Video has become a popular field for still photographers, but to really control images that suddenly start to move you need to know more than which buttons to press on your camera. The three presentations at  2016 edition of PhotoPlus may assist you to become better at video.

Once the name PhotoPlus meant an event centered on still images, but the conference and expo have changed with the times, and video is an essential part of the three days of conferences and two of expo. The PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo is the largest photography and imaging show in North America, attended by over 21,000 professional photographers, photography enthusiasts, videographers, students and educators from around the world. PhotoPlus features over 100 educational seminars, Photo Walks and Master Classes, the Official Portfolio Review presented by the Palm Springs Photo Festival, the Lucie Technical Awards, and over 250 exhibitors displaying thousands of the latest products and services for you to touch, try and compare.

From Stills to 4K Video: Making the Transition in Travel and Editorial Storytelling by Bob Krist is the first presentation to check. It takes place Thursday, October 20, 2016  from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM at  Room 1E07 and has Sony has sponsor.

Sony Artisan and longtime travel and editorial photographer Bob Krist will share his methods for making engaging, cinematic and beautiful short videos using a minimum of gear and a fair amount of ingenuity. Bob Krist is a freelance photographer who works regularly on assignment for magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, and Islands.

Bob Krist will center is presentation on the idea that while video has become a popular field for still photographers, and while equipment has seamlessly transitioned, there’s more to shooting video than updating your gear. In this Master Class, you’ll be introduced to shooting sequences, thinking cinematically and other issues that vex the still shooter. This lively presentation will include several of the short, award-winning travel videos Bob has created for National Geographic’s “Intelligent Travel” blog and a host of other clients.

If the presentation by Bob Krist interests you… you may have a problem. At exactly the same time another presentation happens at PhotoPlus. Capturing The Dramatic Moment: How To Elevate Your Photography And Cinematography Style, by Tyler Stableford will be held at Room 1E14, Thursday, October 20, 2016  from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM.

Join Canon Explorer Of Light Tyler Stableford for an unforgettable multimedia workshop going behind the scenes from his latest stills and motion shoots. A prolific director and photographer, Tyler will share a range of print and TV commercial campaigns in addition to award-winning short films and documentaries. Most importantly, Tyler will reveal the workflow and creative process driving each project.

The third presentation runs on Friday, October 21, 2016, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The title is simple: How to Produce Award-Winning Video.  The speaker is Bob Sacha, a director, cinematographer, editor, teacher and photographer and, above all, a collaborator on visual journalism projects.

Whether you plan to produce video for editorial or commercial clients, your narrative skills are just as important as your technical know-how. Audiences ultimately respond to stories, whether they are told in a single frame, or at 24 frames per second. This seminar will teach you how to translate—and build on—your still photography skills to produce compelling short video narratives (:30, :60, 2-5 minutes).

Bob Sacha, a former MediaStorm producer, will break the process down into its two primary components, focusing first on audio as the foundation of storytelling. He will explain how to use interviewing techniques that elicit surprising information and authentic emotion from subjects. Attendees will learn how to use ambient sound, sound effects and music to add emotional texture to the audio, and Sacha will offer tips and advice about the how to record high-quality audio. In the second part of the seminar, he will explain how to switch your visual thinking from still photography mode to video mode, so you can plan and capture the video sequences you will need to complement your audio and tell the story.

So, there you have it. Three good reasons to visit PhotoPlus this year. There are many other reasons, between the conferences and expo, but these three presentations, especially if you’re a photographer trying to understand video or simply need a refresher course promise to give you some shortcuts, through the experience of professionals that have walked that path before.