On-Demand Bird Photography Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/MattK-Bird-Photo-Web

Matt’s Wildlife Editing Secrets: https://mattk.com/wildlife

Check out my free On-Demand Bird Photography Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/MattK-Bird-Photo-Web

Click here to find out more about DxO PureRaw (Link). You can use the code “MattK” to save 15% for new customers.

If you use Topaz Photo, click here for more info. (Link)

To learn more about Bird Photography, check out my Bird Photography Course.

Before we get started, don’t forget that I’m running a special I’ve never done before. 30% off the entire MattK.com store. So if you’e been looking for presets, a course, or even a gift card to use over the holidays this is a perfect time.

As we get started, keep in mind there is NO WAY to spec out the perfect computer and tell you exact specs on what you should get. But hopefully this helps point you in the right direction or maybe keep you from getting something you may regret in a year.

DISCLAIMER: Please don’t message me asking for more details on this topic. There are thousands of combinations of computers, screens and monitors, and I won’t be able to respond to any questions on “Should I buy this…”, or “Can you elaborate on this…”. Thanks in advance! 🙂

The Hard Truth to Come To Grips With First

The first thing to come to grips with is this. No matter which photo editing app you use (Adobe, ON1, Luminar, Capture One, Topaz, etc…), you are involved in one of the MOST INTENSIVE things you can put a computer through.

You may think you’re just an amateur photographer… just in it for hobby and fun, without a lot of requirements because you don’t have clients. But the moment you fire up one of those apps, you’re putting yourself in to the top 1% of requirements when it comes to the specs you need for your computer. You require just as much power as a teen’s gaming computer or a pro wedding photographer editing thousands of photos, or even an architect doing professional 3D renderings. Your normal web browser or word processing app is nothing compared to the resources a photo editing app requires. So set your expectations (and Budget!) accordingly, knowing that running these programs is the hardest thing you can ask a computer to do. And if you want speed, then the cheapest option is never going to be the best.

Laptop vs. Desktop (or Tablet)

First, do you want a laptop or desktop? A laptop is portable and I’d ONLY go with this option if you absolutely need portability. If not, my recommendation would be to get a Desktop computer. A max’d out laptop (in most cases), will never be as fast as a desktop for similar money (generally). And in a few years, your laptop will start to feel very slow, and is typically not as upgradable as a desktop.

For me personally, things have changed a bit. I used to do all of my editing on an Apple iMac. I had an Apple MacBook Pro as well, and it held up okay. But remember, I need to be portable. Running an online business is 100% my livelihood. I travel often, and I need a laptop because I do teach on the road, travel, work remotely, etc… I need to have a computer with me all the time.

Anyway, one of the pain points for me is that you can guarantee whatever I wanted to work on was on “the other computer” when I had both laptop and desktop. So, a few years back I decided to trade in my iMac and laptop to Apple – while purchasing a new one. Then I ordered one of the MacBook Pro’s with the M chips (specs below). I now plug this in to a monitor (read on for which one) when I’m in my office – and the laptop has become my only computer. After 4 years, I can say that I’m very happy with the choice and have had absolutely zero problems with it. And it still runs everything pretty fast, to the point where I don’t feel I need a new one yet. (Yes, this is still true as of late 2025 – I will change it if I buy a new one)

What about a tablet?

While we do have a decent workflow with a tablet, I think of it more as an “extra”. Lightroom Classic isn’t available on the tablet and Photoshop only has some features (and not typically the ones you really want). So if you only use a tablet, you’ll need to use Lightroom on the tablet (not LR Classic) and be all in on the cloud, since it doesn’t work with local storage.

I’ll also add this. In my experience of diving head first in to this workflow this past year, I found that you’ll need a fairly well spec’d out iPad (preferably an iPad Pro). I tried doing a mobile workflow with a Samsung tablet that cost around $400 and it was painfully slow, so just remember that. As I mentioned, the tablet for you should only be an “extra” workflow option, for certain travel situations – not your main editing tool.

And, If you want to use it as an alternative travel workflow, then great. Heck, I’ll even teach you how with a course. 🙂

Apple or Windows?

No matter what anyone says, it just doesn’t matter. No matter how passionately they argue with you, it’s a personal choice. Don’t think either one will be faster than the other, or better for photographers or anything like that. Many will disagree, but you wanted my opinion so there it is 🙂 I will say that on average, you can get a better spec’d out PC for the same money vs. an Apple product.

But personally, I’m an Apple user and I don’t see myself switching in the future. For me, the extra money is worth the experience I get, but I know many great photographers that are PC based. When that photo gets shown on Social Media, a website, or printed on the wall NOBODY can tell you which operating system it came from. Like I said… it just doesn’t matter. And if you think it does matter then there’s probably a website you can argue that on – but this ain’t it 😉

Onto the Specs…

Okay, onto the specs. Keep in mind I am as un-tech-savvy as any person out there. As I mentioned, please don’t send me questions asking me to elaborate because I won’t be able to. But here’s what I know:

PROCESSOR: Your main computer processor is one of the biggest things that will get you speed. Get the best one, with the most cores, you can afford. I can’t give you an exact number because there are too many with all M1’s, M4’s, i7s and i-this and multi-core-that’s. Just get the best one you can configure or afford. You won’t regret splurging on this choice, so splurge away. But for me, I’d get the highest M-number I could get. Some options:

1. Prioritize High Single-Core Performance:

Both Photoshop and Lightroom benefit significantly from strong single-core performance. Processors with higher clock speeds can enhance responsiveness and reduce processing times for tasks such as applying filters and adjustments.

2. Go for Multi-Core Processors:

While single-core performance is important, certain things, like batch processing and exporting, utilize multiple cores. A processor with a higher core count can really improve your speed.

• Apple Users M4: For Mac users, the M4 chip, has up to 16 performance cores and 40 GPU cores. This is one of the newest Apple offers and will give you the longest lasting option you can get.

RAM: Right now for most applications the “minimum” specs are 8GB of RAM. That means that’s the absolute minimum for the software to operate. And when you buy the absolute minimum of anything be prepared for absolute minimal performance.

Most companies recommend 16 GB of RAM. Again, “recommend” is the word they use to get around making you spend a ton of money on a computer. And with recommended specs, you will still get minimal performance. I would suggest at least 32GB so you have room to grow, and I personally went with 64GB on my laptop. On my previous iMac Desktop, I ordered it with 8GB of RAM cheap option, and then went to Crucial.com and ordered the 64GB Upgrade kit and upgraded it on my own (it was super easy to do – took about 3 minutes and again… I’m not tech savvy at all).

HARD DRIVE: I’d recommend at least a 1 TB Internal SSD drive – 2 is even better. They are fast and they are what you’ll put your applications on so they can be accessed very quickly. Plus, 1 TB gives you room for extra stuff. But don’t plan on putting your photos on your internal drive because you’ll run out of space.

Most people will end up putting photos on external drives. I use externals for all of my photos. I don’t use RAID or NAS (I don’t even know how to spell them!). I just keep it simple – put it on the drive and make sure that drive is always backed up (I use Carbon Copy Cloner on the Mac but I’m sure there’s a program for PCs if you look).

Graphics Card: This is a really tough one to write about. There are just too many options and every program uses the graphics card in different ways. I would say get at least 4GB of RAM (or VRAM or whatever they call it) for your graphics card. My best suggestion is to do a Google search for “Minimum Specs for Lightroom (or Photoshop or whatever software you use)”. It will take you to Adobe’s website and under “Graphics Card” there are typically recommended specs and even a “Read More / GPU FAQ” or something similar.

But if it’s me, and I went to configure a new computer, I saw I had an option for + $400 for a better card and + $600 (a 16GB graphic memory) for an ever better card. I’d get the best card. If you can afford it, do it. If you can’t get the best one, I’d go with 8GB if you can.

What About Monitors?

NOTE: I have since purchased an Apple XDR screen for my laptop that I wrote about here.

Okay, this is another really tough area. 99.9% of your photography will be seen on a device of some sort when you share it (phone or tablet). So get used to the fact that you have ZERO control over how your photos are seen to everyone else in the world. You can get the best screen in the world, calibrate your monitor every day, and it won’t do any good. The best you can do is just edit consistently.

You’ll read a ton about sRGB and Adobe RGB, etc… So my suggestion is decide if you are printing A LOT or not, and how important this is. If it’s important you’re going to spend more money. If you think you’re going to print at least every week or two (lab or at home), then you may want to spring for a more expensive monitor that comes close to supporting the Adobe RGB color space. If not, no need to go with an expensive monitor like BenQ or Eizo.

I used an iMac so it had a nice glossy bright screen, and that’s what edited on mostly. If I was going to print, I’d proof the photo on my BenQ screen. But I hate the way my photography looks on the BenQ screen. Photos always look better on bright glossy screens. Think about who views your photos and where they view them… most people look at photos on their tablet, phone and maybe computer too. Most of those have bright glossy screens, so the rest of the world sees your photo a certain way. But if you have a screen that’s really meant for color proofing for printing, you’ll see your photos differently. So I try not to use a matte screen much, unless I’m printing, and even then I’ve printed enough I’m able to proof on my Apple screen now.

I know that all sounds vague, but my advice is that most of you reading this aren’t printing often. So don’t buy a screen that is made for printing, or you’re wasting money. Even if you don’t have a screen made for printing, you can easily dial in your settings and develop a workflow to get a good print with any screen (I do, and don’t use the BenQ anymore).

Finally, if you need something a little more concrete here’s some suggestions:

• At least a 23″ screen. I’d actually recommend nothing smaller than 27″ if your eyesight is as bad as mine 🙂
• What about 4K, 5K Screens? I think they’re great, but make sure you can change the native resolution. Some of those high pixel screens use a really high resolution that makes it hard to read the text. Some screens will let natively change resolution so that you can read everything and it’s still great quality.
• Remember the larger the screen the more strain you put on your graphics card and computer overall – which in turn translates to your photo apps running slower. And if you add a second screen you’ll want to make sure you have a great graphics card that can handle it. Nobody thinks about this and wonders why their computer is slow. Two screens require a lot more from your computer than one.
• Apple came out with the Studio display a while back. If you’re an Apple user, that’s what I’d get and not think twice about it.
• Dell Ultrasharp monitors are good. Honestly, all Dell’s are good.
• LG Screens are good too. Not sure if they make glossy ones anymore but that’s what I’d look for.
• BenQ makes good photo monitors if you want to spend more and print a lot. Don’t get one if you don’t print. I hate to say it, but it’s a waste of money and you’ll be seeing your photos on a surface that nobody else will.
• Eizo also makes good screens and they fall in to the same category as BenQ – don’t get one if you’re not printing a lot.

External Hard Drives

A while ago, I wrote about my hard drive and backup solution. Since then, I’ve switched hard drives to a Samsung 8TB SSD drive. The drives are really meant to go internally in your computer, but for another $15 I added this enclosure which plugs in to any USB port. Super simple to use, so even if you’re not techie, you’ll have no problem.

For those that remember, my previous hard drive was 8TB as well, and I didn’t go up in size on purpose. I’m tired of clutter. If you’re not a workflow pro with a specific need, then Almost none of us have 8TB of photos worth keeping. And contrary to the popular saying, I don’t feel that “storage is cheap” – well, GOOD fast storage that is.

So recently I’ve gotten really good at deleting photos. It’s just too much. I have Terabytes of 9-bracket HDR photos that sit and do nothing because I already picked a photo from the shoot that I like 10 years ago. I also deleted PSDs and TIFFs for photos that are finished because I know myself, and I’ll never go back and re-edit them.

So I went on a photo-deleting-rampage, and got my photo library down to something that comfortably fits on to an 8TB drive, with room to grow. And I’m more picky than ever about what I keep. Not only that, I just feel better about my photo library. It’s lean, easy to look through, and I don’t have terabytes of bad photos looming over my head anymore.

Overall I have no complaints about this switch. Oh and I have no idea how to even spell NAS or RAID or anything else that complicates hard drives, beyond the one that plugs in to your computer. In my opinion those options are for experts, which I know there are a bunch of here. Just don’t let those experts tell you it’s easy – it’s not. My advice is to go old school, and simple 🙂

PS: I do also use BackBlaze.com as an extra layer of Cloud backup protection. Cheap and easy!

Finally… Try It Out

My last piece of advice is to buy something you can try out. That may be harder with a computer, but with a monitor it should be easy. Make sure you get something that you can return. And make sure you watch the return policy. I’ll personally never buy anything from that “Blue/Yellow” electronics store because I hate their 14-day return policy. I’m just so used to 30 days that I inevitably forget and get stuck with something I didn’t want. But this time of year, most places will give you until January to return things. And if it’s shipped to you, pay attention to the return policy shipping fees. You don’t want to get stuck spending $100 (or more) just to return something that you don’t want.

Final Thoughts…

One final thought and it’s more of a way to think about this. Whatever computer you get will feel fast for a total of about 24 hours. After that, you settle into working on it and it will feel slower again. It’s just the way it works. No computer speed ever consistently exceeds our expectations for a long period of time. It may sound harsh, but you know I’m right 😉 Good luck!

PS: Don’t forget to swing by the 30% off the entire store sale.

Q. How do I install these?

A. Super simple… These are just JPG files. You don’t need to install them. You just open them like any other JPG file in any app that allows you to open a JPG file. Or you import them just like any photo in to Lightroom Classic. The video included with your download will show you what to do.

Q. Can I use them in other software like ON1 or Luminar?

A. Yep. I don’t include instructions on that, but if the app allows you to open a JPG file, you can use them. Remember, they aren’t presets that need to be installed like you may be used to. Have I mentioned that they are just JPG files and you can open them anywhere that let’s you open a JPG?

Q. Matt, I saw that one calendar option has holidays on it. You’ve left out what I consider an important day or you’ve added one that I don’t care for. Will you change that?

A. Nope. I tried on one template to include some popular holidays. But remember… I’m self-employed so I don’t even know what a holiday is anymore 🙂 Feel free to ignore it, add your own or remove something on the JPG in Photoshop. It was just an idea to try something different, and it shouldn’t take you more than 2 minutes to remove or modify them if you’d like. (the video included in the download will show you how).

Or you’re always welcome to download some one else’s free calendar templates and let them know your wishes – I’m sure they’ll be very accommodating.

Q. There’s something else I don’t like about the templates. Can you modify them for my needs?

A. Nope. But the video that’s included with your download will show you how you can.

Q. Are there other calendar templates I can try?

A. Yep… a friend of the website, Ed Weaver, has always created some really nice templates for free as well. Here’s the link to his website.

COMMENTS
PS: I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on this in the comments below.
But please do me a couple of favors… keep it cordial. If anyone from Adobe does stumble on this, remember they’re on your side. They want to make great software and want to share great features with as many of you as possible.
Next, don’t make it about subscriptions. It’s an old tired argument. Please don’t even bother writing about it. Thanks!

What are Generative Credits and Why Do They Exist?

Generative Credits are a system Adobe has created to help offset the costs of using AI in Photoshop and other Adobe products. You can read more from Adobe by clicking here. The idea is that you can’t just use the features as many times as you’d like without incurring an extra cost. It’s a significant extra cost to Adobe for some of these tools, which they’re passing down in the form of credits to it’s users.

The ideas is that if you use it a lot, then you use more credits (which you’ll ultimately have to pay for). If you don’t use it, then you don’t incur those extra costs.

Keep in mind, Adobe is not the only company doing this. Nearly ever software company in this space, has realized that AI tools cost them more, so they’re all (if they’re any good at it that is) using some type of system to help people that don’t use these tools not incur the same costs, as people who do.

Where Can I Learn More About Generative Credits?

In Photoshop, if you go to the help menu you’ll see an option to learn more about them. In many of the windows that pop up when you use a Generative tool, there are also links that you can click to learn more.

How to Get Generative Credits

Every subscription comes with Generative Credits. Depending on when you signed up for a plan, you may get 100 credits or 25 for some of the basic $120 / year photography plans. Other plans may include more. You can log in to your Adobe account and check how many you have and buy more if you need.

But one of the big problems I have with the credit system is that they don’t roll over each month. Use them or lose them.

So if you’re away on a longer trip one month and don’t get to do a lot of editing, you’ve lost those credits. Then, when you get back and do a lot of editing, and may actually want to use your monthly credits (and maybe even some extras from the previous month), you can’t because they’re gone.

No customer likes that model. And if it cost you something for me to roll them over I could understand it. But I paid for them. You (Adobe) were okay to commit to me that I’d get 100 per month for 12 months (1200 for the year). So let me roll them over, at least during that 12 month contract. Not doing so feels like a money grab.

What Tools Use Generative Credits and How Many?

If you click on the links that show up in several windows in Photoshop, various web pages will explain to you what tools use them and how many credits get used for each tool. If you can figure it out, please let me know, because I sure can’t. But as of now, there is no warning that pops up when you’re using a tool that uses them. However, typically if the tool has the word “Generative” on it, then it does (not always though).

As for how many credits, it used to be just one for Generative Fill when that was the only tool. Now there are other tools and something called “Partner Models” that use them and they use more than one. In some cases it can be 20 or more. So your 100 credits can get used up really fast with 5 photos.

The Problem

The main problem I see and what prompted this write up is that Generative Credits are (in my buddy Blake Rudis’s words) starting to feel like a Vegas Slot Machine. Meaning that you pull and you have no idea what you’ll get. Maybe something great, maybe not. But either way, you’re stuck with the results. Oh, and to take it one step further, you often don’t even know how much you’re betting. With how vague the credit amounts are, I would guess a lot of people don’t even know how much they’re betting.

So now, when you edit a photo, in addition to figuring out what tools to use, what you need to do to get the best image, etc… now you also have to wonder how much money (or credits) you’re spending. Essentially, you’re now in a very creative state of mind, but you have to think about money. Now your monthly or yearly costs for your Adobe plan can now change based on the tools you use.

And don’t even get me started on the “Premium Credits” that were recently introduced.

Sure, you absolutely have free will and you don’t have to use those tools. But that’s where this is a BIG shift for Adobe. They’ve always provided an incredible value by giving us even more than we’ve asked for in our subscription plans (phone and tablet apps, cloud storage, portfolios, libraries that travel with us, presets, stock photos, etc….).

But that’s not the case any more. Now Adobe is just like those games from the App Store that say “In App Purchases” which we all know is code for “Better and/or faster things exist, but we’re going to make you pay for them”. To me, this is a big shift in the image editing industry, and the way we’re used to working with the photo apps we’ve grown to love.

Another Problem

Another problem I have is fairly recent, and that’s the addition of adding a generative credit cost for something that I feel Adobe should already do well – sharpening.

Sharpening hasn’t been touched in Photoshop in years (almost 12). And while Lightroom may have added “Raw Details” and it was promoted as a sharpening enhancement, any research will quickly have you realize it’s not really a tool meant for most photographers. It’s really meant for Fuji X-Trans Cameras and cameras prone to Moiré or repetitive patterns.

Personally I’ve used Topaz for sharpening for years because Adobe just isn’t any good at it. And great… now Topaz is in the Filter menu in Photoshop. But it costs Generative Credits to use (up to 20 of them). I know that Adobe knows that sharpening is important for it’s users, and that they want better sharpening. And I just don’t think it’s right to not address a basic photo editing feature, and instead add a 3rd party one that we (potentially) have to pay for.

One Big Question… Is This What Your Customers Want?

I think a business can frame a lot of decisions around one simple question… Is this what you’re customers want? Well, I think many (if not most) people would answer no. With the current implementation of Generative Credits, we have several problems.

1. We don’t fully know which tools use them. If you’re not in the know on it, you can click through many tools and use up your Gen Credits when you didn’t even know you were using them. Show me in this window where you’d ever know you’re about to use your credits.
2. We don’t know how many credits we’re about to use. Again, show me in this window where you’re alerted to the fact that you’re about to burn through 20% of your monthly credits at once with this particular tool.
3. We use our Generative Credits and we get absolute crap for results. But we can’t get a refund for it even though we’re very unhappy.

To me, this is not a customer focussed change. This is a income generating change. And hey, I’m all for making money – it’s one of my favorite things to do 😉 And I get it… Adobe is in business to make money, as they should be. But something about this whole change feels rushed and just plain wrong.

What Can Make This Better?

Of course the easy answer to make this better is to get rid of these credits all together. I doubt that’ll happen. So where do we go from there?

To me, the answer is transparency. I know Adobe “thinks” they’re being transparent by giving us all of these web pages to look at, that tell us about these credits and what tools use them. But we’ve already seen that this isn’t working. My inbox gets bombarded with messages from people who ask questions about this. It’s like going in to a restaurant with a little sign near the front register, that’s easy to miss, that reads “We have several fees that will be added to your final bill, but won’t be listed on the menu. Please visit our website to see what they are”. (Sadly this exists too!)

To me, they could do a few more things to be more transparent:

1. My credit balance should show up in the top right corner of Photoshop all of the time. Is it cheesy to see a credit balance in Photoshop, just like we see “Gems” or “Coins” in all of those iPhone App Store games? Yep! But no more cheesy than making me pay credits to use the photo editing tools in the first place.

To put it simply… Adobe, you’re the one that turned Photoshop in to an online marketplace right? Now that you have, you’d better treat it like one.

NOTE: If you go to the Photoshop Home Screen (click the little house icon in the top left) then you’ll see your Adobe Profile Photo in the top right of the interface. If you click on that, it should show you your available credits.

2. Every time I’m about to use a tool that uses generative credits, show me a small icon that I’ll begin to recognize as the annoying Gen Credit icon 😉 and then show me how many credits I’m about to use. (Some sample screen mockups below)

3. Give us one clear page in the Help menu that shows exactly what tools use Generative AI and credits and how many credits each tool will use.

Finishing Up

Adobe… You know I love you. There would be a huge list of comments and posts I’ve written in your favor over the last 10 years, defending just about everything you’ve done – because I honestly believe you’ve given us the best software in the industry, with amazing improvements and a ton of value – and at a great price of $120 / year which hasn’t changed since 2013. No other software company can say that.

But I really don’t like this whole Gen Credit thing, and I know it’s causing confusion. And that confusion can cause some people to start to look for alternatives. Now, they won’t find a good one. Give me an alternative, and I’ll tell you why you shouldn’t use it. But that doesn’t mean some people won’t jump ship for a lesser product, thinking they’re getting an even trade because the marketing and website of that alternative told them it was just as good.

And that would be a shame, because I bet a lot of them don’t even want these tools and just the lack of transparency and uncertainty and clarity around them could cause them to be leery of it, even though most people don’t have anything to worry about.

Instead of coming across better as time goes on, this Generative Credit change comes across worse. So if credits are going to be part of the future, then please just be more transparent about it. Make it dummy proof with one clear place to find out the information we need.

I have no doubt Adobe will do it, but hopefully it just becomes a priority to get done faster.

Thanks for reading!

Keep in mind a podcast is for a certain type or person. For me, I only listen to them when I’m driving, but they’re longer formats and definitely more discussion based. If that’s not you, I did post a quick 5 minute read on the topic. It’s not as interesting as the podcast, but you’ll get the idea if you’re the type that would rather read. (Click Here)

Enjoy!

How to Listen/Watch

You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google. Or you can watch it below.

The podcast is NOT intended to be visual in any way, so all you’re doing is watching the two of us talk and nothing else. But if that’s the way you prefer it, feel free. Personally, podcasts are something I listen to when I have nothing else to do, or to keep me busy while doing something else – so I never watch them.

Apple Podcast Link (Click Here)

Spotify Podcast Link (Click Here)

Google Podcasts Link (Click Here)

PRO TIP: I typically listen to podcasts on my phone while driving or in the gym. And I usually set most podcasts to 1.25x – 1.5x speed to get through it faster.

Since this IS NOT A TRAINING tutorial, and it’s just us talking, I think you can speed us up and get through it faster so feel free to give it a try. I can’t help you find that setting, but again… most podcast apps have it, so poke around. If you can use Lightroom and Photoshop I have no doubt you can figure out how to use a podcast app ?