Back in August the Photoshop World Conference hit Las Vegas again for a week of fun, games, workshops and classes. I am really glad I went this year.

For the last few years Photoshop World had called Mandalay Bay home, and this year that changed to The Mirage. The event center there is much more fitting for Photoshop World, with the classes and expo area much closer together.

Starting with the Orientation, presented by Larry Becker this year was a blast. The Keynote was an unexpected special event, as Scott Kelby was surprised by being inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame. He seemed wonderfully surprised, and as moved as can be. My question was “wait…. Scott Kelby wasn’t already in the Hall of Fame”? This was well deserved, and way overdue.

The classes hit home for me this year. I have heard people say in the past that felt the classes were not complex, or advanced enough. This year I found the advanced classes I attended, like the masking class from Kristina Sherk, very good. The Lightroom Printing class, taught by Scott Kelby, was exactly what I’d hoped for too. Overall, the education side of this conference was right where it should be, and in this episode I interview a few attendees that seemed to agree with me. One of them had an interesting suggestion for the conference moving forward too.

The expo area was big enough, and well lit, but did feel much smaller this year, which was too bad. I have spent entire days just wander the expo floor talking to people, but that didn’t work so well with the smaller booth and vender setups. Still, some of my favorite companies were there, like B&H Photo, Platypod, and more. There were some pretty cool booths setup specifically for photo opportunities too, like Gilmar Smith’s prison cells, which were a big hit.

The best of any conference is the networking, and PSW is no exception. I had the opportunity to run into to old friends, hang out with some great talent, and make new friends. If for no other reason go to PSW for the social aspect. Speaking of friends, a big congrats to my buddy Dustin Jack on the Photoshop Guru Award win.

If you have not been to a Photoshop World Conference before, I can recommend it. I had a lot of fun this year, and plan on going back as often as it hits Vegas.,

Join me on this special Behind the Shot as I take a look back at the 2019 Photoshop World Conference in Las Vegas.

Photoshop World: photoshopworld.com