Showing Your Focus Points in Photoshop’s Camera Raw
Adobe added a few new features to Camera Raw recently (version 18.4.1). The "Show Auto Focus Points" feature is one of my favorites but you can find out more about the update below. Enjoy! Click here to watch my free "Fast Action, Razor Sharp Bird Photography" Class....
Adobe Is Acquiring Topaz Labs. Here’s What It Could Mean for Photographers.
Recently (mid June 2026) Adobe announced that it intends to acquire Topaz Labs. Assuming the deal gets regulatory approval, Topaz will become part Adobe in the latter half of 2026. Here’s a link to the incredibly boring and legal-marketing-speak announcement if you...
New Feature – Photoshop Adds Bidirectional Gradient Masks
Adobe added a few new features to Camera Raw (version 18.4) recently. Among them is a masking feature that people have been asking for since Linear Gradients first came out. It's called a Bidirectional Gradient, or you can think of it as a Two-sided or Double sided...
Lightroom Finally Added a Duplicate Finder for Your Photos
Hi everyone. This week Adobe released a new Lightroom update with some new features. Of those, are two that I think you'll really want to try out. The first is a duplicate finder which is something Lightroom users have been wanting for a long time. Next, isn't really...
Masking Feather is Finally Here in Photoshop
Today we're going to cover a feature that I think all of you who use masking tools will love. It's been one of the most requested features I've seen and I'm glad it's finally here. Unfortunately, it's not in Lightroom yet but hopefully it makes its way there soon....
First Thoughts on the New Sony 100-400mm f/4.5 Lens
Hi all. Sony just announced a new 100-400mm f/4.5 lens this week (retail $4300). A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to test it out before it was released. So I thought I'd share my experience with it while photographing shorebirds in the Tampa Bay area. Some...
New Feature: Photoshop Depth Masks
Hi everyone! Adobe snuck a new masking feature in to Camera Raw recently. It's based on the Depth Range feature that's been around for a while but chances are that you've never seen anyone talk about it because it wasn't available for most of your photos. But that's...
What’s New in Photoshop (April 2026 Update)
Hi everyone! Adobe recently released some new Photoshop features this week. One of the bigger features is a new way of finding and removing distractions which is always one of the main reasons we even go in to Photoshop in the first place (as a photographer). In...
What’s New in Lightroom (April 2026 Update)
Hi all. Adobe released some new updates to both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom recently. While I wouldn't consider this a big update, Lightroom Classic received a feature that I know a lot of you have been asking for, and Lightroom Desktop got two features that...
Stop Duplicating Layers – Do This Instead
I wanted to cover a question I get often when people see me edit in Photoshop. It has to do with Layers and the idea that we've been taught that we always need to duplicate a layer as soon as we start working in Photoshop. Hopefully this helps clear things up. Click...
A Creative Way to Use Lens Blur
Recently, in The Portfolio Group, some one (Andrea Altherr) shared a photo for some thoughts. I had done a quick edit on it and along the way I noticed a way that the Lens Blur filter can be used without necessarily trying to blur out the background (which usually...
Never Miss the Shot Again with Pre-Capture
If you photograph fast moving things that are unpredictable, then pre-capture may be a life saver for you. In this video you'll get to see pre-capture in action... through the camera's lens. You'll see just how slow I was to capture the action, but how this one...