I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on people using AI to build alternatives to Adobe’s creative apps. What could this mean for photographers, especially those of us shooting macro? Would you trust an app built with AI to edit your images or handle focus stacking? Would your decision come down to how it was created, or the quality of its results? And where do you think the legal boundaries are? Could recreating features lead to lawsuits, or does it depend on whether someone copies code, branding or the interface? I’ve used AI to create a focus-stacking app myself, which got me wondering how far I could take it. Could I build a video-editing app too? What’s stopping more of us from creating tools tailored to our own workflows? Would you try an AI-built alternative, or stick with established software? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts and experiences! 🔍

@Ryan Cush of Macro Studio has kindly set up a free 30-day trial specifically for our community. A great chance to try it out and see how it fits into your macro photography workflow. After the trial ends, the basic Library and Editor functions will still work, but stacking will no longer be available. 👉 Start your free 30-day trial Please keep this trial link within our community, as this offer has been created specifically for this group. @Ryan Cush is also happy to answer questions and welcomes feedback. You can suggest features, explore the roadmap and see the latest updates on the Macro Studio feedback site. If you give it a go, let us know how you get on!

Tonight we’ll be going through all the entries from our Fungi & Slime Moulds Photography Challenge and taking a closer look at what everyone has created. The live call starts at 8pm UK time, but I’ll be jumping on a little early about 7:30 for a bit of news and chit chat before we get started. Who’s joining me live tonight? 👋

Has anyone here tried Macro Studio for focus stacking? I’d be interested to hear how you think it compares to Helicon Focus, particularly the quality of the finished stacks, handling of fine detail and halos, processing speed, and ease of retouching. If you’ve used both, which do you prefer and why? Any side-by-side examples would be great to see!

Does anyone know if there’s a case available to hold my 3 small rig sm03 lights an accessories for use in the field? I currently have them in my camera backpack but would prefer them separate. Thanks in advance.