West Coast School

Suzette Allen

Fundamentals of Photoshop

Suzette Allen has become a hallmark name in Photoshop education in our industry, teaching other photographers how to master the tools and techniques efficiently. After working for years doing graphic design work and working as a retoucher at a photo lab, Suzette is quite adept at the skills needed for efficiency, creativity and great composition. Pair that with her natural teaching style, and you have a winning combination!

Suzette has been a professional photographer for 25 years and has been teaching Photoshop for
9 years! She has been an international speaker for photographic conventions, as well as a teacher at many of the PPA-Affiliated schools. She is currently the “Photoshop Expert” at www.ShootSmarter.com, a resource site dedicated to helping digital photographers, and a talented Graphic Designer, with a vast product line of unique and fresh templates and products for our photographic industry.

Suzette is best known for her patient and down-to-earth teaching style and extensive knowledge
of Photoshop with an intense focus on efficency.

Ken Sklute

Putting Your Photography In Motion.

(Time Lapse, Video and Still Photography) Ken Sklute has been honored as one of Canon’s Explorers of Light, a designation shared by only 60 top photographers worldwide. During his 36 year photographic career, Ken has been named Photographer of the Year a total of 27 times between Arizona, New York, and California. Ken has accomplished his Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman degrees from the Professional Photographers of America; Accolade of Photographic Mastery, Accolade of Outstanding Photographic Achievement, Accolade of Exceptional Photographic Achievement, Accolade of Highest Photographic Achievement, and the Accolade of Lifetime Photographic Excellence. 

Sandra Pearce

Photoshop And Art

(Intermediate Photoshop) Sandra has been a professional photographer for thirteen years. Her goal is to capture your image in a relaxed atmosphere. She offers a full portrait studio. If you prefer an outside session she has a yard designed for that. Her garden has a gazebo, arbor, ponds with goldfish to feed, huge oak trees, a barn, fences, squirrels, birds and beautiful flowers. Areas have been designed to make your children, family and senior portraits a unique experience. There is a grassy pasture that enables her to photograph you with your horses or other pets.

Sandra offers paintings of your photographs in oil, watercolor and other mediums. If you have a photograph you would like turned into a work of art please call for a consultation.

Her goal as a photographer is to make your portraits a lifetime memory. It is her desire for her clients to know how special they are to her.

Richard Sturdevant

Creative Composites

(Advanced Photoshop, Painter and Topaz) Richard Sturdevant is a leading expert in photographic artistry and creative composites. His award winning work, style, and techniques have earned him high praise in the photographic industry. Richard is known for an impressive track record in PPA print competition – receiving ten prints with a perfect 100 point score in both state and regional competitions. He also made history with PPA at SWPPA District competition in September 2010 for the highest print case ever scored in the USA, Receiving a 100 print score on all four of his prints.

Carl Caylor

Seniors For Success

(Intermediate/Advanced Posing and Composition) Carl is an artist who prefers to use photography as the medium for his work. His philosophy is that photography is art and family history. Without artistic value, a portrait has no longevity. Therefore, it will not be part of family history.

Carl has been involved with photography for over 20 years. He started his photographic career in the darkroom as a custom printer and technician. This has proven to be a great asset to his photography and teaching career.

Carl is the only Certified Professional Photographer, Master Photographer and Craftsman with Professional Photographers of America in his area. He has won numerous national awards for his photography, including 16 National Loan Collections and several Kodak Gallery and Fuji Masterpiece Awards. Carl has earned several Wisconsin National Loan Collections and several Kodak Gallery and Fuji Masterpiece Awards. Carl has earned several Wisconsin State Awards, including Photographer of the Year two years in a row. Carl has also been the PPA Photographer of the Year for the last five years.

Carl has gained national credibility and is now a favorite instructor at photographic seminars and schools from coast to coast and abroad. Carl has had the honor to speak at National Conventions in five different countries. His work has been published in many books, magazines, Kodak ads, and vendors’ booths across the United States, Canada, Mexico, parts of Europe and Korea.

Carl passionately studies art and photography to ensure you the newest techniques and the best of himself.

Kalen Henderson

Putting Your Business in Business

(Marketing, Pricing and Business Success) Kalen Henderson earned her Photographic Craftsman Degree in 1996, her Master of Photography in 1998 and her Master of Electronic Imaging in 2000. She became a Certified Professional Photographer in 1995 and a Certified Electronic Imager in 1999. She has served as a member of the PPA Standards Committee and is a PPA Affiliate Juror in both Portrait and Electronic Imaging. Her print awards range from PPA General and Loan Collections to both Kodak Gallery and Fuji Masterpiece Awards. She is a recipient of the PPA Photographer of the Year Award and had her images selected for display by the Korean Professional Photographers Association at their Pacific Rim Exhibition. Kalen earned her Educational Associate from the American Society of Photographers in 2002 with her thesis, “Less is More”, and was also named an Approved Photographic Instructor by the PPA.

Arthur Rainville & Anne Clay

Heart And Art (Creative, Emotional and Artistic)

Arthur Levi Rainville, M.Photog., Cr, CPP, API, has been creating stunning photographs, wrapped in intrigue, atmosphere and romanticism, for over 50 years. With his life’s work being lovingly displayed on three continents; he has been touted as, “the Poet Lauréate of Photography, one of the most sensitive, artists of our time.”

Working out of his decorous studio in the historic waterfront district of New Bedford, Massachusetts, he is widely known for his muted, granular color work. Refinements of this life’s passion lead to his lyrical, quixotic Mansuesco style of today. Defying a definable formula, Mansuesco, much like Impressionism, is a plurality of looks. An innate quality of light coupled with a compositional choreography is akin to his signature style. In a one-man show at the French Cultural Center, his work was astutely referred to as “… a synthesis of observation and imagination blended with a palette of gauzy colors.”

Arthur has taught portraiture professionally for 30 years, inspiring the budding or seasoned photographer to look to Art and Heart as they face the blank canvas. Besides being a noted touring lecturer, he is a prolific author with copious articles and four published books on the Creative Spirit and living an Artful Life. As photography’s resident ‘Sage,’ Arthur continues to spread the word that private, personal vision matters.

Currently Vice President of Corporate Photographic Development for Lifetouch Inc., he is defining the Art and Heart principles for a new generation.

His time is devoted and divided between private portrait commissions via Artisan Trusts, photographic consultancy and teachings and his experiential fine art studies and gallery work.

Anne Clay has been a force in the art scene for over 25 years. She is widely recognized as an ‘out-of-the-box visualist’ with a strong graphic sense that drives her style. Her unique master-techniques in the digital world have earned her accolades from ecstatic clients and corporate giants. Her painterly, vintage atmospheres harkens back to old world masters. Developing a thriving ‘niche’ business in the ancestral portrait market, Anne has created a contemporary business model in these challenging times.

With her fine art background, Anne has joined Arthur, in developing and presenting enrichment programs for artists and photographers nationwide.

Tim Meyer

Fundamentals of Lighting and Posing.

** Attention.  This class is full. **

Tim Meyer has worked as a professional photographer since 1979 and currently serves as the Chair of the Portrait Division of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. He holds the prestigious Master of Photography, Photographic Craftsman and Certified Professional Photographer distinctions from Professional Photographers of America (PPA).

With over 27 years of professional experience, a Masters Degree in Art and numerous one-man exhibitions of his fine art work, Tim brings a unique perspective to the portrait world. His knowledge of the history of art and photography and their trends are fundamental to his understanding of the art.