Free 20-Minute, One-On-One Sessions with Creative Design and Photography Pros
Elevate your students’ design and photography skills at JEA/NSPA this year!
Schedule a complimentary, 20-minute one-on-one meeting with our creative design pros to learn how to create a memorable yearbook cover, and tips and trends in design. Or meet with our photography pros and learn about lighting, event photography and capturing great candid photography – while using professional camera equipment at the Lifetouch booth!
Meet the Creative Design Pros
Help your students elevate their design skills with a personalized discussion with one of our talented graphic designers. Our designers love to share design tips and techniques, discuss typography, trends, careers in design and more.
Mikayla Linn | Senior Graphic Designer
Typography, layout design, and working with students to create a memorable yearbook is at the heart of what drives Mikayla. She loves designing a yearbook that is modern to the time so students look at their yearbook years later and remember trends during their high school days. Mikayla, a graphic and web design graduate of the Art Institute of Californa – Orange County, helps lead yearbook workshops and draws inspiration from brands like North Face, that tell a story through great imagery and simple graphics.
Jake Balch | Senior Graphic Designer
Jake is a natural problem-solver and enjoys working with students to help them make their ideas a reality. He sees yearbooks as a way to forever capture the history of students and their school. Jake has an associate degree in interactive media and graphic design and frequently helps lead yearbook design workshops bringing his unique ability to remove distractions in design to focus on key elements of the design to tell a story. He also enjoys sharing his agency and advertising experience with students as they explore creative careers.
Meet the Photography Pros
Whether your students are new to photography or are looking to elevate their skills, our Photography Pros can help. Schedule a 20-minute, one-on-one session with one of our professional photographers to learn about lighting, flash, aperture, ISO, candid images, event photography, careers in photography and so much more. Students can even use the professional equipment in our booth.
Kimberly Lyddane | Professional Photographer and Yearbook Specialist
Kimberly knows a thing or two about capturing priceless memories. She is a special events photographer, and yearbook specialist at Lifetouch and runs her own wedding photography business. She is passionate about off-camera lighting and changing your perspective to capture that once-in-a-lifetime shot. Kimberly shares her skills in photography, graphic design, and image editing with the yearbook programs she supports. Kimberly was named 2019 wedding photographer of the year by Dumfries Business Bureau, and is also a former JEA photography judge and knows what it takes for students to win top honors.
Jonathan Gurry | Certificated Professional Photographer & Photography Manager
Jonathan, a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP), is a seasoned outdoor and portrait photographer working both as a photography manager at Lifetouch and running his own photography business. He is passionate about telling stories through candid photography and loves teaching students about effectively using aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Students can hear Jonathan speak in his “Candid Event Photography” and “The Exposure Triangle: There and Back” sessions at JEA.
Derek Schroeder | Certified Journalism Educator
Derek Schroeder, CJE, has been a yearbook editor, a journalist and a photographer since 2005. He loves teaching students and helping them take their skills to the next level with simple and effective techniques that anyone can master. Two of his favorite topics are how to tell stories through photography and learning how to use off-camera lighting and flash. Students can learn more about flash photography at his JEA/NSPA session, “Flash Photography Demystified.”
