• Masking for Portrait Photos
• Landscape Editing
• Masking for Wildlife Photos

Masking for Landscape and Travel Photos
Discover the transformative power of masking in Lightroom to elevate your landscape and travel photographs from good to breathtaking. You will master precise, creative masking techniques that allow you to selectively enhance skies, bring out intricate foreground details, balance challenging lighting conditions, and create natural-looking adjustments that preserve the authentic mood and atmosphere of your scenes. By learning to harness these tools with confidence, you will gain control over every element in your images, turning ordinary captures into compelling images that captivate viewers and reflect your unique artistic vision.

• You will learn to unlock the ability to dramatically improve sky drama and cloud definition without affecting the rest of your landscape
• Master subject isolation and selective enhancements that make your travel photos truly pop
• Balance exposure between bright highlights and deep shadows to achieve natural-looking results
• Create depth and mood by precisely adjusting colors, contrast, and clarity in targeted areas of your photos
• Develop efficient workflows that save time while delivering consistent, high-impact edits across your entire portfolio

 

How much is too much (how to avoid over editing)
Discover the essential skill of knowing when to stop in photo editing. This will empower you to create natural, authentic, and visually powerful images across any genre or subject. You will develop a trained eye to confidently spot signs of over-editing in your own photos and in the work of others. At the same time, you will master restrained techniques that preserve the genuine mood, light, emotion, and character of your photographs. This approach helps you avoid the common mistakes that make images look processed or artificial, so you can deliver stunning yet believable results that resonate with viewers and stand the test of time.

• You will learn to spot the visual warning signs of over-editing and build clear personal standards for when an image has gone too far
• Train your eye to inspect photos critically, recognizing issues like excessive noise, unnatural tonal shifts, or edge artifacts so you can correct them for more natural-looking results
• Master subtle, tasteful adjustments to exposure, contrast, color, and detail that enhance impact without compromising authenticity
• Gain confidence in making strong yet believable improvements while keeping the soul and integrity of every photograph intact
• Discover efficient decision-making workflows that prevent over-tweaking, helping you finalize images faster with consistent, viewer-pleasing quality

 

Organizing: Keywording Deep Dive
Discover the power of strategic keywording to transform how you organize, search, and manage your entire photo library with precision. You will learn the real limitations of Lightroom Desktop’s AI-based natural language search and when manual keywords deliver far better results. In Lightroom Classic, you learn how to add natural language search where you can find images without entering a single keyword. Then supplement that by building a smart, layered keywording system that goes well beyond what any AI can achieve. This approach gives you complete control over your archive, making it easy to find any memorable image in under 5 seconds while unlocking powerful automation for client work, stylistic grouping, and portfolio building.

• You will learn why AI image search falls short in many real-world situations and how to use targeted keywords to fill those gaps
• How to add natural language search to Lightroom Classic while building a manual keyword structure that works alongside it
• Discover how to track important client details, project information, and location data through smart keyword strategies
• Add stylistic and technical keywords that let you automate the creation of portfolios collections
• Build efficient keywording workflows that save hours of searching and keep your growing library organized for years to come

• Portrait Class Class
• The Editing Room (Watch me Edit Your Photos)

TBA

• The Editing Room (Watch me Edit Your Photos)
• Presets and Profiles – What is the difference?
• Painting with Light (Dodge and Burn)

Backing Up Your Photos: Practical Strategies for Lightroom Classic & Lightroom
You open your photo editor, and you get a message saying images can't be found. You dig a little more, and the hard drive has crashed. Everything is lost. For most of us, losing our images can be one of the most upsetting things that can happen. All that work and time are gone. 

This session is not about how to prevent that from happening, because it will eventually happen, but rather about how we can have a good backup system in place so we never actually lose all our files. Rather than talk about theories and percentage chances that things might go back, we are going to focus on clear, practical strategies for backing up and protecting your photos and catalogs. Whether you use Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, or both, we'll discuss how your files, catalogs, and cloud storage work, and outline simple backup steps and options to reduce the risk of losing photos without adding complexity or stress.

The goal is to emphasize real-world ideas you can implement immediately, along with options to consider as your data needs grow over time. We'll discuss how to structure backups both on local drives and with some of the more popular cloud services. We will also dig into things to watch out for to avoid common pitfalls and ensure your images remain accessible and secure over time. Whether you're managing a growing archive or just starting to organize your work, this session will help you build confidence in your backup process.

You will learn:

By the end of this session, you’ll have a clear, manageable plan to safeguard your images and maintain peace of mind as your archive grows.

From Images to Story: Building a Photo Book in Lightroom
Ever look at a photo book and think you could never make something like that? Sure, a good photo book is more than just strong photographs. It's about pulling together great images and thinking about pacing, structure, and thoughtful design. Luckily, we already have some great options to help us make awesome photo books. Both Lightroom and Classic are amazing tools for turning a sequence of images into a cohesive photo book.

This session is all about the Book module in Lightroom Classic and the Blurb Connection Tool found in Lightroom. While each program has a slightly different approach, you can make amazing books using your images, no matter which version you use. We will do a quick look at the Blurb BookWrite Tool (Lightroom), but will spend most of the time in the Lightroom Classics Book Module. The features are very similar between the two book layout programs, and all the design and layout considerations will apply to both. So no matter what version of Lightroom you are in, we have you covered. 

We will start by talking about how to use the various tools and options to create your book. After spending some time on the tools, we'll explore how to move from a loose edit to a structured sequence, and how design choices such as layout, sequences, white space, and image pairing shape the reading and viewing experience.

The main goal of the session is to build confidence with the tools and also addressing the larger question of how images work together in book format. You'll see how to use various templates and customization options to quickly generate variuos book layouts, and how to refine them to suit your own style and voice. We'll also cover basic export and printing options, whether you're using Blurb's built-in services or preparing files for external printers.

You will learn:

By the end of this session, you’ll have the tools and understanding to create a cohesive, well-designed photo book directly from your Lightroom catalog.
 

TBA

Get Organized with Metadata
Stop searching. Start finding. Your photos are one search away — if you set this up right.

You remember taking that shot. You know it exists. But now you're digging through folders, scrolling through tens of thousands of thumbnails, or hunting across multiple drives trying to locate it. That's not a storage problem — it's a metadata problem, and it's completely fixable.  Metadata is the invisible layer of information attached to every photo you take, and when it's working for you, finding any image in a catalog of hundreds of thousands takes seconds. When it's not, every search is a gamble.

In this class, Jared Platt will show you exactly how to build a metadata system that makes your entire photo library searchable and retrievable on demand. You'll learn how keywords, star ratings, color labels, IPTC fields, Smart Collections, and GPS data work together inside Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Desktop — and more importantly, how to add that metadata quickly enough that you'll actually use it. Jared will also show you how to automate much of the process so your organizational system builds itself in the background while you focus on shooting and editing.

This class is designed for photographers who are already using any version of Lightroom but feel like their catalog is getting out of control. No prior experience with metadata is required — but by the end, you'll be using it like a pro.

Tools covered: Lightroom Classic, Lightroom Desktop, and select organizational plugins.


Next Level Importing
The most overlooked step in your workflow is the first one.

Most photographers treat importing as a necessary chore — click import, wait, move on. But the import process is where your entire workflow is either set up for success or quietly sabotaged. Every session you've spent hunting for files, re-doing adjustments, or scrambling to find a backup traces back to decisions — or missed decisions — made at import.  Done right, importing is where your photos get automatically organized, your first round of adjustments gets applied, your backups get triggered, your files get synced to your devices, and your culling process begins — before you've touched a single slider.

In this class, Jared Platt walks you through a complete, professional-grade import workflow from the ground up. You'll learn how to use import presets, automatic develop settings, file renaming conventions, folder structures, and backup triggers so that every session starts clean, organized, and already partially done. You'll also learn the most common import mistakes photographers make and exactly how to avoid them.

This class is appropriate for intermediate Lightroom users who feel like they're always playing catch-up in their workflow. If you've never given much thought to your import settings, expect to walk away and immediately change them.

Tools covered: Primarily Lightroom Classic, with import workflow coverage for Lightroom Desktop.


Traveling with Lightroom
Lighter kit, faster edits, better photos — your complete on-the-road workflow.

Traveling with a camera means traveling with a problem: the photos pile up fast, the editing time doesn't exist, the backup situation is sketchy, and by the time you get home you're staring at a week's worth of unprocessed images and wondering where to start. Meanwhile, the photos you meant to share while you were traveling are already old news.  It doesn't have to work that way.

In this class, Jared Platt lays out a complete travel photography workflow built around the entire Lightroom ecosystem — one that lets you ingest, cull, edit, back up, and share images every night on the road without it eating your whole evening. You'll learn how to structure your travel kit for a lightweight but fully functional mobile editing setup, how to use Lightroom's cloud sync to keep your files safe and accessible across devices in real time, and how to get edited, share-ready images out to clients or social media while you're still on location. You'll also learn how daily photo reviews on the road actually make you a better photographer — because processing what you shot today sharpens how you shoot tomorrow.

This class is suited for both enthusiast and professional photographers who travel with their camera regularly and want a workflow that keeps pace with the trip instead of waiting until they get home.

Tools covered: Lightroom Classic, Lightroom Desktop, Lightroom Mobile, and Lightroom Web.

• Color Grading
• Lightroom on the Web

• Removing Distractions (can also include when to use PS)
• Portrait Class Class
• Ways to Batch Edit Photos

• Editing Travel Photography
• Lightroom on the Tablet and Phone
• Black and White

• Do You Still Need Photoshop? Reasons why to use PS
• The Editing Room (Watch me Edit Your Photos)

Masking Magic: the Power of Intersect
Of all the masking operations in Lightroom Classic, Intersect is probably the least known, and yet it's the most powerful. It lets you make a precise selection within a selection, unlocking a level of creative control that most photographers walk right past every time they open the Masks panel.
Through practical, real-world examples across portraits, animals, landscapes and architecture, you will learn to apply light, colour and texture adjustments with a precision no single mask can match.

This class will permanently change the way you think about selective editing in Lightroom Classic.

• Which Lightroom do I use? (LR or LR Classic)
• Lightroom Photoshop Workflow Basics
• Organizing: My Catalog is a Mess

• Shoot. Import. Organise. Repeat.
• Bring on the Night: Editing the night sky
• Elevate your skills: Lightroom Tips and Tricks

• How to make the most of Assisted Culling
• Using Plug-ins with Lightroom
• Saving Photos for Web, print and social

Although there will be some discussion of the cloud-based and mobile versions of Lightroom, the majority of the classes will focus on Lightroom Classic. And for the most part, techniques shown in the cloud versions can be applied to Lightroom Classic and vice-versa.

With a free pass you get 48 hours of access to the classes. After the free viewing period ends, the classes are archived into our VIP Member Area, where VIP Members get lifetime access to watch the classes, along with exclusive bonuses such as additional videos, presets, templates and more.
Think of a free pass as an opprtunity to "try before you buy".

The event is completely virtual, so you can watch on any device from wherever you like! There is no password required to attend or log in to the free access.
Free pass holders will get a daily email with a link to that day's classes, while VIP Pass holders can log in to the VIP Member Area at any time to watch and re-watch the classes, and download the extras and bonuses.
To sign up for a free pass, click on the Get a Free Pass button and fill in the form (please make sure your email address is correct as that’s how you will receive the link to watch the classes). VIP Passes can be purchased by visiting the VIP Info page

No! Each day during the event, Free Pass holders receive an email with a link to that day's classes, with 48 hours to watch each session. You simply refresh the page each hour to see the latest class.
VIP Members can log in to their VIP area at any time to watch the classes.

Classes are pre-recorded and will be released each hour on the hour based on the Eastern Daylight Time zone. With a free pass, you have 48 hours to watch the classes, so for example, a class that's released on Monday at 9am EDT will be available to watch until Wednesday at 9am EDT. After that, the class is archived into the VIP Member Area.

The schedule page shows the release time of each class.

With a free pass, you have 48 hours to watch each class, so for example, a class that's released on Monday at 9am EDT will be available to watch until Wednesday at 9am EDT. After that, the class is archived into the VIP Member Area. There will be no replays or further opportunities for free pass holders after the 48-hour period. VIP Pass holders get lifetime access to watch (and re-watch) classes as often as they want.

With a Free Pass you have 48 hours of access to watch each class, but to get ongoing access to watch and re-watch the classes, we offer the optional VIP Pass. With the VIP Pass, you get lifetime access to watch all the class recordings, and exclusive bonuses such as class notes, additional videos, goodies from instructors and our VIP-only Help Desk during the event.
Just like in-person events, each with its own entrance fee, each Summit is a separate event with its own VIP Pass, with lifetime access to the classes from that event.

Although Adobe has given us their support and encouragement, the event itself is being organized and run by Dave Cross, in partnership with Matt Kloskowski.

Yes, our class videos offer auto-generated captions.

You can try our AI chat robot (icon at the bottom right of the page) to get answers to commonly asked questions. If that doesn't help, you can use the email address that the chat robot will give you for further assistance.