Great environmental portraits capture both personality and place. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith photographs celebrities where they live, work and play. The workshop will cover how he lights portraits on location, on large production shoots of famous subjects, and people he photographs on the street, as well as tips on selecting the best backgrounds to add depth and visual interest to your photographs.

Artisans of Imagery Colby Brown and Chris Burkard will lead an open, interactive session on social media and digital storytelling. They will share advice on using social media tools (Instagram, Facebook, websites, blogs, etc.) to build your brand and get noticed in today’s ultra-competitive world of photography and video.

Artisan of Imagery Scott Robert Lim likes to say that a portable flash is like having a sunset in your pocket. Use this important lighting tool to conquer difficult lighting situations and bring impact and drama into your images anytime, anywhere. Learn how to use soft and hard light to your advantage and adopt simple techniques that will unleash your creativity.

Macro photography is both challenging and relaxing. The dance between manual focus and manual exposure comes together with creative expression in this art form. Slow down and be refreshed by learning how macro photography can become a source of stress relief. Artisan of Imagery Caroline Jensen will walk you through her favorite macro techniques, including magical bokeh, sharp details and smooth blur. Learn how to manipulate light to create multiple effects from the same setting.

Sony Artisan of Imagery Nino Rakichevich and α Imaging Collective member Paola Franqui (@monaris_) will lead a photo walk throughout the picturesque streets of downtown Monterey, CA. The class will focus on learning how to approach and photograph subjects, understanding your legal/commercial rights when shooting, controlling available light, and more details pertinent to street photography.

In today’s multimedia world, many photographers are being asked to shoot and deliver video stories for their clients in addition to still images. If you’ve ever tried it, you realize quickly that it’s much more complicated than simply hitting the “record” button every now and then while on assignment. Bob Krist, National Geographic photographer and filmmaker, and Sony Artisan of Imagery, will review the basic skills needed to create short video stories. He will focus on the specific technical hurdles that a still photographer faces while making the transition to video, ultimately helping you overcome the pitfalls that many photographers confront when required to deliver compelling video content. Bob will also discuss elements of character, how to find a plot, and the basic elements of visual storytelling.

Are you the photographer, social media director, studio manager, editor, bookkeeper and CEO? Does wearing all the hats feel impossible? Sara France has spent the last 5 years building a creative force into the collective brand of France Photographers. This is no ordinary associate business, but a group of talented and driven entrepreneurs who have come together to create something bigger than they could have developed alone. Sara will teach you about the tribe she has united, why it’s so important to stop doing business by yourself, and how to find a group of loyal, like-minded people to share your success with.

Lighting is the key to photography and learning how to master it is crucial to separating yourself from your competition. Award-winning photographer and Artisan of Imagery Jason Lanier will share his secrets for cinematic lighting effects that give his images mood and power. Jason prides himself on being able to light in any conditions from full daylight to dark environments. He will share these tips and tricks in live shooting conditions with professional models, using LED, flash, reflectors and diffusers.

Good photography is about making a picture that tells a story. The most compelling art asks questions and challenge the viewers to search for answers. In this session, photography and directing team Benjamin Lowy and Marvi Lacar will go through their careers and talk about the images and stories that moved them, and how their work as documentarians in both stills and video have evolved over the last decade. They will discuss documentary tropes and techniques, how to build a visual storytelling narrative, and how to translate personal and editorial work into the commercial and advertising realm, while still retaining one’s aesthetic style.

This workshop will tackle photographing the rugged beauty of the famed Big Sur Coast, which author Henry Miller once described as “the greatest meeting of land and sea.” Location shoots will be held along some of the most picturesque and dramatic locations in Big Sur. Two separate classes will be offered, including a morning trek to photograph some of California’s famed redwood trees.

Currently the Chief Creative Officer for Two Bit Circus, Nancy Bennett and her team have been activating out-of-home VR for major brands for the past five years. This session will provide professional photographers and videographers with the fundamentals of engaging and polished VR content leveraging their existing skills. Discussion will include concept to capture, the environment for successful capture, whether to move or not to move the camera, basic post production workflow, rendering and transcoding content for the best end results, and more.

Bend time and space through timelapse photography, led by an expert in the technique, Drew Geraci (Netflix's House of Cards). You'll learn the ins and outs of how to set up your camera to create stunning and breathtaking scenes that can only be seen through timelapse photography. You'll also learn how to operate a motion-controlled timelapse rig, via a 1, 2 or 3-axis setup. This workshop includes in-depth post-production training that will cover how to process sunset, sunrise, and astrophotography. In addition, you'll learn how to smooth exposure, de-flicker, and add motion to still shot scenes. For this workshop you'll need a camera with an internal or external intervalometer and a tripod. For post-production you'll need a computer with Adobe Lightroom and After Effects.

Sony Artisan of Imagery Katrin Eismann will walk you through capturing interesting images and then using Adobe Lightroom CC on your phone, tablet or laptop to process and share them.

With photo editing technology evolving just as fast as camera technology, it’s often difficult to keep up with the latest and greatest tips, techniques and strategies of post processing. In this workshop, we’ll take a look at the essentials to making your photos look as amazing as the scenery did when you first captured it. In addition to the “what” – sliders, filters, etc. - you’ll learn all about Matt K’s workflow and the “why” behind creating content with a signature look and style.

Sony Artisan of Imagery Thibault Roland will teach you how to create gorgeous images through the use of a technique called "long exposure". Rather than take a mere snapshot of your subject, the goal here is to stretch the exposure time and give a unique and artistic look to your images. The results will stop people in their tracks and evoke wonder, peace and eeriness. You will be provided neutral density filters for the duration of the class, so all you need to bring is your thirst for learning, your artistic eye and a few memory cards.

Food photography can be both fun and a form of art. Alpha Collective member Jessica Hirsch is the founder of Instagram’s @CheatDayEats, and has grabbed the attention of close to 400k followers with her food photography. She will be taking you through a variety of ways to bolster your photography with styling and technical tips that will help your work stand out and be unique.

Victoria Siemer, also known as Witchoria, is a visual artist that works predominantly in the digital realm, creating quirky, surreal photo manipulations. This class will cover the day-to-night shooting and editing techniques that she uses to create and animate her surreal illuminated pieces. We will kick things off with an early morning photo walk followed by a hands on editing session where you will create your own illuminated manipulation in Photoshop.

Join Andy Best on this evening photo walk and experience the night sky as you’ve never seen it before. He will provide you with set-up tips and instruction on capturing a unique shot of the stars and galaxies above.

Heard about how Photo Mechanic can save time in the rating and culling phase of your workflow but never tried it? This class will cover the nuts and bolts of starting from scratch, using Photo Mechanic to speed up your workflow.

Learn the ins and outs of Photo Mechanic to go beyond basic rating and culling. Learn the time-saving power of Code Replacements, Variables, and batch metadata editing tools in this robust software. There will be time for Q&A to dive into specific features you want to learn about

The Epson Print Academy class will feature a renowned industry expert to help advanced amateur and professional photographers improve their printing workflows and optimize files with the latest developments in technology to produce the finest exhibition quality prints.