When it comes to aesthetic digital collage and technical expertise with Photoshop, few can equal Julieanne Kost. Professionally a Digital Imaging Evangelist for Adobe, Kost not only knows her tools, but she incorporates her skill into some of the most sensitive narrative collages exhibited today. I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Julieanne, and she answered some pertinent questions and offered insights into her artwork and her life at Adobe.

PS: You were originally a psychology major. Tell me how you went from earning that degree into a career in photography.

JK: I have always been interested in photography and grew up in a household that had the perfect combination of left and right brain influences. My father is an engineer: very logical, pragmatic and disciplined in his work and he always encouraged me to master the technology necessary for a particular field of study. We had a darkroom set up in the laundry room and he taught me how to develop and print my images. My mother is a creative, imaginative and free thinking artist who encouraged me to explore different ways to express myself and communicate through many channels including music, drawing and photography.

During college I continued taking both art and photography classes along with the required psychology units. Upon graduation, I took a position at a medical imaging company where I was responsible for the capture, editing (in Photoshop 2.0) and archiving a large library of medical images while I pursued photography at a local community college.

In 1992, I learned of an opening for a Technical Support specialist at Adobe Systems and jumped at the opportunity. I have been with Adobe ever since. My early study of human behavior still helps me find ways to simplify complex techniques and procedures as I present seminars and workshops in Photoshop and Lightroom.