Hey gang, Brad here with the latest happenings and news. Just a few things to talk about today, but they’re some pretty cool things!

• The brand spankin’ new iPhone Book (by Scott Kelby and Terry White) is now available! This fourth edition has updated info for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, including all the stuff you need to know to get the most out of this handy gadget. You can order your copy from Barnes and Noble or Amazon (or both!).
• You can catch legendary sports photographer Bill Frakes TODAY at 2:00 pm EDT on a free webinar with  called “Sports Photography: Understanding Motion and Emotion.” It’s presented by the Manfrotto School of Xcellence, where you can also find archived webinars from other photographers, including Joe McNally! (If you missed Bill’s guest blog earlier this year, you should go back and check it out here)
• Wacom recently rolled a very creative ad campaign featuring Joel Grimes, Nancy Stahl, and… Scott Kelby! It’s showing up in magazines and online, but the cool part is the website they’ve created that’s the heart of the campaign.  It features videos from each person showing you their workflow and how their Intuos 4 tablets play a vital role in their creativity. Not only that, but you can view and download each person’s settings to use for your tablet! Check it all out right here.

That’s it for today. Stop by again tomorrow to see shots from the LSU vs. North Carolina football game he shot last Saturday!

You probably saw Scott’s recap of Photoshop World earlier this week, but we thought it would be nice to let you hear from some of the people who were there as attendees as well.  Here are just a few of the people who have blogged about their experience in Las Vegas last week:

• William Beem – Beem Does Photoshop World in Las Vegas
• Michael Sweeney – Photoshop World 2010
• Tiarra Wantz at Nfamous Gamers – Ncounter with Photoshop Guru Scott Kelby
• Tonya Plonka - Photoshop World 2010, Las Vegas
• Tony Drumm - Photoshop World – Vegas 2010
• Craig Thoburn – Flickr (a few shots from the keynote)
• Ken Toney – Ken has some great shots up on his blog

And I’m sure there are more out there, so feel free to link away in the comments if you want to share your experience from Photoshop World!

FROM ROCKS AND TREES TO GUYS IN TIES

I’m thrilled and honored to be this week’s guest blogger. I’ve been a member of NAPP and a follower of Scott Kelby for many many years, and I can’t thank him enough for all the wonderful information he provides through his books and online videos.

I’ve been making my living as a photographer for more than 25 years, specializing in location work for annual reports and other types of business collateral material. Making a living as a professional photographer is hard work, no doubt about it!  You need passion, persistence and an unbridled faith in yourself and your abilities.  As hard as it is to build a successful business in photography, it is the most rewarding career you could ever imagine.

My love affair with photography started back during my high school days.  I was a staff shooter on the school paper as well as the yearbook. I enjoyed shooting B/W film, developing the negatives and making prints. My interest in B/W photography grew and I became a big fan of Ansel Adams and his beautiful landscapes. I taught myself the zone system and began shooting “rocks and trees”.  Like a lot of young people, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living, but I did know that photography would always play a part in my life.  I had no idea that it would consume my life.

Back in the late 70’s I worked as a flight attendant for a major airline.  We had a saying in the industry, “There is a smile in every window and an ass in every seat!”  Fate was with me one day when I met a passenger that changed my life. He was a professional photographer named Joe Baraban, a Houston based shooter who shot corporate annual reports and advertising work.  I can’t remember if he was one of those smiles in a window or just another ass?  Long story short, I quit the airline, moved to Houston to assist Joe and learn the business.  I stayed for about 15 months before moving to Denver to start my own photography business.

When I moved to Denver, the economy really sucked, much like it does today.  Being young at the time, I didn’t know any better and I really didn’t care. All I knew was that I was determined to strike out on my own and succeed at becoming a working professional photographer.

Over the years I’ve photographed for all sorts of industry, however it was the engineering, oil & gas and mining work that captured my interest.  I love shooting large-scale projects and the challenge to make those industries look glamorous.  It is this sort of work which allows me a tremendous amount of creative freedom, travel and the opportunity to learn about how things work and how they are built.  I often compare my assignments with that of the Discovery program “Dirty Jobs”.

Aside from my assignment work, I also teach a lighting workshop called “Small Strobes, Big Results.  I’ve been teaching for three years now. I really enjoy sharing my many years of experience with those interested in sharpening their lighting skills.

I also I teach workshops for Nikonians, The Santa Fe Workshops, Maine Media Workshops, GPP (Gulf Photo Plus), PhotoPress Productions and Popular Photography’s Mentor Series Treks.

I’ve been very fortunate to earn a living doing something I love, and I realize that not many of us are able to say that.  When I have the opportunity to speak to young people, I encourage pursuing a career that brings them joy.  I encourage them to follow their dreams, seek out those who are succeeding in their field of interest.  Life is to short too spend your days doing something that you’re not interested in.  Reach for that golden ring!

www.davidtejada.com

Rather than giving you a thousands words, here are some pictures that tell the story better than I can (photos by official PSW photographers Brad Moore, Drew Gurian, and Josh Bradley).

Above: During David Ziser’s “Live Wedding Shoot” Pre-Conference Workshop

Above: The NAPP Photo Safari on location; taught by Joe McNally, Moose Peterson, and Crew.

Above: The proud winner of an Apple iPad, during the “Faux Olympics” during “Photoshop Midnight Madness!” (Our way after-hours session just for fun).

Above: Vanelli gets the crowd going before the doors to Midnight Madness open.

Above: Talking Twitter: Scott Bourne and Rod Harlan during our Twitter class on the Business Track

Above: Hey, isn’t that frequent commenter Mike Reeves there right of center?

Above: Deke McClelland during his “Channels & Masks” workshop

Above: Laurie Excel showing how she uses OnOne Software’s Photoshop plug-ins in her workflow during an Expo Floor presentation.

Above: Rod, Scott & Terry posing with another Midnight Madness Winner! (She won a custom-made NAPP baseball jacket, with two tickets to Photoshop World Orlando in the pocket!).

Above: Larry Becker is choosing contestants for a Midnight Madness game, and she’s yelling “Pick me. Pick me!” He picked her!

Above: Intellectual Property Attorney Ed Greenberg (front) with photographer’s rights advocate Jack Reznicki, (seated) during their class for photographers on how to protect your images (from our new business track).

Above: Amazing wedding photographers Cliff Mautner in one of his classes during his first time teaching at Photoshop World. He totally rocked it!

Joe McNally during his live class on shooting portraits with small off-camera flash. Here he’s taking a portrait of Adobe’s Russell Brown (follow this link to see the results from the shoot above over on Joe’s blog).

Above: Artist Fay Sirkis during her session on Painting with Photoshop CS5.

Above: McNally doing a live demo at the Manfrotto Distribution booth on the Expo Floor.

Above: Web guru Janine Warner during one of her conference sessions.

Above: A group pic of the instructors featured in our after hours “The Art of Digital Photography” roundtable. L to R: Joe McNally, Jay Maisel, Vincent Versace, Julieanne Kost, Moose Peterson, Joe Glyda, Jim DiVitale, and John Paul Caponigro.

Above: One of the way cool photo set-ups created by the creative team at Westcott, so you could just walk up and shoot. I don’t want to spoil it, because I’m doing a special post on Friday just about this, but this was coolest thing on our show floor ever, and attendees were over-the-top loving his (you’re seeing just one small part. More Friday).

Above: Adobe had their best booth ever, with computers running every single version of Photoshop ever (museum style), on the outside of the booth, and on the inside, an intimate presentation area attendees get up close with the people behind the product.

Above: My band, “Big Electric Cat” during the attendee Party at the House of Blues. (that’s Kalebra to my left, Felix Nelson in between on bass, and Scott Stahley back on the drums. You’ll see lead guitar player Tony Llanes in just a moment).

Above: Another booth on the floor that was drawing huge crowds was Dell’s “Photoshop Wars” presentation, where attendees, and instructors, battled it out. Very well done, and loads of fun (plus, Dell gave away lots of Dell monitors!). That’s Corey Barker and Larry Becker above.

Above: There’s Tony, rocking the House of Blues (with Felix on bass behind).

Above: Russell Preston Brown doing a presentation in Wacom’s booth.

Above: Joe Glyda during the free one-on-one Portfolio Reviews (note: a lot of people brought their portfolio on their iPad this year. Cool!).

Above: Veer draws a crowd to their Expo Floor booth.

Above: Soaking it all in during one of the conference sessions.

Above: Peter Bauer during his induction into the Photoshop Hall of Fame

Above: Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayan shares the crowd’s passion for Photoshop during the opening keynote.

Above: Adobe VP John Loiacono, Me (obviously very excited), and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayan grab a photo op during the opening keynote.

Above: Photoshop Product Manager Bryan Hughes talks to the crowd about NAPP’s involvement in Adobe’s “Just Do It” program that brought loads of tweaks, enhancements, and improvements to existing features in Photoshop CS5.

Above: Adobe’s Worldwide Creative Suite Evangelist Terry White during his live demo during the opening Keynote.

Above: Adobe VP “Johnny L” kicks off Adobe’s keynote presentation.

Above: NAPP’s Creative Director Felix Nelson gets made-up backstage by Make Up Artist Shelley Giard for our KISS parody (he’s got Crop Tools for his eye makeup). I was the Move Tool. Matt was the Clone Stamp, and Dave Cross was the Hand tool.

Above: The doors open for the Opening Keynote, and the crowd gets settled in.

Above: After the opening parody of VH-1’s “Where are they Now?” show, chronicling the history of the fictitious KISS-like band “NAPP” the curtain drops (kabuki style) and boys play “I want to Photoshop All Nite…..and Retouch Every Day!” live! (with song lyrics captioned on screen, as seen here).

Above: The band in mid song. Full Disclosure: (a) Yes, we were really playing live! (b) That’s Felix on the far right on bass and me playing the “Flying V” in the center (c) Although Dave Cross was the lead guitarist in the video, and Matt was the drummer, Dave and Matt don’t really play, so we used a bit of trickery. Thanks to the make-up, we were able to substitute Big Electric Cat drummer Scott Stahley and guitarist Tony Llanes in their place. We made sure the camera guys never did close-ups on either Tony or Scotty, so the crowd just assumed it was Dave and Matt (and we heard that again and again throughout the conference: “Man, I never knew Dave Cross played such an awesome lead guitar!”).

Above: NPS (Nikon Professional Services) was the official sponsor of our “Real World Concert Photography” Pre-Conference workshop, and the class instructors (L) Scott Diussa and (R) Alan Hess had the crowd judge the best overall image from the live shoot part of the workshop, and then awarded the winner a Nikon D300s and lens!

Above: Senior Portrait artist (and kick butt instructor), James Schmelzer during his “Quality of Light” Workshop.

Above: Richard Harrington during his class on how to shoot and edit video taken with your DSLR.

Above: Checking out the new gear at the Really Right Stuff booth.

Above: Zack Arias during his class on things you need to know to be a professional photographer.

Above: MPIX Rocks! (see his shirt!). MPIX sponsored our live taping of Photoshop User TV on the Expo Floor, and we had Joe Dellasega from MPIX on as our guest, and he gave away loads of cool goodies—and gave a special one-day only discount to everyone watching. (Hey, I just noticed—that’s one of my portraits [football player], hanging in their booth. Sweet!).

Above: During the closing ceremonies I introduced Julie Stephenson, our Conference Director, and the crowd gave her a spontaneous standing ovation. Julie does a truly amazing job, and it shows!

Above: Photographer Michael “MJ” Green was helping out over at the Westcott Photo Shootout.

Above: John Paul Caponigro connects during one of his class presentations.

Above: Ben Willmore during one of his sessions, lit by the light of his laptop.

Above: The Father of Modern Color Correction, Dan Margulis, challenges his students with advanced classes on Lab, CMYK and Curves.

Above: Dave Cross, Canadian at Large, during one of his Expo Floor classes.

Above: Johnny L poses a question we don’t want to know the answer to.

Above: Heading back from class. Nothing else to do. Ho hum. Oh wait…this is Vegas!!!!

That’s a quick visual tour of this year’s Photoshop World. Our video team is putting together a video tour of the experience, but they have hours and hours of footage to go through, but I’ll let you know when they get it finished (probably in a week or so).

Thanks to everybody who helped make this a record-breaking show for us in more ways than one. By the way—-if this looks like a lot of fun, you can sign up later this week for next year’s show, coming to Orlando, Florida in late March. Hope I’ll see you there!

Today is Labor Day in the United States, and our offices are closed, so we’re taking today off here at the blog but I’ll be back tomorrow with some after-show coverage from Photoshop World.

By the way: I looked up Labor Day in WikiPedia, and here are a few interesting tidbits about this American Holiday:

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and parties.

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.

In U.S. sports, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons.

(NOTE: It was the start of my football shooting season, as I shot the LSU Tigers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels game Saturday night from the sidelines, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta with my buddy (and guest blogger) Paul Abell (I’m in the Atlanta Airport as I write this). I’ll be posting some shots on Thursday.

Have a great Labor Day today. Don’t forget to rest and party!

Hey everyone, Brad here again with some more shots from the first day of Photoshop World Las Vegas. Images from the opening Keynote, various events throughout the day, and the After Hours Party at House of Blues (photos by Josh Bradley, Drew Gurian, and myself):

RC Concepcion getting the crowd to their feet with a t-shirt toss before the keynote

She’s a big Scott Kelby fan

Scott and the NAPP band open up the keynote with “I Wanna Photoshop All Night (And Retouch Every Day)”

Adobe Senior VP & GM of Digital Media Solutions Business Unit John Loiacono (Johnny L) and his “security detail” take the stage for the keynote presentation

Russell “Presto” Brown demonstrates the magic Photoshop CS5

Johnny L presents Scott with a copy of his could-have-been best-selling book, “Down and Dirty Trixie”

Scott poses for a picture with Johnny L and Adobe President & CEO Shantanu Narayen

Shantanu Narayen addresses the crowd during the keynote

A full class checks out Scott’s new Down and Dirty Tricks class

Moose Peterson gives a one-on-one portfolio review

Big Electric Cat performs during the After Hours Party at House of Blues

Scott and Tony Llanes rock the After Hours Party at HoB

Scott Diussa joins Big Electric Cat on stage for a song during the After Hours Party at HoB

Tony Llanes plays during the After Hours Party at HoB

Hey gang, Brad here with a quick bit of news on David Ziser’s Captured By The Light 2010 Tour.

David is kicking the tour off in just a few days in Phoenix on September 7, then heading to Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, and a bunch of other cities between now and November 4.

During the event, David will talk about lighting, composition, lenses, and more to help you get dramatic and intriguing portraits, as well as the best software and shortcuts for getting the job done quickly in post to save you time and money.

Not only will you learn tons about wedding photography (and photography in general), but you’ll get a free DVD, handbook, and the chance to win other great prizes (including Photoshop World passes)!

If you’ve read David’s book on wedding photography, Captured By The Light, you know that he is the go-to guy for anything you want to know on the subject. And if you haven’t read it, then check out these customer reviews (over 50 five-star ratings!) to see what you’ve been missing out on.

David’s coming to 20 cities throughout the U.S. between now and November 4, so check here for the full list to see if he’s coming to yours.

It’s only $79 for the whole day, and when you register, be sure to use the promo code CBLNAPP10 to get $20 off. This is one tour that you do not want to miss!

Tony Llanes performs during the Real World Concert Photography class. (Photo by Josh Bradley)

Tony Llanes and Scott Diussa perform during the Real World Concert Photography class. (Photo by Josh Bradley)

Scott Kelby, Felix Nelson, and Scott Stahley (drums) perform during the Real World Concert Photography class. (Photo by Josh Bradley)

Jim Schmelzer talks hair, styling, and posing for portrait photography in his Quality of Light In Depth class. (Photo by Brad Moore)

Matt Kloskowski helps an attendee in the HDR Crash Course (Photo by Brad Moore)

Rich Harrington talks about the importance of audio quality during his Creating Video with DSLR Cameras class. (Photo by Brad Moore)

Attendees share their initial thoughts about Photoshop World Las Vegas. (Photo by Josh Bradley)

Attendees receive their workbook from Tom Castenada during registration. (Photo by Brad Moore)

David Ziser talks lighting and posing during his On Location Wedding Shoot class. (Photo by Brad Moore)

Attendees pick up their badges and workbooks upon arriving at Photoshop World. (Photo by Josh Bradley)

I’ll be posting more shots througout the week, so stay tuned!

See you there at 9am Pacific time!

The Role of the Picture Editor

It is not important if photographs are “good.” It’s important that they are interesting. What makes a photograph interesting? I’ll count the ways: It can be our first look at something. It can be entertaining. It can evoke deep emotions. It can be amusing or thrilling or intriguing. It can be proof of something. It can jog memories or raise questions. It can be beautiful. It can convey authority. Most often, it informs. And, it can surprise.

Nothing is more important than the trust of photographers. Since they are not employees, but freelancers, photographers often operate from a disadvantaged position. Remember that:
· You are the photographers’ advocate. No one else will be.
· You are the photographers’ counselor, explaining the magazine to them and them to the magazine.
· You are the final arbiter when disagreements arise with other members of the staff.

Smooth the way for the photographer. Make certain that the proper research has been done before an assignment and that there is actually something to photograph. (It sounds unbelievable to say photographers can arrive to find their subjects don’t exist but it happens.)

You should back photographers’ good ideas with conviction and shield them from misguided suggestions: Often, something that sounds intelligent doesn’t look good in photographs. Intelligent thoughts are often better in the mind’s eye than in the camera.

Other editors, with the story’s text in hand, may judge photographs by what they have read. Don’t join them. The reader sees before he ever reads and may never read if there’s nothing interesting to see.

A good subject for one photographer may not be good for another. Some photographers create a graphic and dramatic structure of a scene and then record it. Others leave a scene alone, intent on catching the ring of truth in a moment’s natural activity. Some do a bit of both. Label the extremes “posed” and “candid.”

You must spot young talent and encourage it, giving these tyros more than occasional assignments. Give those you select enough work to allow them to develop, but remember that when photographers start out, they often imitate one famous photographer or another. Challenge them to be themselves. When a photographer such as Alfred Eisenstaedt or Annie Leibovitz makes his or her reputation in your publication, everyone, including the reader, benefits.

Treat all photographers equally-those with whom you become close friends as well as those with whom you do not. Remember:
· React promptly to pictures you like when photographers call. Don’t wait days or weeks to satisfy their curiosity. Be an audience without flattery. Photographers rarely get informed reactions to their work.
· Don’t assure photographers that their pictures will be printed if they may not be.
· Be clear about what expenses you will pay. Don’t quibble with the photographer’s expense report. Pay promptly. Photographers are usually one-person operations-hardly businesses. They have to pay the airline and rental car bills the next month.
· If you must assign two photographers to do the same subject, make sure the reasons are known to everyone.
· Don’t hold on to a photographer’s work just to keep it from your competition.
Do all this, and when the time comes for you to hold a photographer’s feet to the fire-to urge him to continue to press a difficult subject or try a fresh approach-your mutual trust will be gold.

Since you wouldn’t ask a photographer to shoot pictures by the pound, don’t present their work that way. Take their pictures and narrow them down to the best. It’s your job to show their work so that others can clearly see its quality.

Learn to visualize photographs in scale, and understand art directors’ everlasting concern with fitting photographs, headlines, body type and captions into a page’s space. Appreciate their solutions. Make your points before layouts are made. No one wants to tear up finished work.

When a story is proposed, the picture editor should take a leaf from the newspaper editor’s handbook-the part that cub reporters have to commit to memory and recall when they start out on a story. Who (or what) is interesting to look at? When is it interesting to look at? And where? And how?
To be interesting, a photograph needs to show something distinctive. A two-headed cow is unusual. A bride in her wedding gown standing in a kitchen is a bit odd. But there can also be something special in what otherwise might be a common picture: a child’s yawn, for example, or a man’s gestures or a tree’s shadow. The flawless detail in print from a large-format camera may define the peculiarity of a subject.

“Peculiar” means distinctive, individual (we say “peculiar as the nose on your face”), as well as aberrant, bizarre and absurd. It’s a good word to use when thinking about photographs. Before making an assignment, ask yourself, “What is peculiar about the subject?”

Before I became a picture editor, I assumed that “good photographers” took “good pictures” because they had a special eye. What I found was that good photographers take good pictures because they take great pains to have good subjects in front of their cameras. (Reflect a moment on what cameras do, and this makes sense.) Good photographers anticipate their pictures. What good picture editors do is help them.

Don’t try to tell a photographer how to take a picture, (except, possibly, suggesting some special effect). You want the photographer to follow his own instincts. You should, however, let the photographer climb upon your shoulders for a better view. That is, explain your thinking about the story. Talk about what might happen. Wonder if the man who invented “Post-its” would stick one on his nose. Raise the possibility without demanding to see it. Instead, expect to see something better.
Encourage good photographers to work for themselves, for posterity, for their grandchildren-not just for you. A photograph that solves a magazine’s problem is more interesting when the solution is something you remember after the problem is forgotten.

Text editors do their work after the fact. But because photographers have something in common with Babe Ruth-they either hit the ball or they don’t-almost everything a picture editor does is done before the pictures are taken. What can you do after a home run except smile?

No photographer can go out today and take a photograph that sums up the Obama Administration. Photographs don’t generalize. But a detail, when photographed, often conveys a sense of a whole. A finger, the man. A leaf, the tree. A curbstone, the city.

Photographers don’t like leaving their pictures to chance. When shooting people, they gravitate toward making portraits-strong, static pictures they are certain will command attention-not riskier pictures that catch people doing things. As in a novel, action is always at a premium. And in truth, most subjects are static. Encourage photographers to take chances. Will the 100-year-old lady please bend and touch her toes?

How do you choose a photographer? Personality is not important. (Like barbers, photographers need to get along with almost anyone in order to earn a living.) But the photographer’s way of working is important-and so is the subject’s way of life. You must meld the two to ensure success.

Take the responsibility when assignments fail. (Your job is to see that they don’t.)

To view more of Mr. Loengard’s work, visit his website at johnloengard.com

I’m pretty swamped today, but I wanted to share this video tip with you that I mentioned last week in my report about my trip to Maine. In that post, I mentioned how I went shooting with Scott Eccleston from WeeklyPhotoTips.com, and that I did a tip for shooting long exposure HDR’s.

The video (below) looks tremendously brighter than it actually was when we shot the video (as you’ll see by how long the exposures take). It was really really dark—so dark I wasn’t sure it was going to work at all, but the video camera did such a good job of exposing for the tiny amount of light that was there, that it looks a lot brighter than it was. (Thanks to Mark Hensley for the awesome video work).

Anyway, here’s the clip (below), but make sure you check out WeeklyPhotoTips.com (link) because he’s always posting lots of cool tips…well….weekly!).

I loved doing this interview, because the Interviewer (Sophia Betz) asked some really great questions. We went into stuff like:

Q. What do you find is interesting to talk to photographers about these days in terms of new technologies that didn’t exist even three or five years ago?

Q. What tips do you have for photographers branching out into video?

Q. When you’re out talking to photographers or taking photos, how do you define success in an image?

Q. For first-timers to Photoshop World like myself, what advice would you give?

Q. Do you have any other advice for up-and-coming photographers?

And a bunch more. You can read it right now right here.