NAPP & Kepby Training Merging

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I've been a member of NAPP for the last 9 months, and I have to say that I have definitely benefited from the various teaching videos and the 10x a year Photoshop User magazine that comes with membership. I've always been curious about Kelby Training and have had a free 24 hour pass for a while that I was going to use to check it out to see if joining both was worth it, but I never got around to it.

So glad I didn't (I came this close to taking advantage of their holiday sale). I just got an email stating that the two organizations are merging, which means NAPP members now have access to Kelby Training materials, and vice versa. I bought a 2 year membership at a conference last April, so I'm good for the next 15 months. If you were keen to learn Photoshop and/or Lightroom, NAPP was a great resource, and now with access to all the other Kelby Training, which includes all sorts of tutorials on Lighting, Portrait, Wedding, and all sorts of other types of photography, it's almost a no-brainer.

 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Note - seems the site is REALLY slow, and I can't seem to login, but the membership fee seems to reflect the old Kelby Training cost, which was significantly higher than NAPP ($25/month vs. $99/year), so spend accordingly. For a guy like me who got a deal on 2 years plus a free book and 2 videos, I'm pretty excited.
 

WhiteLight

Senior Member
Yep.. just got the email too.
and for me NAPP was a mixed bag..
maybe cos i had wrong expectations from it, but thanks to some guidance from you Jake regarding the modules, the learning became a tad easier.
the problem i faced was there was no set path or learning lessons to get started with..
when i joined, though i knew a bit on LR, my PS knowledge was below 0
tried all i did, i couldn't really get a grip on the course.. till i followed what Jake suggested alongside with some additional learning from other sources.

that being said, i think what they have introduced now is truly awesome & a much better learning resource.
all in one photography development :thumbsup:
 

nikonpup

Senior Member
i was using the photography training which i thought was good. They take you from basic camera operation (major models) thru - camera lens - accessories - flash - memory - tripods - basic stuff. You can advance at your own speed as you go. On to instruction on many different types of photography. Not sure on pricing, i saw $30 then $25 per month. On the other side that joined looks like you will have photoshop - lightroom - business - design added. The site is slow today so things are loading very slowly.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Was poking around this morning and there's SO much on the Kelby Training side of things. Lots of how-to's and discussions with well known photographers, to walkthru's of various new camera models (for Nikon there's the D3200, D5200 and D7100), to really detailed PS technique stuff (like 90 minutes on the Pen Tool), and some great stuff with regard to photography as a business, including at least 3 different seminars on copyright and image protection.

I took a closer look at the fee structure and it's $25/month (the old Kelby Training cost) or $99/year (the NAPP subscription). For me the yearly subscription is a no brainer, particularly if you're just ramping up on something like PS. It'll get you up and running quickly, and in 6 months you'll be ready for something else. Or, at some point you may get stuck with how to do a certain something and you can find a class on it here.

There's enough here to make your head spin. Plus you get some decent discounts, like free ground shipping from Adorama and B&H (plus monthly specials on 50-100 pieces of gear), 15% discounts on Nik and onOne software (which translates to about 1/2 you cost of yearly membership), printing deals (30% off at Bay Photo), etc. I guess what I'm saying is that if you're considering investing $$ in photography education of any type you can really do a lot worse than this deal.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Jake, I remember reading something you posted about NAPP--possibly needing 2 pro camera bodies, is that correct? In any case, I searched online for the NAPP info, but I keep getting redirected back to the KelbyOne web site. Is NAPP still offering their memberships? Most likely I don't qualify, but I'm just wondering when the current NAPP memberships expire, will those members have to pay the higher KelbyOne price if they wish to continue? It's listed as $25 per month or $249 for the year.
 

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Was poking around this morning and there's SO much on the Kelby Training side of things. Lots of how-to's and discussions with well known photographers, to walkthru's of various new camera models (for Nikon there's the D3200, D5200 and D7100), to really detailed PS technique stuff (like 90 minutes on the Pen Tool), and some great stuff with regard to photography as a business, including at least 3 different seminars on copyright and image protection.

I took a closer look at the fee structure and it's $25/month (the old Kelby Training cost) or $99/year (the NAPP subscription). For me the yearly subscription is a no brainer, particularly if you're just ramping up on something like PS. It'll get you up and running quickly, and in 6 months you'll be ready for something else. Or, at some point you may get stuck with how to do a certain something and you can find a class on it here.

There's enough here to make your head spin. Plus you get some decent discounts, like free ground shipping from Adorama and B&H (plus monthly specials on 50-100 pieces of gear), 15% discounts on Nik and onOne software (which translates to about 1/2 you cost of yearly membership), printing deals (30% off at Bay Photo), etc. I guess what I'm saying is that if you're considering investing $$ in photography education of any type you can really do a lot worse than this deal.

Unfortunately, the rest of us cannot get in on the $99 deal that you have.. :( You are grandfathered as a NAPP..

For the rest of us it 25x12 for $300 (or a discounted $249 if you pay for the whole year... $250 is a tad steep for me right now..

I agree, the 99 would be a no brainer (and I appear to fit "no brainer" well!) :)

Pat in NH
 

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Jake, I remember reading something you posted about NAPP--possibly needing 2 pro camera bodies, is that correct? In any case, I searched online for the NAPP info, but I keep getting redirected back to the KelbyOne web site. Is NAPP still offering their memberships? Most likely I don't qualify, but I'm just wondering when the current NAPP memberships expire, will those members have to pay the higher KelbyOne price if they wish to continue? It's listed as $25 per month or $249 for the year.

I do remember something relative to NAPP a while back... Jake would have to address that..

Regarding prices.. if you are already NAPP.. You get to keep $99 for renewals... as long as you do not lapse.

If a NAPP member lets it lapse, then comes back, he/she will have to pay the new member rate..

(I am guessing we cannot get a $99 NAPP now)

Pat in NH
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Jake, I remember reading something you posted about NAPP--possibly needing 2 pro camera bodies, is that correct? In any case, I searched online for the NAPP info, but I keep getting redirected back to the KelbyOne web site. Is NAPP still offering their memberships? Most likely I don't qualify, but I'm just wondering when the current NAPP memberships expire, will those members have to pay the higher KelbyOne price if they wish to continue? It's listed as $25 per month or $249 for the year.

That's Nikon Professional Services that requires specific equipment ownership. With this you can own no camera at all and become a member. :)

NAPP and Kelby Training goes beyond photography and also covers a lot of graphic design work, using Photoshop as a graphic arts engine and not just for tweaking photos. As for pricing, I was showing $99/year, but I just logged out and see that it's listed at $249 for new/non-current members. I'm not sure if that's for your first year and it'll be $99 to renew or what, but I'm thankful that it's $99 for me. Maybe I need to renew before they "fix" it.

What I can't figure out is that they offer a "Try It Free" option, but there's nowhere under that link that I can find what exactly is free and for how long - there's only the option to subscribe. Could be a website bug (wouldn't be the first time). I'd submit a question under their contact link or call their toll free number, if you're interested, and ask about the Free Trial option. I'm guessing you get 24 hours (that's what Kelby Training had), in which case they'll give you a promo code or link to follow. Take advantage of it on a day you can work through at least 1 full class (about 90-120 minutes), and maybe 2, to get an idea of what they're like. Then make a decision on how you want to subscribe.
 

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
That's Nikon Professional Services that requires specific equipment ownership. With this you can own no camera at all and become a member. :)

NAPP and Kelby Training goes beyond photography and also covers a lot of graphic design work, using Photoshop as a graphic arts engine and not just for tweaking photos. As for pricing, I was showing $99/year, but I just logged out and see that it's listed at $249 for new/non-current members. I'm not sure if that's for your first year and it'll be $99 to renew or what, but I'm thankful that it's $99 for me. Maybe I need to renew before they "fix" it.

What I can't figure out is that they offer a "Try It Free" option, but there's nowhere under that link that I can find what exactly is free and for how long - there's only the option to subscribe. Could be a website bug (wouldn't be the first time). I'd submit a question under their contact link or call their toll free number, if you're interested, and ask about the Free Trial option. I'm guessing you get 24 hours (that's what Kelby Training had), in which case they'll give you a promo code or link to follow. Take advantage of it on a day you can work through at least 1 full class (about 90-120 minutes), and maybe 2, to get an idea of what they're like. Then make a decision on how you want to subscribe.

Jake,

You are grandfathered with the 99... as long as you do not let it lapse, you can renew at 99. (I was reading as I was thinking it was a deal/steal at 99.)

New folks are 249 period... no reduction at this time (unless they reduce the rate structure in the future... I do believe they would get a lot more folks at $99... (I would pay that) than they would at $249.. (I cannot pay that!)

Pat in NH
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I'm guessing that the $249 is to not piss off Kelby Training subscribers who just forked over something like that. They had a holiday deal at $179/year that I almost went for, as I said, and as a NAPP member I believe I would be rather livid today had I gone for it and they didn't offer some level of reimbursement.

$249 is not cheap by any means, and I would hardly recommend it at that price for someone looking to learn something for the first time. But if you want to amerce yourself in the tools, really expand your photography, or go into business, I think there's a lot here. And for the business person I would think that it could be written off as a "professional membership" given the NAPP component. Otherwise, I'd wait for a membership special to pop up. I'm guessing that there will be discounts available. And if you attend a Kelby Training even like I did you'll get an even better deal while there.
 

WhiteLight

Senior Member
That's cool.. at least for me..
my NAPP membership is due for renewal soon & i was actually giving a thought of whether to renew or not (just NAPP), but i guess with this offer i would defy renew!
 

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Thanks for keeping us up to speed... were they to offer a deal for 99 like you got, I would probably grab it... but $249 is above my budget, above my level (especially where I do not have photoshop).

PLEASE, keep us posted if down the road they offer a discount...

pat in nh
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Thanks for keeping us up to speed... were they to offer a deal for 99 like you got, I would probably grab it... but $249 is above my budget, above my level (especially where I do not have photoshop).

PLEASE, keep us posted if down the road they offer a discount...

pat in nh

Will do. I'm guessing they're still sorting things out. I downloaded the KelbyOne app so I can watch videos on my iPhone or tablet and it's not taking my login information.

There's likely going to be some kicking and screaming about the price from members of both. I think it'll settle in around $199 for new folks, with discounts available from time to time. Still not cheap.
 
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