Post-Processing Intensive: Chicago
You’ve spent a lot of time building your camera skills and honing your photographic vision. Now it’s time to take it to the next level. Over 6 days in the heart of Chicago, we'll teach all the skills needed to use modern technology to finish our photos, and even to create images that were impossible only a few short years ago.
Workshop Details
October 26-31, 2025
This is a 5-night, 6-day workshop. Your experience begins at 10 a.m. on October 26 and ends on the afternoon of October 31.
$2,395. Register below.
Skill level
All Levels. Open to all who have an understanding of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras.
Group size
14, with 2 instructors — 7:1 ratio
Workshop Leaders
Registration
| • Deposit of $800 is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $1,595 is due on July 28, 2025. → Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is July 27, 2025. (see cancellation and refund policy) |
| • The workshop fee does not include lodging, food, airfare, entrance fees, or transportation to or during the workshop. |
The Post-Processing Intensive Experience
If you are ready to take control of the entire creative process, this workshop is for you.
This immersive course will be based in Chicago. We’ll spend six days in the learning studio studying and practicing the ins and outs of Lightroom and Photoshop. You’ll be provided a catalog of images so that you can work on the techniques as they’re being demonstrated, and you’ll have time to work on your own photos too. The instructors will be available for questions about everything, from the group as well as one-on-one.
Don’t worry, though—all work and no play make … well, you get the idea. During our time in Chicago we will sample the rich architectural history of the city with our cameras. We’ll get out for a night or two to make some fun urban night images.
What You Should Know
We want you to get the most out of your workshop experience. Struggling with computer skills while you are trying to learn two new software programs is no fun. Please be sure you have the following skills before arriving:
basic computer navigation
downloading your images from your camera and storing them in folders on your computer
viewing your images after downloading them to your computer
selecting images and transferring them to a flash drive
A laptop loaded with the latest versions of Lightroom Classic (not the cloud-based version, which is called just Lightroom) and Photoshop is mandatory for the class. If you are currently using Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, you are all set. If not, click here to purchase and download the latest versions from Adobe. You’ll want the Photography Plan. Currently the cost of the plan that includes both programs is $9.99 per month with an annual subscription.
If you would like to attend this workshop but are unsure whether you have the prerequisite skills, we can offer pre-workshop tutoring to get you ready for your learning time on-site.
What You Will Learn
The goal of this workshop is to teach you the necessary skills to take complete control of your post-processing—from searching, organizing and editing your images in Lightroom to stacking, blending and fine-tuning your images in Photoshop.
Areas of focus:
understanding the Lightroom Catalog
making full use of the Library module in Lightroom
understanding how and why we adjust our images
gaining a complete understanding of Lightroom’s Develop module, including AI noise reduction and the masking and selection tools
the connection between Lightroom and Photoshop
layers and masks in Photoshop
star-trail stacking
blending separate foreground and background frames
and much, much more …
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation.
Nearby Airports:
Chicago O’Hare (ORD)
Chicago Midway (MDW)
Rental Car
You won’t need a rental car for the workshop, as our meetings will take place at the hotel and the couple of nights of shooting will take place within walking distance (or, if we want to venture out further, we can group together in taxis/Ubers). Taxis and Ubers/Lyfts are readily available, including for transportation to and from the airport.
Lodging & Food
We will be staying and meeting each day at a hotel in Chicago.
Lodging
You are not required to stay at the official workshop lodging, though doing so does make it easier to meet with the group each morning.
Info and group code will be sent soon after registering.
If you are interested in sharing a room, let us know and we will try to connect you with someone like-minded in the group.
Food
Chicago has about 1 million food options.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own meals and accommodations.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the high 50s F, nighttime lows in the low 40s.
Recommended Attire
During the day we’ll be indoors in climate control, so feel free to dress in whatever makes you comfortable.
On one or two of the evenings we’ll go out shooting. Bring shoes that are comfortable for walking, as well as cold- and windy-weather tops and a coat.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this workshop is Relaxed. (See more about our classifications.)
The majority of this workshop will be spent in the classroom. One or two evening shoots are planned in the local area, and the locations will not be challenging by any measure.
Considerations
IMPORTANT: We encourage reading our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
Discovering Digital …
“So much has changed since those early days of digital imaging, but the one thing that has not is my continuous search for the highest-quality imagery possible.”
I’ll never forget my first time seeing fine digital prints.
I was teaching an advanced darkroom techniques workshop when another instructor came and said, “Tim you have to see George DeWolfe’s work.” On my next break I took a walk over to the adjoining lab and witnessed what were the most beautiful and glowing black and white prints I had ever seen.
They were not silver prints—they were way better. George had been scanning his negatives (no digital cameras to speak of yet) and using Photoshop to print them. I was floored. I was also an instant convert.
So much has changed since those early days of digital imaging, but the one thing that has not is my continuous search for the highest-quality imagery possible. Today that involves our digital cameras, Lightroom and Photoshop.
It’s curious how you can sometimes point to a single moment in time that completely changed your path forever. Thank you, George DeWolfe!
