Start preparing your best images because the Photoshop Guru Awards are back! The Guru Awards are a special Photoshop contest just for attendees of the Photoshop World design and photography conference, which was created to honor and recognize the design, photography, retouching, and creativity of our attendees. Since their humble beginnings in 1999, the Guru Awards have now become the most prestigious and coveted awards in the international digital imaging industry.

All full paid three-day conference pass holders (18 years of age or older) are eligible to enter up to three pieces in three different categories (no more than nine pieces total). All guru award submissions must be submitted through our online submission form below and must be received no later than 11:59pm (ET) on Aug. 13, 2021. The winner in each category will be announced “live” at the Guru Awards & Wrap-Up Ceremony held on the last day of the conference. Each winner is awarded with a Guru Award trophy, and a special prize from our sponsors (exact prizes to be announced at a later date). What are you waiting for? SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS NOW

Let’s Look Back and Celebrate Our 2019 Guru Awards Winners!

More than 2,300 creatives from all types of backgrounds took over Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2019 for our most recent Photoshop World conferences—before COVID-19 put us (well, pretty much the whole world) on hiatus. With various classes on photography, Photoshop, Lightroom, and more, there wasn’t a shortage of knowledge and learning.

To honor the Photoshop World attendees who’ve practiced and honed their skills, the coveted Guru Awards were born back in 1999. Every year since then, attendees have been encouraged to submit their work in various unique categories in which we choose two finalists and one winner. From all of those entries, a Best of Show is also chosen. Best of Show winners have gone on to do great things—some have even become KelbyOne instructors! Here are 2019’s winners.

EAST COAST GURU AWARD WINNERS

Best of Show

Best of show | Winner
Kevin McClish, Grandma Pan

Creative Photo

Creative Photo | Winner

Eric Groeger, Face to Face

Creative Photo | Finalists

Scott Delony, An Old Curmudgeon

Courtney Kiefer, Fire Academy

Compositing

Compositing | Winner

Dave DeBaeremaeker, Tree of Life

Compositing | Finalists

Roy Fritz, Enchanted

Jesse Knafla, Anxiety

Photoshop Artistry

Photoshop Artistry | Winner

Michael Wewerka, Got To Catch Them All

Photoshop Artistry | Finalists

Dave DeBaeremaeker, Deadpool Martini

Mark Potter, Experience

Landscape Photography

Landscape Photography | Winner

Lorraine Deslauriers, The Enlightenment

Landscape Photography | Finalists

Paul Travis, Manteo

Michael Wewerka, Bridge to Rivendell

Portrait Photography

Portrait Photography | Winner

Lenworth Johnson, Golden Girl

Portrait Photography | Finalists

Courtney Kiefer, Secret Hideout

Teresa Letkiewicz, The Eye

Graphic Design

Graphic Design | Winner

Mark Potter, Nevermore

Graphic Design | Finalists

Gareth Trollope, We Can Take It

Sharifa Reynolds, Lake Stovall Album Cover

Retouching

Retouching | Winner

Jeff Morehead, Craftsman Kitchen

Retouching | Finalists

Michael Leonard, The Night-Light

Jack Greider Jr, Tent Rock Chimney

First-Time Attendees

First-Time Attendees | Winner

Jennifer McCants, A Walk Among the Arches

First-Time Attendees | Finalists

Lorraine Deslauriers, Heterochromania Iridis

Peter Squicciarini, Projected Patterns