Adobe Lightroom is an essential tool for digital photographers. Part asset manager, part raw file converter, part multimedia and print generator, Lightroom is the key to structuring your digital photography workflow so your photos stand out from the crowd. Think of it as having the best features from Photo Mechanic for image editing, Photoshop for camera raw processing and Expression Media for organizing and cataloging photos.

Spend an information-packed, fun and enlightening long weekend away with Olympus Visionary photographer and Adobe Photoshop Certified Expert, Jay Kinghorn and return home with a creative, safe and efficient digital photography workflow.

Location: Lightroom Mastery will be held at The Element in Summerlin, Nevada. An oasis just 20 minutes away from the Vegas strip, The Element offers high-end accommodations and superb meeting space outside the crowds and noise of Las Vegas. And, luckily enough, it is just a stone’s throw from Nevada’s best-kept secret, the Red Rocks National Conservation Area, a stunning location for landscape photography and exploration.

Join us to learn, have fun and relax.

“I’ve watched Jay Kinghorn teach seminars in our FirstLight workshops…I’m always amazed at his ability in sharing his knowledge about Lightroom, and to have it make so much sense.  This is an invaluable opportunity to immerse yourself in a weekend of improving your technical skills with Lightroom, which is essential to your growth as a photographer”  Jay Dickman

Cost of this invaluable workshop experience:   $ 825.00

to register, click here, or call 1-877-448-0411

what’s included: all workshop instruction for acclaimed Adobe Certified Expert Jay Kinghorn.  Opening night reception

what’s not included in cost: Lodging, transportation, amenities  and meals.  Jay Kinghorn and FirstLight have arranged special lodging pricing for this event, please contact the hotel and tell them you are a workshop student.

Schedule for Workshop:

Thursday, April 14 2011: Mid-day arrival

Meet and greet with evening photo shoot or wine and cheese party.

Friday, April 15

Morning photo shoot: Location TBD

Session 1: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.: Establishing your workflow

Once you have the structural elements of your workflow in place, you can truly begin to tap into the full power of Lightroom. These elements, often overlooked by photographers, often determine the ultimate success of your workflow. In Session 1, learn how to:

- Select and configure the right computer hardware for your photography needs.

– Develop a safe and effective backup strategy to store and protect your image library.

– Structure and configure your Lightroom catalog for best results.

– Calibrate and profile your monitor for maximum accuracy.

Break 11:00 – 11:15 a.m.

Session 2: 11:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Importing and Editing

Establishing good importing and editing practices not only makes it easy to find the best images from your photo shoots, but also forms the organizational structure, allowing you to find specific images within your collection quickly. In Session 2, you will learn:

- Ways to build file naming and metadata templates and quickly apply them to all images within your collection.

– How to develop an efficient editing system to find the very best images from your photo shoot quickly.

– How to gauge image sharpness and make precise comparisons between similar photos.

– How to filter the contents of your Lightroom catalog to find images quickly based on a set of criteria

– Methods of using Collections to group and organize specific sets of images for your portfolio, Web site or photo contest.

– The creation and application of DNG profiles to streamline your workflow.

Lunch on your own 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Session 3: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Basic Image Corrections

Lightroom offers a sophisticated suite of tools for optimizing and refining your images. From global white balance and tone corrections to precise color and lightness adjustments, Lightroom gives you a tremendous degree of creative freedom. In Session 3, you’ll learn the background and practice behind:

- Monitor calibration and profiling

– White balance adjustments and global color correction.

– Adjusting brightness, contrast and exposure to optimize image contrast, detail and color saturation.

Open Session: 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Apply what you’ve learned today under Jay’s watchful eye. Download, edit and correct your photos from the morning shoot, ask questions and ready yourself for the sunset photo shoot (if you choose to attend).

Sunset photo shoot: Self-guided photo shoot off the loop road at the spectacular Red Rocks National Conservation Area or surrounding area.

Dinner on your own (or maybe with a new friend from the class!) Note: Most of The Element’s rooms offer a full kitchen, if you choose to cook in your room.

Saturday, April 16

Morning photo shoot: TBD

Session 1: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.: Creative Control

Building upon the corrections learned yesterday, you’ll exercise even greater creative control over your images to guide your viewer’s eye through your images and make precise adjustments to specific tones, colors or regions within your photo. Learn how to:

- Optimize skin tones, creating memorable blue skies and performing other precise hue, saturation and luminance adjustments.

– Refine contrast using the Tone Curve

– Use Image Sharpening techniques to enhance detail in your photos

Break 11:00 – 11:15 a.m.

Session 2: 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.: Creative Explorations

Tap into Lightroom’s versatile set of image correction tools to reinterpret your images in creative new ways. In Session 2, you’ll learn how to:

- Creating stunning black and white versions of your photos

– Split and sepia-tone your black and white images for creative effect

– Add a Vignette keep the viewer’s eye in the center of the photo

– Control Noise & Grain to improve quality or for a creative effect

Session 3: 12:15 – 1:00 p.m.: Workflow/Batch Processing

The key to an efficient digital photography workflow is automation. Rather than spend time correcting each image individually, you’ll learn how to focus your time on the creative aspects of digital photography instead of repetitive processes by:

– Creating correction Presets

– Batch correcting images

– Specifying LR defaults

Lunch on your own: 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Session 4: Lightroom & Photoshop: 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Lightroom becomes even more powerful when you combine it with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. In Session 4, you’ll learn how to integrate Photoshop into your Lightroom workflow through:

- Editing Lightroom’s default settings for sending images to Photoshop

– Tips for editing images in Photoshop

– Using Smart Objects for fully non-destructive editing

- Using Photoshop’s Panorama & HDR tools for stitching together multiple-image photos that give the feel of an entire scene

Open Session: 4:00-5:00

Apply what you’ve learned today. Download, edit and correct your photos from the morning shoot, ask questions and ready yourself for your sunset photo shoot.

Self-guided Evening photo shoot at: TBD

Dinner on your own (or maybe with a new friend from the class!) Note: Most of The Element’s rooms offer a full kitchen, if you choose to cook in your room.

Sunday, April 17 Session 1: 9:00 a.m. – Noon: Export, Printing & Sharing

As the hub for every aspect of your digital photography workflow, Lightroom makes it easy to print to your inkjet printer, create beautiful Web galleries or deliver compelling slideshows. In this session, you’ll focus on sharing your images with the world by:

– Learning how to take command of Lightroom’s print module

– Using print presets to ensure consistent, accurate, efficient printing

– Customizing Lightroom’s Web galleries to match the color scheme of your Web site.

– Creating a Web gallery preset for two-click publishing of Web galleries to your site

– Using Lightroom Services to publish, track and connect through your online sharing accounts (Flicker, etc.)

What you need

Participants are required to bring a digital camera and accessories (batteries, memory card, card reader) and a laptop (PC or MAC). Computers must meet the minimum installation requirements for Lightroom 2 or 3. (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/systemreqs/)

Note: If you do not have Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, you can download a free 30-day trial of each at http://tryit.adobe.com/us/lightroom/c/?sdid=EPGTR or http://tryit.adobe.com/us/cs4/photoshopcs4/c/?sdid=ETLNU&

Level of expertise

Participants are expected to be beginner or intermediate Lightroom users with knowledge of basic computer functions and knowledge of simple computer maintenance.