Photoshop World - Orlando 2010

In the days leading up to Photoshop World, I’ll be posting some tips here to help you get the most out of your PSW experience, so please be sure to leave me comments if there’s something you want to know or if you have tips of your own and I’ll answer/publish them in future posts.

Now, on to today’s tip!

The Good News: As you may well know, all PSW attendees receive an 800+ page Workbook (or “Playbook,” as this year’s theme calls for) that contains the instructor notes from nearly every class offered.*

The Bad News: This book can get very heavy as you lug it from class to class.

The Good News: You don’t have to carry it with you! Sure, some instructors will refer to it during their classes but it’s just as easy to jot those page numbers down (along with any other notes you’d like to make) in a separate notebook so you can reference it at a later time.

The IMPORTANT News: If you do plan on leaving your PSW “Playbook” in your room during the convention, make sure you flip to the back and remove the last five pages to take with you to the conference! We’ve even perforated them for you (See? We try to think of everything!) to make them easier to tear out. These are your feedback forms and these are important!

Why so important you ask? Because, unlike other conferences who might give you an email address for feedback, these forms serve as a benefit to you and to us. Not only are these forms your way to have your say, but they can also mean really cool prizes too! (I’ll get to that part in a second.)

As you will see, the first four pages of feedback forms can be separated into smaller strips. These are your individual class evaluations. At the beginning of every class, you’ll be reminded of the feedback form boxes near the classroom entrance/exits and at the end of every class you’ll be asked to drop your individual evaluation in there. All you need to do is fill out the form with your impressions on the class itself, the material covered and the instructor who taught it. You can do this while the class is going on or you can wait til it’s almost over, the important thing is that you do it!

Here’s why. We actually sort through and read every single one! It’s true! We even have one PSW staff member whose entire job for the whole conference is to collect and sort all these little class feedback strips. He puts them in envelopes marked with each instructor’s name and when PSW is over, we compile each envelope into a data report on each instructor. Then, when we’re done reading them, (Yup! You guessed it.) we give the report to the instructor so he/she has a complete view on how effective the class, the content and the teaching style was. This is how we ensure time and again that Photoshop World is the best Photoshop and photography learning experience on the planet!

Ok, ok… Remember when I mentioned prizes? This is where the fifth page of your feedback forms comes in. The fifth page is for your overall PSW evaluation. You need to bring this form to our closing ceremonies/conference wrap-up.

A Note About The Closing Ceremonies: I’ve heard PSW attendees lament the fact that they skipped the closing ceremonies because they thought it “wouldn’t be that big of a deal…” WRONG! The closing ceremony/conference wrap-up is an important part of the PSW experience! This is where we recap the highlights of the past three days and invite some of our instructors back up on stage for lightning-quick, inspiring tutorials. This is also where we get to see the fruits of our awesome video team’s labor as they present their highlights of the last three days, like this:

Ok… That was actually the “Corey Roll” that kept on popping up during Midnight Madness but all those great montage videos I’ve posted in the past came from the closing ceremonies at PSW ‘08 Las Vegas.

Anyway, we collect all your one-page conference feedback sheets before we start the conference wrap-up… and we encourage you to try and fill them out beforehand, so you can be more thorough; but don’t worry, you’ll have time to do it before the wrap-up starts. Then, once all the forms are collected, we end Photoshop World with a giant prize drawing using your feedback forms!

And these are not just any ol’ prizes either. These are high-ticket items donated by our sponsors and expo vendors. Last year, someone walked away with a full version of CS3… and that’s just one example.

Then, when PSW Boston is one for the history books, we sit down and read every single feedback form! Yep! Every one. Then, if we see a trend in requests, and it’s a feasable request, we make it happen.

So, you see, your input is what has made Photoshop World what it is today! Now, give yourselves a round of applause and don’t forget your feedback forms!

See you in Boston!

*We have to say “nearly” to accommodate any last-minute changes that can take place from time to time. I’m sure you understand.

Your Photoshop World Feedback forms are your ticket to cool prizes and our ticket to making PSW the best Photoshop and digital photography event on the planet!