Free offers are nice, if they are actually free. Luminar is offering some subscription plans free for a short time. I'm not taking advantage of this because I don't want to be tempted to continue and have to pay every month. Also, these Gen features rely on the Luminar computers to do the processing. How many million users can they handle at once?

My processing is for me and me alone. I don't need exotic features that cost me money every month. Afterall, I'm a "Photographer." My pictures are good SOOC. 😂

Taking responsibility for what we buy and use is, apparently, a controversial concept. Over the ten years or so I've been on UHH, and the 50 years of my "aware" life before that, I've noticed that a large number of people seem to gloss over the fact that technology is complex. They buy things that they think they want, but they don't do their research in advance, to be sure that THEY and their new devices, are compatible with what they want to do. They yank them out of the box, plug them in, turn them on, and get disappointed.

"Ready? FIRE!! (Uh, Aim, maybe? You just took out the neighbor's flower pot…)"

We're living in an age where our technical tools are not like hammers and screwdrivers, which are easily mastered by third graders. When you buy a hammer or screwdriver, it doesn't come with a manual, because it doesn't need one. It has a fairly singular purpose and a well-known and understood method of use. But technical gear — cameras, audio, video, computers, and cars — is different. These and many other tools and toys require serious consideration before buying, and serious study before use… IF we are going to get our money's worth from them.

Those of us who write user guides and technical manuals for products and software are usually the first to test the usability and viability of the product. If even the smallest detail doesn't work for us, we explain the issues we find to the product development team AND their directors. Making operation EASY for the customer IS HARD WORK for developers, engineers, and product design staff. It's just as difficult for trainers and training content developers.

One of the unfortunate assumptions companies make about their products is that customers WILL READ the documentation that explains proper use and care. Yet surveys have shown that up to 78% of customers never read it. Many users don't want anything to do with an 830+ page camera manual, or even any sort of a 20 page "Quick Start" guide.

I get all of that, but I also know from hiring many people in a photo lab — and from training school portrait photographers, office staff, and sales people — that understanding and mastering technology requires some quality time, focus, and a certain level of detail orientation. Patience with the documentation and with the entire learning process is usually rewarded with great results and long, trouble-free product life.

There is an old acronym that floated around the Internet BEFORE 1993, when the World Wide Web was born: 'R.T.F.M.' When users got stuck, and posted questions on a bulletin board forum for the tech support staff, the POLITE response was often, "Well, did you read the manual?" Soon enough, that got shortened to the acronym.

"Read The *Fine* Manual!" is the polite version of the acronym. After the tenth or eleventh call from the same user, with the same question, the tech support person would hang up the phone after a call, and yell into a paper bag, substituting whatever 'F' word suited his/her mood.

So here's my simple request to the universe of tech purchasers. Please read the documentation that comes with your purchase, or that you can download from the manufacturer's website at no additional cost. You will learn things you can do with your device that you never thought possible. You will avoid pitfalls that cause 80% of the issues people have with their devices. You will get more done, in less time, with better outcomes! You will trust the maker of the product more, because you understand what they do and don't expect you to do with their devices.

ESPECIALLY if you have used another brand of product in the same class, you need to read the manual just to UNLEARN how your old device of another brand worked. Don't expect brand L to work like brand N. Don't expect brand F to work like brand T. Terminology may be different, control placement may be different, and the way some of the functions work almost certainly will be different.

Don't try to make a Ford drive like a Toyota. It will just annoy you. Don't try to make a Windows PC work like a Mac. It will just frustrate you. They are different brands with different design philosophies and result from different ways of thinking about the same tasks. Take them for what they ARE, not for what they are not.

A little reading won't kill you. Operation may not be obvious, even when you think it should be. There's a reason for everything, and you need to know what it is, if you are going to get along with your new device. Read the freaking manual, and get your money's worth.

I doubt that many hedgehogs use the cameras in their cell phones more than occasionally or in photographic emergencies where they don't have their main gear with them. If you are an exception to this rule, I want to hear from you. I don't even have a modern cell phone; just a clamshell phone that has a camera that I never used, even for a test shot.

Cell phones these days can produce decent enough image quality for casual work, such as family events and holidays. That said, how often do you use your cell phone in this way as opposed to a dedicated camera (if any)?

How controllable are its settings and which does it have: manual shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, white balance? Does it have scene modes and, if so, do you use them? Does it have a capture mode other than JPEG? Some have more than one lens. About what angle of coverage does your camera have for each? (Don't forget to specify long dimension, short dimension, or diagonal.) Does your phone have on-camera flash? If so, can you disable it? How is your camera's performance in dim light (How low can you go?) What is your flash's range, if you have one?

Does your phone have a photographic feature that you are especially proud of? That you wish it had but doesn't? That you use a lot?

Describe your favorite technique(s) for holding your phone steady when long exposures are expected.

After being involved in a recent Math Puzzle regarding " Order Of Operations " it occurred to me that I should reevaluate my order of operations in editing a RAW file... A simple google gave me this list in order from top to bottom... What do you all think ? Maybe I have been doing things backwards ?

The new recommended order will be:
1. AI Denoise.
2. Content-Aware Remove/Heal/Spot.
3. Lens Profile Corrections (CA & Lens Profile if available)
4. Transform Panel.
5. Crop.
6. Profile.
7. Global Adjustments.
8. Local Adjustments.

After several years of good performance, my LRC is now crashing several times every day (past two weeks). Adobe agent conversations have not helped. After two hours of chat with an agent, NADA. He had me make adjustments to my computer graphics card which he thought was the problem. Needless to say, it didn't work. Also, I get a message from Adobe every crash, saying an error has occured, send my contact info, and they will be back to me.
Have never heard back. I am ready to switch to another program, but hate the idea of learning a new system. Any suggestions?