Scott Kelby
Photoshop evangelist
Scott Kelby is best known for Photoshop training – but he’s no slouch with an SLR either, as we discover as we look through his porfolio
Some Photoshop gurus appear more confident behind the computer than they do behind the camera, but not Scott Kelby. Scott is one of the best known Photoshop experts and trainers in the world, but very much sees himself as a photographer rather than a pixel pusher. For him, image editing is a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.
“I started out as a photographer in the pre-digital days,” he explains from the Kelby mothership in Florida. “My brother is 11 years older than me, and was (and is) a great photographer. He has a great eye, and got me excited. I really got into photography, and went from having hand-me-down cameras to a full studio, but by the late 1980s I was burnt out. The first digital compacts didn’t do much for me, but when I saw the Nikon D1 it was like, ‘Wow!’ I actually got into Photoshop through my job as a graphic designer. I worked on a newspaper for British expats in Florida, and I wasn’t happy at all with the repro on the photographs, particularly those in black and white. When a friend showed me a very early version of Photoshop, it was a revelation.”
Making a good photo even better
Equipped with a copy of Photoshop 2.0, Scott set about learning how to use the program. “After six months, though, I hit a brick wall. I couldn’t do what I wanted to do with the pen tool, for example, so I hired a consultant called Manuel Obordo to help me. There were hardly any trainers 25 years ago, but this guy spent a whole day with me and it really helped.” With his confidence boosted
by this breakthrough, Scott started teaching classes himself in 1993. “I am a musician so I’d always enjoyed teaching. I love to see people’s reactions when they ‘get it.’ That is why I continue to do live training on the road. I love meeting people.”
Adobe released the first version of Photoshop in 1988, but many photographers continue to be sceptical about it, or even downright hostile. How does Scott respond to accusations that Photoshop has made us more like computer operators than photographers, and that everyone has become too reliant on it?
“You know, the people who know how to use Photoshop don’t complain about it. It’s those who don’t know Photoshop, or don’t feel comfortable using it, who complain, because they feel the people who do know Photoshop have an unfair advantage. Also,
“I went from having hand-me-down cameras to a full studio, but by the late 1980s I was burnt out”
I try not to use Photoshop to ‘fix’ poorly taken images. I feel my main job is to get it right in the camera. I don’t even like to crop because I feel I have somehow failed as a photographer, but there are things my eyes can see that my camera can’t. Photoshop can make a good photo better, and that’s all.”
Fashions come and go
Image editing seems subject to a lot of fashions and trends, with the heavy HDR effects that were all the rage a couple of years ago, for example, now looking horribly dated. Scott sees this as a perfectly natural process.
“Photography has always been subject to fashion and trends. George Hurrell’s wonderful portraits of movie stars from the 30s and 40s look very different to the publicity stills coming out of Hollywood now, but they still look great today. Right now, we’re still going through a retro trend in image editing, and that’s okay. I can give people what they want and like, or I can stubbornly stick to my guns. I was talking to a wedding photographer recently who was bemoaning the fact that brides these days all want the blown-out, overexposed look. ‘It’s wrong! I do it the right way!’ she insisted. I felt like saying that accusing your customers of being wrong all the time isn’t a great business strategy.”
Scott is also phlegmatic about the current popularity of Lightroom Presets and Photoshop Actions, where a particular look can be achieved with a few mouse clicks, rather than lots of complicated processing. “Listen, the less time I spend processing the images, the better. If using a preset or action means I can spend more time actually taking photographs, that’s great. People shouldn’t have to pay their dues in Photoshop. Who cares if a plugin gets the job done in half the time? I use plugins, too. I love playing around with ones from OnOne, Nik etc. Plugins were popular a few years ago, then people forgot about them, now they are back in fashion. It’s cyclical, and in three years time we’ll be on to something else.”
turn it down!
As a Photoshop user and trainer for over two decades, how much more does Scott think Photoshop and Lightroom can develop?
“It’s hard to say with Photoshop. Sure, there are lots of little fixes, but basically, Photoshop is as good as you are. There’s not much it can’t do, from billboards to movies. Lightroom is much more clunky. It’s got a long way to go, particularly with panoramas, HDR, slide shows and web galleries. The Lightroom Develop module is better, but it still has some walls, while in Photoshop there are none. My team and I liaise a lot with Adobe’s development teams, so we’re always giving them feedback – indeed, there’s one of my presets in the current version of Photoshop!”
In common with most skilled Photoshop users, Scott very much believes that less is more when it comes to photo editing. “The biggest error I see among my students is that they push things too far in Photoshop. It’s a bit like playing the guitar. If I keep gradually turning my amp all the way up to five or six, my ears eventually get used to it and I don’t notice the volume. Then somebody comes in and asks me why I am playing so loud! Your eyes are the same, and after a while you don’t notice how you’ve been cranking up Photoshop effects. So be subtle. That said, I do sharpen everything because I shoot in raw, and raw images need some sharpening. Images can look flat straight out of the camera too, so I always add contrast.
“The less time I spend processing images, the better. People shouldn’t have to pay their dues in Photoshop”
It’s a good way of getting more punchy, colourful images.”
Going for gold
Nearly a quarter of a century on since discovering Photoshop, Scott remains enthusiastic and ambitious. “We’ve merged Kelby Training and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals into a new organisation called KelbyOne. We’re working on better ways to help beginners learn, both with photography and image editing. There’s a section on our website called Beginners Start Here, where people can specify their cameras and areas of interest, and it automatically builds a curriculum to take them from beginner to intermediate.”
Does Scott worry that his passion for image making could burn out again? “Not at all. I am more in love with photography than
“Everyone says it’s crammed and hard to get good shots, but I don’t care. I want to do the Olympics too”
ever before. When I get the chance to shoot, I love travel and sports. France is probably my favourite place to shoot. I also shoot for a sports news wire service, and while I cover pro NFL matches, it’s my ambition to shoot the Superbowl. Everyone says it’s crammed and hard to get good shots, but I don’t care. I want to do the Olympics too!”