photoshop for Photographers
&
Milky way night sky workshop
in Sedona
2 days Photoshop instruction in the marriott hotel
3 nights shooting Star Trails & the stunning Milky Way
May 29th – June 1st, 2025
$ 1,650
** workshop full **
milky way shooting
instruction day & night
photoshop training for 2 days
This two part workshop covers two very powerful parts of photography: Photoshop and shooting the night sky. I designed this workshop to work on both parts as they both are such a big part of my life and I love showing others my workflow capturing the night sky and using the best software in the world for your images.
Photoshop is a photographers best friend and this workshop is designed for photographers of any level who would like to broaden their understanding of this amazing program. Over two days, we will discover why you need to master this software if you love photography as they both go hand in hand.
The second part of the workshop will be about capturing and processing the elusive Milky Way Galaxy. I have been in love with shooting the night sky for as long as I can remember and this workshop includes a lot of shooting after the sun goes down in the beautiful town of Sedona.
Photoshop in the classroom
I have been using Photoshop since version 2 back in the 90’s and was a beta tester for many years for Adobe. I have watched it grow into the most indispensible tool in the world for anyone wanting to produce the best images possible from their cameras. I have also taught Photoshop for over 20 years at many schools including UCLA Extension, have a book on Photoshop and love showing the power of this essential program. I have watched the program get better and better through the years and there really is no substitute.
From the subtle nuances or powerful aspects of working in Camera Raw to the power of mastering layers and layer masks to the dreamlike and ethereal quality achievable by converting images to black and white or sepia, this workshop will help open your eyes to the possibilities of what you can achieve with post processing using Photoshop.
Instruction in the classroom will cover the digital workflow using the three components of the program; Bridge, Camera Raw and Photoshop and will focus on the importance of working in Raw. This powerful part of Photoshop is crucial to the final outcome of your images and we will cover Camera Raw in detail especially in regard to images of the night sky. We will also go over extensively the newest AI tools in Photoshop.
Training on all kinds of images
We will cover how to process, adjust, correct, and manipulate captured images. A variety of tools and techniques including some of the best Photoshop plugins will be explored to transform images into the desired outcome, and give a complete understanding of this powerful program.
We will also cover photo instruction in the classroom for capturing the Milky Way and night sky as I want everyone to understand what it takes to capture great images.
Students can bring their laptops if they want but we will not be using them in class as there will be a lot of demonstrations in the class. So there probably won’t be much time to individually work on images on your own laptop.
I will cover post processing on all types of images also including landscapes, people, architecture so you can see how Photoshop can help all types of your photography. But the main focus will be on capturing and processing images shot after dark!
Possible Light Tube w/ model
If I can work it out, we might have the chance to shoot one of my favorite models here in Sedona with my light tubes. I would love to take her with us when we are shooting the Milky way one night and have fun light painting her in a cool outfit. Hoping that we can make it happen.
I love shooting models here in Sedona and this could be a fun night for all of us. There would be an additional modeling fee of around $50 per person to pay the model directly. Using light tubes is pretty fun and everyone will learn how to play with these cool toys!
Intense Milky Way Training
The second part of the workshop will be shooting in beautiful Sedona and capturing the night sky and the elusive & spectacular Milky Way. One of the best parts of being in Sedona is the extreme dark sky & gorgeous red rocks that are a perfect mix to get breathtaking images of the Milky Way Galaxy and the night sky.
Living here for over 12 years with my wife Holly has spoiled me from the craziness and bright skies of Los Angeles. Sedona is a designated Dark Sky city in the US and has some spectacular night sky ops all over. We will cover many aspects of how to capture the night sky and this is going to be one informative workshop!
Scouting, Settings & Gear
In the workshop you will learn everything you need to know about scouting locations, knowing when and where the Milky Way will be, all of your camera settings & what is the best gear to use. This class will also go over all of the best apps for your computer and your cell phone for understanding the Milky Way and night sky. We will also go heavily into my favorite app, Photo Pills!
After each full day classroom session that will be at the Courtyard by Marriott in Sedona, we will either go to dinner as a group or go to shoot sunset if it looks promising. Then, later each night, we will all meet up at a location in Sedona, put on our headlamps and weather permitting, have one hell of a night!
May is one of my favorite months to capture the Milky Way and I have timed this workshop so that we will not only work with lightpainting across our foregrounds but also with moonlight as a light source in our images.
The moon will be out on two of the nights so you will see the difference that moonlight can make in your Milky Way images. This is possibly my favorite time to capture the night sky and we will be able to shoot with and without the moon and have one incredible time among the red rocks.
Sedona is such a gorgeous city where I live with my wife Holly and it is one amazing place not only to live but to photograph night and day, all times of the year. The landscape is filled with the most gorgeous red rocks and gorgeous views and is a major destination for tourism in the United States.
At an elevation of 4,500 feet, it is one of the coolest places in Arizona and has incredible clouds and monsoon rains, spectacular lightning and over one hundred hiking trails including West Fork, which is one of the best hiking spots in the 50 states. We might also drive towards Flagstaff and shoot in a stunning forest.
We love living here and have done many workshops in and around Sedona. Sedona is also very close to major photographic hot spots like the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon and also Monument Valley. People can plan on driving to one of the these beautiful locations either before or after the workshop as they are not far at all with the Grand Canyon only 2 hours away.
They also have helicopter & hot air balloons that can take you soaring over the amazing landscape of Sedona and are all some of my favorite things to do in this beautiful town. The shot above is taken with a drone above Cathedral Rock and we might have the possibility to learn how to shoot with a drone too.
Photoshop Training will cover:
- Camera Raw
- Bridge
- The essential Tools
- Basic Workflow
- Saving files
- Backing up
- Layers and layer masks
- The new masking & AI tools in Camera Raw
- Neural Filters
- Actions
- Blend Modes
- Adding skies, clouds and birds
- Transform Tool
- Liquify Tool
- AI Generative Fill
- AI Denoise and the AI Remove tool
- Resizing
- Retouching faces, bodies and skin
- Dodging & Burning
- HDR
- Panoramas
- Perfecting Noise Reduction
- Tons of the best Plug ins
- How & when to use the new AI tools
- Using Starry Landscape Stacker
- Using Star Stax for Star Trails
Milky way instruction will cover:
• How to scout out the Milky Way during the daytime
• What phone apps & computer apps are needed to
understand where to find the Milky Way
• How to set up and create a Milky Way panorama
• Post processing techniques for your Milky Way images
• Understanding what gear is best for night sky shooting
• How to shoot star trails
• Lightpainting techniques in your night sky images
• Using PhotoPills to plan your night sky images
• Using a Star Tracker
•
Time & Logistics
Workshop Time
The workshop begins at 4pm, Thursday, May 29th, 2025 at my home in Sedona and ends on Sunday, June 1st, 2025 after breakfast. We will meet at the Courtyard by Marriott in Sedona during the next two days and I will give everyone directions in the welcome letter.
Getting There
Sedona is in the northern part of Arizona about 2 hours north of Phoenix and 45 minutes south of Flagstaff. There are many car rental places at the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport and also 2 car rental places at Flagstaff airport. You can also share a rental car with someone else from the workshop and I can work with everyone on this too. The drive is very easy along Interstate 17 from Phoenix to Sedona
Workshop Cost
The cost for the workshop is $1,650 per person. Items not included are: lodging, meals, and transportation. We will carpool to locations and eat as a group at restaurants for socializing, asking questions and continuing lecture discussions. Some people can also share a room with someone else if they choose and I can help to see who might want to share a room.
You can also plan to arrive around the same time as someone else and share the car to town. We will also be carpooling during the workshop and we will pick the carpools on the first day. Please email me here if you want to save a space for this workshop. I cannot say enough about how beautiful Sedona is during the day and especially after dark!
To see more of my images from Sedona after dark, click on this link, images from Sedona after dark, on my website.
Intermediate to Advanced
Nothing strenuous
Light Hiking
9-10 people
