As much as I want to like this Generative Fill stuff, it just isn't doing it for me. Every prompt, every generation looks unacceptable for quality work.I tried to render this "Jaguar drinking from a pond" 10 times (30 versions), and this is the best I received... a Jaguar pouring hyper-color vomit into a pond. I SWEAR I didn't type that! On a serious note. I think Generative Fill is impressive. I really do! When have we ever been able to type what we want, and something appears out of thin air? Never. So this technology, at least the principle behind it, is impressive, but it just isn't there yet, Adobe.I would much prefer to use Midjourney or Adobe Stock to get my assets for my composite work. IMO, Adobe's tech is still in beta mode. You can't be taken seriously with these kinds of things being generated. As much as I enjoy AI and generative options, Adobe has a long way to go before they are ready for primetime in this department. My hope is that they put the time and work into it to make this feature truly valuable. The Neural filters were introduced 3 years ago, and I can count on one hand how many times I've used them in serious Photoshop work. I hope this feature isn't treated the same way. ... See MoreSee Less
I'm stunned. What can I say? The First Sergeant in me is about to come out...It's been 13 years, almost to the date, since I started my blog. In that time, I've done my best to read every comment and respond to the ones I deemed most important (if not all of them that I had time for). But for the first time, I had to make the decision to turn off commenting on my most recent YouTube video and blog post about the Generative AI Expand feature.Why? Because 85% of the comments were negative towards Generative AI or Adobe's credit plan for generative AI elements. Guys... I'm the messenger here. As photo educators, we are the messengers. We are the people who dissect these flashy tools and teach you how to use them in your workflow. We spend hours (sometimes days) developing this content to make sure it's near perfect (God forbid we make an error; someone will throw us under the bus). If you want that content to continue, please consider how you treat the educators who are making the content.Seeing so many negative, harsh, sarcastic, and downright mean comments lately has me very concerned for the well-being of the internet, males in particular. I don't know why, but next time you are scrolling through Facebook look at the ads, not the ad in particular but the comments. Take note of who is leaving the nastiest/harshest comments. By and large, it's males. MEN we can do better!The reality is that those negative comments are a mirror reflecting how much pain we are in. Does one-sided negative commenting solve anything? In all my years of leadership in the military, I had ONE rule for how I handled problems within my Unit. NEVER bring a problem to the Commander without a solution. Complaining and whining are not constructive. They are destructive. You can shine a light in the dark and see all the cockroaches on the wall, but what are you going to do about it? Spotlighting is only helpful if you plan on doing something about it, and if you aren't willing to do anything about it, remove the spotlight and don't expect anyone else to do the dirty work for you.Here are some tips for commenting online:1. If you don't have something constructive to say, keep the comment to yourself. Sure, continue the conversation, but there is no need to make someone feel bad about the content they are creating because it wasn't what YOU wanted to see or hear.2. Do your own research. Google is a POWERFUL tool. Try not to bring problems to the educator or content creator without first doing your own research or experiments. 3. Stop being passive-aggressive. Passive-aggressive behavior destroys relationships and makes what could have been a great chat a very difficult conversation. Those kinds of comments only hurt both parties in the end.4. If you don't like something, click away. My old man used to say, "Don't go away angry ... just go away." He meant it as a joke, of course, but it has some real merit here. No one needs to know you are leaving the room stomping all angy-like. Just leave the room (or, in this case, the video) because the only person who looks like a fool in that scenario is the angry one stomping away.Just be nice, be grateful. A heart of gratitude is the secret to a VERY good life. Be grateful for the big and little things. There is no Secret Well or Holy Grail that will grant you eternal life on Earth, but I can assure you that a heart of gratitude will make this journey, this life you are living, feel MUCH more meaningful.*Puppy and kitten snuggling to ease the tension, that's just wicked cute.* ... See MoreSee Less
Photoshop 2024 is here, and Generative AI is as well. In this tutorial, I will show you how to use the Generative Expand command in the Crop tool to fill in data around your image. It's a phenomenal concept with some horrible results. BUT, I would never present a problem to you without a solution, so here are two alternate methods for making incredible expanded canvases! ... See MoreSee Less
What?!?!? I installed Photoshop CS6 again. This will be a doozy! I may make a tutorial on the marked differences between CS6 and CC 2023. Why? After the launch of my most recent course, BEYOND COLOR, I was confronted with 30 or so emails asking if the contents of that course would apply to CS6. It's been a minute since I heard that name, so I thought, "hmm, how much has Photoshop changed in the last 10 years?"You may find out soon enough if I can pull this one off! ... See MoreSee Less
Deep-Rich Black skies! Don't we all dream of that in our BW processing for skies? I mean, who doesn't after you see one of those iconic images from Ansel Adams. In Black and White analog photography, I often used colored lens filters to amplify the colors in the image for stronger-punchier Black and White images. A deep red filter would make blues appear dark and rich. We can't discredit that in our digital BW conversions. While we may not need color filters anymore, the colors in our images play an important role in the conversion process.If you don't want mud (like the second image), attention to color in the BW process is critical! One of the many topics, we'll cover in Thursday's Black & White processing live event! ... See MoreSee Less
