Jeff L. Carlson

Writer, photographer, late-nighter.
Owner, Never Enough Coffee Creations

Email: jeff@jeffcarlson.com
Web: jeffcarlson.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jefflcarlson
Instagram: @jeffcarlson
Mastodon: @jeffcarlson@twit.social

Overview: Prolific writer, editor, and photographer with expertise in photography, personal technology, and computational photography. Skilled at unpacking complex technical topics for different audiences, managing multiple simultaneous projects and deadlines, and collaborating with editors and other content stakeholders.

Writer

• Books: Author of dozens of professionally published how-to books covering a wide range of technology topics such as photography, general computing, video editing, and handheld devices for a global audience. Recent titles include Adobe Lightroom: A Complete Course and Compendium of Features (Rocky Nook); Take Control of Apple Watch, Take Control of Your Digital Storage, and Take Control of Your Digital Photos (Take Control Books); Adobe Photoshop Elements Visual QuickStart Guide (Pearson). (Other recent titles: jeffcarlson.com/my-books/)
• Articles: Prolific writer of articles on technology and other topics for outlets such as DPReview, CreativePro, Macworld, Popular Photography, Adobe Create, The Wirecutter, iMore, Lynda.com, TidBITS, and others. Columnist for The Seattle Times, publishing the “Practical Mac” column from 2003 to 2019. Able to write and edit to assigned word count, short or long. Frequently balance several concurrent assignments. (Examples: jeffcarlson.com/category/articles-published/)
• Adobe Writing: Contract writer for Adobe Systems, Inc., writing and editing tutorials in the company’s voice and tone about applications and services such as Photoshop, Lightroom, After Effects, and Creative Cloud. Collaborated with team members to identify brand objectives; researched strategies to engage readers and present friction-free instruction; balanced multiple projects simultaneously. (2016-2018, 2021)
• HTC UX Copywriting: Contract UX Copywriter for HTC Corporation, writing and editing text in the company’s voice, tone, and style for Android phones and Vive VR systems, articles about HTC products, entries for international design competitions, and other miscellaneous projects. Worked on-site in an agency setting that delivered assignments to separate stakeholders throughout the company. (2015-2016)

Proficient in modern office applications; able to write in Markdown or HTML; experience with several content management systems (CMSes), including WordPress; Chicago Manual of Style-savvy.

Editor

• Article and content editing: Contributing editor to TidBITS (tidbits.com), a weekly newsletter and Web site covering the Mac, iOS, and other personal computing topics.
• Book editing: Editor of several books, including Not to Put Too Fine a Point on It (Aperiodical Press); Take Control of Your Apple Wi-Fi Network, Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac, and A Practical Guide to Networking, Privacy, and Security (Take Control Books).

Photographer

Published photographer specializing in landscape, slice-of-life, and portrait photography. Work has been featured in Adobe Create, appears on several book covers and interiors for Rocky Nook and Peachpit Press titles, and has hung in the Art Wolfe Gallery in Seattle. Experienced event photographer, such as CreativePro Week conferences and at the Point Defiance Zoo (Tacoma, WA). (Photo Portfolio: jeffcarlson.com/portfolio)

Podcaster

Co-host, co-creator, editor, and publisher of the podcasts PhotoActive (photoactive.co) and Photocombobulate (photocombobulate.com). Episode topics range from co-hosts discussing photo techniques, gear, and software to entertaining, informative guest interviews. Booked and interviewed guests such as Pete Souza, Lindsay Adler, Joe McNally, and Scott Kelby.

Speaker and Educator

• Conference and Online Presentations: Frequent speaker at CreativePro Week (2019, 2022) and Macworld Expo (2005-2013), leading sessions as varied as managing photo libraries, editing photos and video, and using iPads and other devices. Also teach local and online classes, speak remotely to user groups, and appear often on podcasts and in interviews. (Recent: jeffcarlson.com/category/speaking-2/)
• Video Instruction: Developed and recorded instructional videos for Pearson and other clients, distilling complex information into actionable, comprehensible tasks for a variety of learning levels. Edited the videos using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere.
• Photo Workshop Leader: Guided several photography workshops as leader or co-leader since 2015. Guided groups of paid attendees for photo travel excursions ranging from single-day to multi-week adventures, answering questions in the field and teaching landscape and street photo techniques.

Publisher

• Production: Package most of my books—primarily work in InDesign to write and lay out all text and images, and deliver press-ready files to the publisher. Also fluent in Adobe Illustrator, Acrobat, and other modern publishing applications.
• Self-Publishing: Publisher and author of Aurora HDR and Aurora HDR Professional: A Photoversity Guide (Photoversity Press). Created the book design, wrote and composited book using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop, built the online presence and ordering system.

Education

Bachelor of Arts in English, Whitworth University