Boring to Brilliant: Transforming Images with the Latest Adobe AI-Powered Features
LOCATION:
Holiday Inn
2224 Auburn Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95821
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Program Note: Due to a scheduling change, we've updated our July lineup with a highly requested session focused on the newest AI-powered tools in Adobe Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop, just in time for competition season.
Course Description
Join International Print Competition award winner Kimberly Olker as she demonstrates how to transform ordinary images into extraordinary works of art using Adobe's newest AI-powered tools and workflows. Through examples from portrait, landscape, and wildlife photography, Kimberly will share her proven three-phase process for evaluating, refining, and elevating images for competition, gallery exhibitions, client wall art, and personal artistic growth.
Learn how to work faster, edit smarter, and create stronger, more compelling images while maintaining your unique artistic vision.
Phase 1: Evaluate for Impact – Learn how to assess an image's visual strengths and weaknesses, identify its storytelling potential, and determine the creative direction needed to create a stronger emotional connection with the viewer.
Phase 2: Technical Refinement – Discover how to enhance the foundational elements of an image through strategic adjustments to lighting, contrast, shadows, highlights, color, composition, and visual flow.
Phase 3: The Finishing Touches – Explore the final polishing techniques that transform a technically sound image into a compelling work of art.
Kimberly will demonstrate new, improved, and underutilized features in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, including the following.
Adobe Features and Techniques Covered
• Advanced Subject Detection and Intelligent Masking: Learn how Lightroom's enhanced masking tools enable cleaner selections and precise adjustments while strategically directing viewer attention and creating more compelling, competition-ready images.
• Bi-Directional Linear Gradients: Discover how to shape light, direct viewer attention, and add depth using Lightroom's newest gradient tools.
• Photoshop's Redesigned AI Remove Tool: Remove distractions quickly and naturally while preserving image integrity.
• Generative Fill with Reference Images: Expand creative possibilities while maintaining consistency with your artistic vision.
• Panorama Merging in Lightroom: Create seamless, high-resolution landscape panoramas directly within Lightroom.
• Lightroom and Photoshop Integration: Learn how the two applications work together to create sophisticated composites and artistic enhancements.
The Anatomy of an Award-Winning Image
Kimberly will provide an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at her award-winning landscape image, Spiritual Sunrise, revealing the complete journey from the original raw capture to the final competition-ready presentation.
Whether you're preparing images for competition, creating gallery-worthy fine art, designing impactful client wall art, or pursuing your own artistic growth, this session will provide practical techniques, competition strategies, creative insights, and modern AI-powered workflows that you can apply immediately to transform your images from boring to brilliant.
BIO
Kimberly Olker | Master Photographer & 2026 IPC Diamond Photographer
Kimberly Olker bridges the gap between technical precision and artistic vision. Originally trained as a software engineer, Kimberly transitioned to professional photography in 2005, blending her analytical roots with a lifelong passion for the arts.
Today, she is one of the industry's most distinguished creators, holding the titles of Master Photographer, Master Wedding Photographer, Craftsman and Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) through the PPA. Her commitment to excellence was cemented in 2026 when she was awarded the prestigious Diamond Photographer award for Landscape at the 2026 International Photographic Competition.
Beyond the camera, Kimberly is a dedicated educator and advocate for the photographic community. Since 2015, she has mentored photographers through national and local organizations and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Photography. Kimberly is a frequent speaker known for her heart for service and her ability to help others master the delicate balance of technical skill and creative expression.
