In his new course, Travel Photography: A Photographer’s Guide to the Oregon Coast, Rick Sammon takes you along Highway 101 from Haystack Rock to Bandon, with stops at Cape Kiwanda, Newport, Devil’s Punchbowl, and Cape Perpetua.

Rick works from more than 100 of his own photographs to explain his choices about composition and exposure, plus the tides, timing, gear, and safety considerations that go into a coastal shoot. Whether you’re bringing a mirrorless camera or an iPhone, the goal is to come home with photographs that capture how the place felt.

Watch Rick tell you more about it in the short video below.

Ready for a little coastal inspiration? Enjoy a free lesson, then check out the full Oregon adventure.

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Scott demonstrated how he’s using generative AI to tackle edits that once would have taken much more time, then took a closer look at Find Distractions, Photoshop’s tool for automatically identifying and removing unwanted elements like wires, graffiti, vehicles, and other clutter.

But what happens when it removes something you wanted to keep? Scott showed a simple non-destructive technique that lets you bring those areas right back. Christina also put Find Distractions to the test with a question that led to a second cleanup pass and another look at what the tool can do.

The discussion also covered generative credits, when Lightroom is enough and when it’s time to move an image into Photoshop, and an interesting reminder that AI in Photoshop isn’t actually new. Many of the tools photographers have relied on for years were already using artificial intelligence behind the scenes.

Watch the replay below to see the latest tools in action.

That’s one of the subjects Scott Kelby tackles in 10 Things You Need to Be Doing In Lightroom, his new KelbyOne class. Drawing on years of helping photographers at workshops, Scott brings together 10 things that often get overlooked, even by people who use Lightroom regularly.

He shares an approach to organizing trips with collections and descriptive names, shows how to choose the keeper from similar frames, and explains how to get Lightroom on your phone without filling up its storage.

On the editing side, you’ll find useful masking tools, a one-click fix for crooked buildings, and advice on when to hand a cleanup to Photoshop. Plenty to compare with the way you’re working now.

Give your Lightroom routine a little attention now, and save yourself some work the next time you sit down to edit. Your future self, searching for those trip photos, will appreciate it, too.

Watch Scott tell you more about it in the short video below, and then check it out. You can watch a full lesson for free.

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Working through viewer-submitted wildlife, street, landscape, memorial, and cityscape photos, Erik showed how targeted edits can help control where the viewer looks. Cropping, AI masking, vignettes, Dehaze, color grading, white balance, and selective adjustments all came into play as he worked to strengthen subjects and minimize distractions.

But not every image could be fixed in post. Erik and Dobson also looked at blown highlights, distracting edges, flat light, and compositions where editing could only go so far.

It’s an important lesson no matter how powerful our editing tools become. Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom can solve a lot of problems, but they can’t always replace better light, a stronger angle, or a more thoughtful composition at the time of capture.

Watch the replay below to see how Erik approached each edit.

Vanessa starts with the legs and works through the hands, waistline, shoulders, and face, showing how each adjustment helps build a flattering pose. She also explains how to choose a lens that complements your subject and work with lighting, from a simple reflector to off-camera flash. Once the pose is in place, she adds movement to bring some variety to the portraits and show off the dress.

All of the examples are straight-out-of-camera JPEGs, so you can see the results of her posing and lighting choices as she makes them. If you photograph weddings, there’s plenty here to put to use at your next shoot. You can watch the first lesson for free.

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This week on The Grid, Erik Kuna and Dan “Dano” Steinhardt tackle that idea during another round of Blind Photo Critiques. As they review everything from street photography and astrophotography to wildlife, portraits, sports, travel, and architecture, they look at how both composition and post-processing can help control where the viewer’s eye goes.

Erik and Dano share techniques for eliminating distractions, cropping tighter, selective sharpening, dodging and burning, adding gradients, and using vignettes to subtly guide attention toward the subject. They also demonstrate how looking for the “photo within the photo” can sometimes reveal a much stronger composition than the original frame.

One live edit makes the point especially well, showing how a simple crop and vignette can completely change the way an image reads without requiring a complicated edit.

Watch the replay below and see how a few targeted adjustments can make a big difference.

Smart telescopes have changed that.

In his new class, Erik Kuna introduces you to these compact, all-in-one devices that can find, track, focus, and stack your deep-sky images automatically, all while being controlled from your phone or tablet. Many even come in under $1,000.

Erik explains how smart telescopes work, what kinds of subjects they’re best at photographing, and just as importantly, what they’re not designed to do. He also walks through what to consider when choosing one based on the kinds of deep-sky objects you want to photograph.

Then it’s time to head outside. Erik takes you through your first night with a smart telescope, from getting everything set up to capturing and editing your images.

If you’ve been curious about deep-sky photography but weren’t sure where to begin, this is a great introduction to just how accessible it’s become. Watch Erik tell you more about it in the short video below, and then check out his full class.

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Terry demonstrated the new Relight Layer in Photoshop Beta, showing how it can change the lighting of an existing image after the shot. It’s an intriguing look at how Adobe is continuing to bring more AI-powered controls directly into the editing workflow.

The new tools didn’t stop with Photoshop. Terry also jumped into Lightroom to demonstrate Prompt to Edit, including restoring and colorizing an old family photograph using prompts. He showed Open Eyes, which uses reference photos from your own library to correct a blinked shot, and Animate, which turns a still image into a short video.

Terry also talked about generative credits, current limitations, and where these features are available as Adobe MAX approaches.

If you want a look at some of Adobe’s newest Photoshop and Lightroom technology in action, there’s plenty to check out in this episode.

Watch the replay below.