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This week Adobe released their big yearly updates to Lightroom and Photoshop. It’s always generates a lot of questions, so I thought I’d write a Q&A post to help answer some of the most common ones. If you read this and it doesn’t answer your question, feel free to post it in the comments below. Just know that if your question involves anything to do with computer specs or error messages I probably won’t be able to help. Okay… let’s get to it!

NOTE: If you haven’t seen my Lightroom / ACR Portrait System + Presets, it has been a HUGE hit! It’s on sale for 50% off until Tuesday. I’m getting a lot of great feedback on it, especially about how the videos are really helping people develop a good portrait workflow in Lightroom. (Click Here)

Q. Where is the ”Done” button in Lightroom Classic?

A. It’s gone. However, I can tell you that as a teacher for nearly 20 years in Lightroom, it caused more harm and confusion, than good. Many people didn’t understand why it was there, and what the difference was between “Close” (in the panel itself) and “Done”. Put simply it was redundant, and it was MUCH further away to click than the actual panel you were using at the time. So… now they have added a new icon in the top left (see below) of the tools which will always take you out of the tool and return you to edit mode, which is exactly what “Done” used to do. It’s closer to the tools you’re using so now you don’t have move your cursor away from the tool panel you were in, to below the photo to click Done. Also, the ”Close” option is still at the very bottom of every panel, just like it used to be, so you have 2 ways to be ”Done” with a tool. Trust me… this is a good change. It’s easier, faster, less moving around the interface – and you’ll be used to it in a day or two ?

Q. When I make a mask, there is a red overlay over the person’s face and it won’t go away.

A. This is the way masks have worked for the last year (since the October 2021 update). You will always see a red overlay on the mask until you adjust a setting for that mask. Then it will automatically go away.

Q. Is there a way to transfer Masks made for people or other things from Lightroom to Photoshop.

A. No. There is no way to do this and there is no workaround to make it happen. Photoshop has select subject, sky, and other selection tools so if you want a mask in Photoshop you’ll have to create it there.

Q. Are you updating any of your courses with the new updates?

A. Yep… My Photoshop and Lightroom System will both be updated (for FREE for ANYONE that already owns them, even if you purchased 6 years ago) in the next few days. However, keep in mind that the new features in Photoshop are very small and are probably not features I would have added to the Photoshop System to begin with. So the update to that course will be very small and nothing about the course will actually change. And the Lightroom features, while impactful, are simple. There are only 3 new features when you think about it. And if you watched my video on the updates, you probably already know how to use them. At some point I will also update my “LR Masking Deep Dive” course but that is not in the immediate future.

Q. What’s the deal with the Curves adjustment being part of the Masking Panel in Camera Raw and not Lightroom?

A. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check out my Photoshop update video here at the 13:10 timecode. When you add a mask in Camera Raw, you also have the ability to use Curves adjustments on those masks (not just globally). A lot of people have been asking for this for years. While Camera Raw and Lightroom typically stay on par with each other, this is not the case with this feature and I don’t have information on why, how or when this would change.

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Q. I’m having trouble updating Adobe products?

A. Please watch my video here. I don’t have any other input or technical advice other than pointing you to this video, or contacting Adobe if this video doesn’t help.

Q. I’m really upset because the latest versions won’t work on my computer / operating system. What can I do and can you help me?

A. I understand your frustration. This has happened every year when updates for any program on any computer come out. It’s not just Adobe. Microsoft does it. Luminar does it. On1 does it. Capture 1 does it… and you can name any app from any software company in the world, and they do the same thing. Adobe is just the biggest so you hear it more. While I do know this can be frustrating, hopefully you can understand that I have zero control over this, and I have zero ability to help. Best I can suggest is to complain to the company. If enough people complain and they lose enough business (which doesn’t seem to be the case since they all do this every year), then maybe they’ll change something.

Q. I’m getting an errors when I use the new portrait masking features in Lightroom or Photoshop?

A. In this video (click here) I mention some settings with graphics cards. Maybe give that a try and change your settings to see if it helps. If it doesn’t then do some research to see if your graphics card needs updating. I’m hearing more and more reports from people that had quirky behavior and updated their graphics card drivers, or changed their settings and everything worked great. I’m not able to help you do that but a little Google searching should get you there. Finally, if all of that fails, then you’ll have to contact Adobe tech support.

Q. I don’t see the new features in Camera Raw or Photoshop?

A. It’s possible you updated to the newest version of last year’s Photoshop – or – you haven’t updated Camera Raw to version 15 (which is a separate update than Photoshop). Watch my video here on the versioning to make sure you’re really using the latest version of Photoshop.


Wrapping Up

As I mentioned earlier, feel free to leave your questions and if it’s something I hear a lot of I’ll update this list. Also, if you read this and it doesn’t answer your question, feel free to post it in the comments below. Just know that if your question involves anything to do with computer specs, or error messages I probably won’t be able to help and my answer will most likely be “Contact Adobe”.

Thanks and enjoy!

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