Alrighty.

I meant to post during the conference, but when NAPP chose Las Vegas as the fall destination, I should have known I wouldn’t be getting any sleep, much less reporting done. For those that couldn’t attend here’s the recap:

Pre-Conference
For the pre-con, I checked out Ben Willmore’s “Advanced Photoshop” session. I enjoy Ben’s teaching style, as he delivers information effectively to all skill levels. Look for some of his tips in upcoming posts.

My wife took part in Laurie Excell’s Intro to Digital SLR class, embracing her rekindled interest in photography.

Day One – Now With Links
As I mentioned in my post last week, John Loiacono, provided a sneak peek of Photoshop Express during the Opening Keynote. Not much information was given, but the interface lets the user pick what adjustment they want to make, then select from a quick list of thumbnails. No sliders, menus or buttons were apparent during the demo.

If you are a current NAPP member, then you have access to the beta for H.E.L.P. (How To Educational Library for Photoshop®). The beta program lets users search the NAPP database for 30-60 second video answers to common Photoshop questions.

Scott Kelby introduced Kelby Training, education for creative professionals.

The evening’s entertainment was Scott Kelby & Co. performing as Big Electric Cat at New York, New York's ESPN club.

Day Two – Pick Your Class
The dilemma when attending any Photoshop World Conference is deciding which sessions to attend. Fortunately, attendees receive a conference workbook with most of the session notes. However, a book is no replacement for a real-time learning experience.

This year I decided to try something different, and I moved between sessions quite a bit. While I only had a sampling of a particular class, I focused a lot of my attention on presentation style & techniques.

Matt Kloskowski delivered material in a straight forward, unimposing style, that allowed beginners to keep up. Russell Brown showed a vaudevillian flair for the dramatic, and the best giveaways of any class session. (He also is quite impressed with Ben Willmore). Dave Cross kept things light with dead pan humor, and I recall Corey Barker saying the word “Now” 257 times during the course of an hour. (This fails in comparison to my own personal record of 573 “okays, so’s, and alrights” which requires ongoing remedial speech classes)

I managed to get a 3D digital scan of my head, part of a promotion to highlight the features in Photoshop CS3 Extended.

I skipped Friday night’s Midnight Madness session to take in the Cirque du Soleil performance “O” at the Bellagio with my wife. Balance, dear readers, it’s all about balance.

Day Three – Just Enough Photoshop To Fill You Up
By the third day, everyone’s eyes are glazed over – the result of information overload combined with the 24x7 atmosphere that is Vegas. Of course, NAPP decided the earliest sessions should be held on this day,and attendees WERE ABLE see the fun that is NAPP instructor hazing. *chuckle*

I would guess I was not the only person sleepwalking through the day. Most folks made it to the conference-closing wrap up, if only in the hopes of winning one of many $500+ prize packs.

Well, that’s the extended summary. If you haven’t had a chance to attend a Photoshop World conference, I would highly recommend it. Unlike other events I have attended, NAPP does a wonderful job of providing value to its members.