Currently I have a 5 year old ASUS 13.3" Zenbook (early i5, 8gb, 256 SSD, 1920X1080p) and a few keys are starting go, won't necessarily work all the time. Tech said better to put money in a new computer than repair. Love the computer and looking to now replace this one. Limitations are 13"-14" because we travel a lot and I use a computer all the time versus a tablet (which I hate), my wife uses it. My ASUS is what I use for everything including all my photo editing using PS Elements, Luminar 3, and stand alone versions of Lightroom. Right now I've narrowed it down to a Dell XPS 13 and/or a Suface Book 2 (16mb & 256/512 SSD) primarily because of the 4k screen option. However, I would buy a new ASUS 14" in a second, same specs (w/out 4K) and be able to save a few hundred dollars.

My question; Should I upgrade to a 4K in a 13-14" laptop screen - do I need the new 4K screens (nice feature) or are the new HD screens appropriate enough for photo editing for the time I'll be keeping this machine (5 yrs)?.....since I don't do any professional photo work or other professional work and it would save a couple hundred dollars, do I gain anything with a 4K screen? Pro's vs Con's; battery life/latest technology......Appreciate any and all comments...

I need your help with this one. I am getting really frustrated. First, I shot this through the windshield so I know the white balance is off to begin with and it also caused an issue with getting a sharp focus. I thought that by knowing these issues I could at least get a somewhat decent shot out of this. The first photo is where I have gotten so for. The second photo is the jpg sootc. The last attachment is the raw file.

I am ok with the foreground and the middle ground. It is the layer of clouds and the sky that I just can't seem to get right. That is sky above the cloud layer and it should be at least a little blue but I keep getting color noise. If I lighten the sky I lose the depth in the clouds. What am I doing wrong or not doing?

I know I could replace the sky and other tricks to fix it but I like this sky and I want to learn to how to better process landscapes. On the other hand maybe I am expecting too much and this one is just not worth it. I have included the original jpg and RAW file for you to work with if you would like. If you do choose to except this mission I would appreciate it if you could include a description of your process.

Thanks!

I've been experimenting with an alternative way to dodge and burn that I saw in a photoshop video that preserves raw data. In this picture, I started with my usual lightroom adjustments then sent the file as a smart object to photoshop. The smart object allows one to double click to re-open and edit in adobe camera raw at any time. If you duplicate the smart object any change to one will transfer to the duplicate, but if you right click and select 'new smart object via copy' you get an unlinked copy. So the light rays were already there but I wanted to lighten and accentuate them. So I did new smart object via copy, re-opened ACR and severely lightened the whole image using the exposure slider, then alt-clicked the new layer mask button at the bottom. (Alt-clicking turns the mask into a 'hide all' mask, where regular clicking turns it into a reveal all mask). I then clicked the mask and used the brush tool at very low flow to paint the light rays, gradually revealing more of the over-exposed layer below. Finally dialing in the opacity a little.

The final image is below, your critique and recommendations for improving the method are welcome. I'd rather you used your own photos though.