It’s a fake. Good, isn’t it? The reason I know it’s a fake is because I made it myself using Adobe Firefly Generative AI. In fact the only creative input involved was how I worded my text prompt. The trouble is, when AI generated images get this good, how can we tell what’s real any more?
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When black and white works better than color
I’m in the middle of writing a book about black and white photography, and one of the topics I wanted to cover was why black and white still exists in a world of color, and whether black and white images can sometimes work better. It’s a difficult argument to make, but I think I’ve found a good example.
I edited this black and white image three different ways and I still can’t decide which is best
Editing processes are very selective, and different photographers will have different approaches. Even the same photographer can have different approaches at different times. Just as it’s not always easy to cull your images, it’s not always easy to decide on the best way to edit them.
Reviews
Why don’t I talk about ACDSee?
I review a lot of software on Life after Photoshop but I rarely talk about ACDSee. Why? On the face of it, ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 is a powerful all-in-one photo organizing, developing and editing tool that embraces the latest developments in AI and is available both as a subscription and subscription free. So what’s not to like?
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025 review
Photoshop Elements 2025 verdict: 3.3 stars Photoshop Elements looks like the perfect family-friendly, subscription-free antidote to the complexities of Photoshop, with fun projects, easy Guided Edits and plain language. But underneath it’s cluttered, dated and confusing. There’s too much to see and do and too many ways of doing it, all on top of an old-fashioned workflow with limitations that quickly become apparent.
How to articles
3 reasons why I edited this in DxO PhotoLab and not Lightroom
I know Lightroom very, very well. I’ve been writing about it for years. A large part of this site’s content is devoted to Adobe Lightroom tips and tutorials. That means, though, that I also know its weaknesses, and there are plenty. So I thought I’d run through the editing steps I used on this photo and why I did them in DxO PhotoLab and not Lightroom.
This is how Capture One makes your wide-angle lenses even wider!
I’ve been puzzling over this for a while but now I think I know the answer. This is how Capture One (and DxO too, by the way), can appear to ‘see’ a wider angle of view than the camera can. It’s a particular characteristic of wide-angle lens corrections that looks like it shouldn’t even be possible but has a rational and extremely interesting explanation.
ON1 Photo RAW 2025 has a new Depth Map feature – here’s how it works
A depth map is a mask that can separate objects at different distances from the camera. Some phones have depth mapping built in, but cameras don’t. However, ON1 Photo RAW 2025’s new Depth Mask tool can use AI to analyse the objects in a scene and work out their distance. Imagine a luminance mask, but applied to distance not brightness!
Edit history: Stormy sky over pier
There’s this idea in digital photography that your gear or your software must be at the heart of everything you do. That’s not true. The art of photography lies not in the tools you use, but knowing what to do with them.
Capture One lens correction profiles: why they seem to keep changing
Capture One can apply automatic lens corrections to fix all the common lens aberrations – distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting. But then why does it sometimes show Manufacturer Profiles or Generic profiles instead?