Most brides haven’t spent much time being professionally photographed, so knowing how to guide them is a big part of getting a great portrait. In her new KelbyOne class, Posing Brides, Vanessa Joy shows you how to take the guesswork out of posing and give your bride clear direction.

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.

Watch It Today!

https://layersmagazine.com/bridal-posing-vanessa-joy.html

Sometimes the most effective edit isn’t about adding something to a photograph. It’s about deciding what doesn’t need to be there.

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.

https://layersmagazine.com/photo-editing-techniques-direct-viewers-eye.html

Photoshop has another interesting AI-powered tool in the works, and Terry White joined Scott Kelby and Erik Kuna on this week’s The Grid to give it a test drive.

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.

https://layersmagazine.com/photoshop-relight-layer.html

A great photograph may be the finished product, but there’s usually a whole lot happening behind the scenes to make it happen.

In his new class, photographer and filmmaker Aundre Larrow shows you how to use the iPhone already in your pocket to capture that process without slowing down or distracting from the actual shoot.

Aundre walks through built-in iPhone features for behind-the-scenes capture, including Dual Capture, the Action button, and screen recording. He also shares some of the apps he uses to plan lighting, scout locations, and diagram his setups before and during a shoot.

Just as importantly, you’ll see how he approaches capturing the process while still keeping his attention where it belongs: on making the photograph.

Whether you’re simply sharing your photography with friends and followers or creating content to show potential clients and brands how you work, it’s a great look at how your iPhone can become another useful tool in your photography workflow. You can watch the first lesson for free.

Watch It Today!

https://layersmagazine.com/iphone-behind-the-scenes-aundre-larrow.html

Finding an incredible animal is one thing. Turning that encounter into an incredible photograph is something else entirely.

In this new course, legendary wildlife photographer Richard Bernabe joins Scott Kelby to go through Richard’s own portfolio and talk about what makes the images work. From jaguars in the Pantanal and polar bears in Svalbard to lions in the Masai Mara, you’ll hear the stories behind the photographs and, more importantly, the decisions Richard made when creating them.

Richard and Scott look at how shooting from a low angle can put you eye-to-eye with your subject, how gesture and light bring energy to a frame, and how the right crop can pull the viewer into the photograph. They also explore why getting closer isn’t always the answer and when including more of the environment can tell a stronger story.

It’s a great opportunity to look beyond camera settings and gear and spend some time thinking about what actually makes a wildlife photograph connect with the viewer. Watch them tell you more about it below, and then check it out. You can watch the first lesson for free.

https://layersmagazine.com/what-makes-good-wildlife-photo-richard-bernabe.html

Great photo illustrations still start with great photographs, and you don’t need a studio full of gear to create them.

In his new class, Adobe’s Russell Preston Brown starts with an iPhone, one continuous light, and a tripod to photograph model and professional bubbleologist Kirk Marsh. Russell shows you how to shoot 48-megapixel raw on the iPhone and create split, Rembrandt, loop, and butterfly lighting using just that single light.

Then the fun really starts.

Russell takes the photographs into Lightroom and Photoshop, where he uses Adobe Firefly and Generative Fill to build on what he captured in camera. You’ll see how he adds lighting that wasn’t there during the shoot and creates elements for the scene without changing his original subject.

It’s a great example of how a strong photograph and a little imagination can become something completely different. Watch Russell tell you more about it below, and then check it out. You can watch two lessons from the course for free.

Watch it today!

https://layersmagazine.com/creative-photo-illustration-iphone-russell-brown.html

Wildlife doesn’t wait. When something incredible happens in front of your camera, you might only have a few seconds to capture it.

That’s the idea behind Moose Peterson’s new course. Instead of figuring out exposure, focal length, or your gear when the action starts, Moose shows you how to make those decisions ahead of time.

You’ll learn how he prepares his cameras before heading into the field, from firmware checks and sensor cleaning to working with long lenses and getting exposure dialed in. Moose also covers using flash for color, choosing between teleconverters and crop mode, and even shares his teddy bear exercise for practicing exposure before the real wildlife shows up.

The goal is to make the technical side of photography second nature, so when the moment happens, you’re free to concentrate on the subject and the story.

Watch Moose tell you more about it below, and then check it out today (you can watch the first lesson for FREE)!

Watch It Here!

https://layersmagazine.com/prepared-wildlife-photographer-moose-peterson.html

There are plenty of things you can improve later in Photoshop, but some of the most important decisions in waterfall photography happen before you ever sit down to edit.

This week on The Grid, Scott Kelby and Erik Kuna were joined by waterfall and night photographer Kevin Adams, who shared his approach to creating stronger waterfall images in-camera.

Kevin explained how experimenting with shutter speed can completely change the appearance of moving water and why a polarizing filter can make such a big difference by controlling reflections and glare. He also discussed working in overcast and rainy conditions, finding strong foreground elements to create depth, and even photographing waterfalls at night.

Starting with the right light, composition, and exposure gives you much more to work with when the image eventually makes its way into Camera Raw or Photoshop.

The episode also included news about the Worldwide Photo Walk, Photoshop World, upcoming photography workshops and events, and The Grid’s new sponsor, SnapSign.

Watch the replay below and pick up a few ideas for your next waterfall shoot.

https://layersmagazine.com/waterfall-photo-editing-photography.html

If Lightroom Classic has ever felt more complicated than it needs to be, sometimes the problem isn’t Lightroom. It’s how everything was set up in the first place.

In this new class, Rob Sylvan goes back to the fundamentals and shows you how to build a Lightroom Classic workflow that will serve you well for years.

You’ll learn how the catalog really works, how to create a reliable backup strategy, and how to make smart decisions about importing, previews, folders, and presets. Rob also tackles one of those problems nobody wants to see: missing photos.

Whether you’re just getting started with Lightroom Classic or you’ve been using it for years and aren’t entirely sure your setup is as solid as it could be, this class is a great way to get everything on the right track. You can preview two lessons from the class for free, then jump into the full class when you’re ready.

https://layersmagazine.com/start-smart-lightroom-classic-rob-sylvan.html

There was plenty for Photoshop users to geek out over on last week’s special Photoshop World 2026 edition of The Grid.

Scott Kelby and Erik Kuna welcomed Photoshop World instructors Lisa Carney, Rob Sylvan, and Karen Hutton, with Lisa sharing how she’s using AI and Adobe Firefly in real-world retouching workflows. Rather than AI for the sake of AI, the focus was on where these tools can actually save time and help solve everyday editing challenges.

Scott also put Photoshop’s generative AI to the test in a live demo, experimenting with what it could handle and where it still needed a little help. Then, in perfect timing, new Photoshop features actually dropped during the show, giving the crew a chance to explore some of the latest additions on the spot.

Rob Sylvan shared Lightroom Classic workflow advice, Karen Hutton brought a creative photography perspective to the discussion, and Erik Kuna offered tips for photographing a lunar eclipse.

It all made for a fun preview of the kind of Photoshop, Lightroom, AI, and photography training coming to Photoshop World 2026, sponsored by Adobe, September 14–17.

Watch the replay below and see what’s new.

https://layersmagazine.com/photoshop-ai-features-firefly.html