One day, I was just minding my own business—editing my client’s photos, removing rogue beachgoers, calming the chaos in their hair, swapping in better necks (as one does)… when suddenly:
✨BOOM✨ Adobe pops up like,
“Hey. You’re out of Generative Fill credits. Time to pay up.”
And I was like:
“WHHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTT?!?”
(cue internal screaming in Lightroom)
Apparently, those magical AI powers I was using to erase flyaways, trash cans, and actual humans from your beach sessions are no longer unlimited. Adobe wants more of my money now. We are cut off.
Now look, I’m a natural, traditional photographer, but this is beach photography. It’s basically a sport. First we are dealing with the weather, the sun, sand and saltwater on our gear and our bodies, and the parking. They when we start your session: wind in the hair, strangers photobombing, laying and walking everywhere. That other photographer is just chatting with their client not even shooting and knows they’re directly behind you when I am taking this picture. Hey you, yea you, please don’t do that. Don’t waste my AI credits thanks. Then we have trash or whatever. No problem—Generative Fill and I had it handled.
Clients never even knew.
They’d say “These are beautiful!”
Meanwhile, I just spent 8-10 hours editing their images and lots of AI credits. I send them magic. (And not a lot of reviews come back / I’ll be asking all the way to Christmas)
Here’s the PSA:
I am officially retiring full HAIR RECONSTRUCTION as part of basic retouching.
It’s not you—it’s Adobe.
Not only am I spending way too much time on retouching, now Adobe wants me to pay for it. For now: I have to cut the hair halo corrections. It’s a major suck of my credits that is just something I was doing extra for my clients that they had no idea I was doing. By the way every single image in your gallery has had all your blemishes, stains, cuts, bruises, hand removed by me head to toe. Then any distractions were removed like people ect. From. Every. Single. Image. Over. And. Over.
If you really want that ‘hair halo’ or something else removed – I got you. I added an option to purchase something this. You might notice it as an option in your gallery. Some things that are basic retouching you might not need to pay for it, or some things I might not even be able to do. Ask me! For example, I can’t just make you straight up skinner person everywhere which is a common joke ask from my clients. Liquify (pushing things in or out) is not AI by the way and is a common tool.
So if you love your photos, if your neck looks better than real life, your look slimmer – maybe something was pushed in with liquify, if your hair somehow obeyed gravity—drop your photographer a review. Say thank you. Show the love. It might just inspire us to spend another 10 minutes removing that one weird wisp of hair that only we noticed.
💔 Pour one out for unlimited AI.
❤️ Xina