photoshop | Digital Mastery

Recent & Future Events

by Ben Willmore | Aug 20, 2015

Hi gang! I just wanted to post a mini update on where I’ve been, and what’s coming up. The annual Photoshop World Conference & Expo just wrapped up in Las Vegas. As usual, it was a great event, loaded with lectures, workshops, demos and other fun stuff related to photography, Photoshop and other photo-related software. I was really excited to be able to teach two classes on Adobe Lightroom this time around. I just love Lightroom! It’s so powerful and is where I spend most of my photo-processing time, by far. The classes I taught were “Up to Speed with Lightroom 6/CC” and “Organizing Photos with Lightroom.”

If you love photography and have never been to Photoshop World, I highly recommend it. It’s not only full of educational events but the KelbyOne team really puts together a fun learning environment, hosting parties and other after-hours shenanigans.

The entrance to the conference & expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

My image, featured in the Epson booth at the trade show.

Upcoming training events

I’ve got two classes coming up at the end of the month, and the great news is that they are both online classes, and they are free to watch during the live broadcast! As with all CreativeLive classes, they are free to watch during the live event, and then you can purchase the course to download or stream at your leisure and get access to the class handbooks and other bonus materials. The two classes are one-day each and cover photo restoration and the latest Creative Cloud updates to Photoshop and Lightroom.

Here are the details:

Photoshop Mastery: Retouch & Restore | Aug. 27, 9 am-4pm PST

Class Description:

Photographs are among our most treasured possessions, but not every photo was shot under optimal conditions or preserved in an ideal way – making photo restoration a big business opportunity for skilled photographers and retouchers.

If you want to answer every, “can you fix it?” with a resounding “yes,” Photoshop Mastery: Retouch and Restore with Ben Willmore is the class for you. You’ll learn:

Advanced color correction and enhancement techniques
Retouching and scratch removal strategies
Detail enhancements
Folds, scratch, mildew, ink and water stain repairs
Reconstruction of missing pieces such as torn corners and rips
How to make fix faded images and make skin tones more lifelike

You’ll learn what actions to take, the optimal order to perform them, and which tools are right for the job. Ben will share time-saving tips and offer insights on the corrections that create the biggest impact.

Click here to learn more or register for free

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Photoshop & Lightroom Creative Cloud Additions in 2015 | Aug. 28, 9 am – 4 pm PST

Ben_Willmore_Photoshop_and_Lightroom_TEXT_1600x900

Class Description:

Technology is always evolving – make sure you keep pace with it. Join Ben Willmore for Photoshop and Lightroom Creative Cloud Additions and get up to speed on 2015 updates from Adobe.

In this comprehensive class, you’ll learn about all of the changes Adobe made in 2015 and how to integrate them into your daily workflow. You’ll learn about:

Raw high dynamic range
HDR + raw panoramas
Dehaze Adjustments
Retouching tool changes
Face Detection and Recognition
Blur Gallery changes
Rendering trees and flames
Local adjustment additions
Radial and gradient brushes
Hidden and hard to find additions

If you’ve watched any of Ben’s previous courses, this will be a great way to update your knowledge and ensure you know about all the latest features.

Click here to learn more or register for free

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More to come!

Kicking off summer with new seminar & more shooting

by Ben Willmore | Jun 8, 2015

Hi everyone! Here is a little update on what has been going on here in Ben land. We’ve been working on getting caught up and back into the swing of things after our long international trip, and we’re enjoying being land-based again. On May 29, I presented my first event of the new seminar tour, the Lightroom & Photoshop Creative Integration Tour, in San Francisco. There was a little scare with delayed flights, but I got there on time and the event went really well! We’ve got several more cities lined up, and you can see those HERE. Next up is Seattle on June 19th.

Here is the seminar description:

Ben Willmore is back with a brand new tour for 2015 that shows how best to integrate Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. He’ll show you how to take best advantage of the new features in Lightroom 6 as well as how to move beyond its limitations by taking advantage of Photoshop’s advanced image processing features. You’ll learn how to get the most out of Lightroom by utilizing many hidden features that require the intimate knowledge that only an expert can provide. He’ll share the best methods for organizing your images, show you how to push your image optimization abilities beyond what you thought was possible and then show how to best integrate Photoshop into your workflow. Ben has been using both programs since they were introduced and is known for pushing them beyond what they were originally designed for to get more out of them than what anyone else can teach you. Don’t miss your chance to learn from a digital imaging legend… you’ll be amazed at what you can learn in just one day!

The welcoming crowd at my San Francisco event on May 29.

Back in Florida, where we’ve been hanging out these days, we’ve been doing a little exploring and shooting some more images in my yoga photography series. After seeing how popular the images have become, I’m constantly keeping my eyes open for new and unique locations to shoot more photos. One of the locations we visited was the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. This place is more that just a museum, and you could easily spend an entire day there. The grounds alone are beautiful and expansive. We really enjoyed the museum and the house tour, but the architecture was where it was at, photographically. I found lots of great locations to place Karen and ended up with seven or eight strong images from here. Here are a couple (The header image for this post was also shot there.):

We also drove out to Bok Tower and Gardens in Lake Wales, FL. This is a historic landmark featuring a large and ornate tower that houses a set of carillon bells. The grounds are also very extensive and include gardens, trails, a beautiful estate, cafe and visitor center. We took a tour of the estate and spent a good amount of time wandering the grounds. It’s a nice place to visit if you’re ever in the area. We shot the following yoga image here:

Finally, we did a little shooting at the beach. The sunsets over Florida’s gulf coast are especially spectacular this time of year, and lend themselves to some nice silhouette images. Here is one I shot at Indian Rocks Beach:

I’ve been posting all the images in this yoga series in an album on my Facebook page, and you can see those HERE. More to come!

The Photoshop & Lightroom Creative Integration Tour

by Ben Willmore | May 7, 2015

Hi gang! I know I’ve been away from the blog world for a while, and that’s because I’ve been on an extended international trip with VERY limited internet (more on that later). I did, however, want to pop in to share a bit of news.

I’m excited to announce the launch of a brand new seminar tour that will be kicking off later this month. It’s called the Photoshop and Lightroom Creative Integration Tour, hosted by the fine folks at KelbyOne. This will be a full-day seminar that teaches you how to best integrate Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.

Here’s the official description:

Ben Willmore is back with a brand new tour for 2015 that shows how best to integrate Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. He’ll show you how to take best advantage of the new features in Lightroom 6 as well as how to move beyond its limitations by taking advantage of Photoshop’s advanced image processing features. You’ll learn how to get the most out of Lightroom by utilizing many hidden features that require the intimate knowledge that only an expert can provide. He’ll share the best methods for organizing your images, show you how to push your image optimization abilities beyond what you thought was possible and then show how to best integrate Photoshop into your workflow. Ben has been using both programs since they were introduced and is known for pushing them beyond what they were originally designed for to get more out of them than what anyone else can teach you. Don’t miss your chance to learn from a digital imaging legend… you’ll be amazed at what you can learn in just one day!

So far, here are the cities we currently have on the schedule:

May 29 – South San Francisco, CA
June 19 – Seattle, WA
August 4 – Kansas City, MO
August 6 – St Louis, MO
October 19 – Houston, TX
October 21 – Colorado Springs, CO
October 26 – Los Angeles, CA
December 9 – Fort Lauderdale, FL
December 14 – San Diego, CA

I’m really excited to get back on the road again with KelbyOne, and am even more excited to bring you this fun and exciting new content! I hope to see many of you at one of the upcoming shows.

Click here to learn more and find out where to register.

More to come!

Upcoming Photoshop & Photography Events

by Ben Willmore | Feb 16, 2015

Hi gang! I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on some great training events that will be happening over the next month. We’ve got a mix of Photoshop and photography as well as a mix of online and in the field.

Photoshop Week

Pretty soon, I’ll be heading back to the CreativeLive studio in Seattle to teach several classes during Photoshop Week. Over the course of six days, 13 instructors will present a total of 48 classes, all related to Photoshop, and as with all CreativeLive classes, they’re free to watch while their live. Here is CreativeLive’s description of the event:

One of the biggest events in photography is coming back to CreativeLive – get ready to learn from the industry’s best during Photoshop Week 2015!

Photoshop helps you transform the average image you have into the jaw-dropping image you want! Photoshop Week is your opportunity to learn the tools, techniques, and shortcuts you need to bring your unique creative vision to life.

For six days, the world’s most inspiring photographers and retouchers will show you how they work their magic in Photoshop and Lightroom. You’ll learn exciting new ways to transform your work and create images that stand out from the masses.

This action-packed line-up has classes for photographers working at every level. You’ll learn exciting new approaches to enhancing your images from professionals working in every genre of photography.

My classes at Photoshop Week:

Quick Selection Tips
Complex Selections
Getting the Most out of Smart Objects
Understanding Layer Masks
Texturizing Images
Filters & Creative Effects in Photoshop

Click here for more info on my Photoshop Week classes

Click here for more info about the event and to register for free

Shooting the West

Ever want to join me both in the classroom AND in the field? On March 3-8, I will be teaching at the annual Shooting the West event, in Winnemucca, Nevada.

Shooting the West is a photography symposium with distinguished presenters in many different photographic fields. Throw in workshops, participant shows, juried contests, vendors like Manfrotto and Canon, portfolio reviews, great Basque food and lots of Winnemucca style fun… and you have a pretty good idea what it’s all about.

Im excited to be the keynote speaker at this week-long event, and to work with the Shooting the West team for the first time! It’s going to be a really immersive week, as I’ll be teaching full-day classes that include shooting in the field, processing in the classroom and final critique. Here’s what I’ve got in store for participants:

HDR Photography: All day class that includes shooting in the field, processing in the classroom and final critique
Panoramas: All day class that includes shooting in the field, processing in the classroom and final critique
Post-processing for Outdoor & Travel Photographers: All day class, in the classroom
Think Like a Photographer: 90-minute session
Image Ambulance: 90-minute session

Those are just the workshops and seminars that I’m teaching. Click here to learn more about the event and see the full schedule.

International travels

Shortly after we wrap up Shooting the West, I’ll be flying to Hong Kong, where I will begin a 2-month, multi-country journey aboard the beautiful Crystal Symphony. Karen and I present the Digital Filmmaking course to our fellow guests and it’s always an incredible experience. We get to meet loads of interesting people, and visit interesting places. Below is our itinerary.

Ben’s Texture Packs Now Available

by Ben Willmore | Aug 28, 2014

Hi Gang! I’m excited to announce the launch of my new Texture Packs, a series of products I’ve been working on for some time now. Adding texture overlays to your photos, graphics and illustrations is a great way to add depth and really unify the image. It can be difficult to find (or make) appropriate textures that have the right amount of contrast and variation to make the effect look natural, so I’ve basically done all the work for you. I’m also including a 20-page, detailed guide that will teach you how to use the textures in Adobe Photoshop.

Most of these textures have been shot over the course of two years and 15 countries, as many of my recent travel destinations have been dripping in texture, color and character. We’re talking temple walls in Indonesia, Vietnamese building facades on the Mekong Delta and the little town of Hoi An, city structures in Malaysia, etc. While I love capturing city scenes and landscapes, I’m always on alert for great textures.

One of the texture packs, Paper & Fabric, was a bit more pre-meditated in that I sought out materials that, when overlaid, would create an artistic, organic style (canvas and burlap, for example.)