipeline there? Looked like a great Photoshop World, only wish I could have made it. Maybe next year.
Bill Bogle, Jr.
very nice…!!
oh whats this??? jumping from laying down the chords on the Korg to laying them down on the acoustic and electric guitar without a capo ?? and vocals??? not to mention the smoke…. awesome….
I had a great time at Photoshop World Boston. I’ll be sure to get there next year. Thank you to you and your team.
Take care,
Jarrod
I can’t believe I waited so long to go to a PSW. I had an absolute blast. NAPP does a great job of organizing the whole huge event. All the Photoshop and photography celebrities were so nice and approachable. Except for Scott. He was too busy twittering all the time.
Why was there not a Canon exhibit with the exception of the PAID seminar ?? I and a lot of other people were bummed out
I feel the same way. I’m a Canon shooter but I gotta say, Nikon does a way better job of PR.
Thank you for you and all of the people at NAPP making those of us who could not be there feel so much a part of it. Being a Westerner, the LR sections have made me put it on my fall agenda.
Jack
Sorry I missed it. Do you have a site and date scheduled for 2010?
Man, i wish i was there… i love the new midnight madness shirt!
I hope Boston is already booked for next year!
-Bob
(Boston)
Hey Scott,
I just got back from Boston’s PSW and I gotta say it was a great time from start to finish. I was at the Canon Live Shoot pre-con which was absolutely worth every penny spent. The instructors were incredible. Jack & Eddie were more than willing to give any bit of information which is great for someone like myself. I’ve never shot with strobes before, so their help was HUGE. I walked away from the class with some of my favorite images ever. Every PSW gets better (Boston is #6 for me) and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Wonderful pictures! I can’t wait to see the video of that “halftime report” from the beginning of the keynote. Love the Midnight Madness t-shirts – I updated my profile pic last night, and yes, I “Retouched Myself,” although I’m strangely embarrassed by typing that in a public forum. =)
I need to start working now towards attending PSW in October!
This was my first PSW… it was fantastic! I had so much fun and learned so much, and met some really amazing people.
When can we see the wrap up video?
Shoot, i miss it every year….. Maybe you guys organize it in The Netherlands next year.
Looks like i missed a lot of fun!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Adobe booth this year. The feedback we get from interacting with users one-on-one is invaluable.
After reading the live blog thing the other day I almost cried wishing I could have been there. I wondered if there was any chance of getting to see the commercials you guys made and played at the keynote? They sounded really funny. Especially you and the mean Joe green one.
Seeing the reports from the PSW Boston I had to look back at the PhotoshopWorld 2002 workbooks I recieved in San Diego.
Back then, the healing brush had just been introduced and I will never forget sitting in the Wacom booth and using the tablet and healing brush tool to remove small blemishes, like noses and eyes from portraits.
As Photoshop grows and improves, so it seems does the surrounding technology. I can’t wait to try out the new Intuos4 tablet.
I need to make it out to a Photoshop World one of these days, if only to shoot that legendary band.
Big Electric Cat
( I am going to be shooting other big names this summer including The Dead, The Allman Brother and The Doobie Brothers, so I think Big Electric Cat would fit right in.)
I seriously need to make it to Vegas this year.
Is Lightroom a stand alone program or must it be used in conjunction with the full photoshop program.
Jim,
Lightroom is a stand alone program. You can but it all by itself.
It is NOT Photoshop. Photoshop is like Lightroom on steroids.
Lightroom will allow you to manage catalogs of photos, you will be able to edit photos by tweaking, WB, exposure, colors, saturation, sharpness, you can crop, straighten, etc.
But if you require full blown mega hardcore photo editing capabilities than Photoshop would be what you want.
From within Lightroom you can click on a photo and open that photo in Photoshop, if you have Photoshop intstalled, that is.
You can find TONS of information on the adobe website about Lightroom and the differences compared to Photoshop.
Good luck!
See you guys in Vegas!!
Hey Scott,
I’m sure you know already but I grew up listening to a band called “Big Electric Cat”. I doubt it’s the same band as they came out of Australia in the mid 90’s with a very goth sound. It was awesome. Check them out if you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Electric_Cat
Such a coincidence
b
I remember them. Think I saw them once in Sydney in the early 90s.
Scott,
can you pleeease post the commercial featuring you and the little boy here?
Please?
Please??
Are you only in Vegas and Boston every year? I wish you could come to the Pacific Northwest like Seattle or Portland at least once.
Again wasn’t disappointed. What a Great job the folks done at PSW.
See you next year at Orlando.
Scott! I made your blog two more times! LOL that’s me in Joe Mcnally’s shot on the right. and in the photo waiting for the Keynote I’m wearing a blue shirt close to the camera left. Love the new posts always entertaining and educational at the same time!
Hate that I missed it. Looks like it was a blast. But I’m already making plans to be in Vegas in October. Was there last year and it was amazing. Photoshop World rules!!
I am still in the photoshop world afterglow (without a layer or any other special effects). It was my first, and if you come back to Boston, definately not my last! Ingenious is all I can say about the whole football theme. Elequant is what I say for the closing comments by Scott Kelby, thanking those who in this financial market still chose to come and keep their skills and talents viable in today’s market. Great show, but even greater people to make it all a wonderful experience. Thank you!!
Hi Scott!
We just wanted to thank you for putting together yet another great Photoshop World! Chris and I learned so much from you and the other wonderful instructors. It is truly humbling and exhilarating to learn from those who love what they do day in and day out. We actually got a chance to talk to you after your set at the PSW party. You had mentioned that you’d like to check out our PSW blog which is blog.kaufmankramer.com.
Chris and I wanted to share with all of our friends and fellow colleagues the benefits of being in NAPP and going to a conference that caters to so many diverse fields. We did some reviews, tips for shooting around Boston, etc… Curious what you think! Also, we LOVE the job Nancy did with the PSW blog. We’d love to work with her to provide some “attendee perspective” for next year.
Again, thanks to you and all of the NAPP crew. We really enjoyed ourselves this year, and we can’t wait to implement all that we learned!
-Steve K. and Chris C.