If you’re like most folks, photographers and “civilians” alike, you probably have a bunch of old family photos lurking in shoeboxes and tattered albums just waiting for some TLC. And because you’re a photographer, relatives will likely solicit your help to restore their often-damaged mementos.

If you have no clue how to repair scratches and tears, clean up dirt spots, and correct fading to return cherished family photos to their original glory, your secret is safe with us. Even better, the quick beginners guide in the video below from the Adobe Photoshop YouTube channel will turn you into a hero by explaining how to let Photoshop’s Neural filters to do most of the heavy lifting.

At barely two minutes this is likely the fastest photo restoration tutorial you’ll ever find. Instructor Howard Pinsky covers a lot of ground in a rapid-fire manner, so we recommend grabbing a pen and paper before clicking the “Play” button so you can jot down some notes.

Pinsky explains using the appropriate Neural filters, as well as Blend modes, Adjustment layers and other simple tools for fixing those tattered photos. It’s unlikely you’ll qualify for a retouching job after watching this episode, but you will be able to make sufficient repairs that will draw praise from relatives and friends.

Pinsky begins with Adjustment layers and demonstrates a number of helpful options, from adding contrast to adjusting brightness. You’ll also learn a basic way to use Curves for quickly modifying highlights, midtones, and shadows to restore a balanced exposure to badly faded shots.

Then there are a bunch of Photoshop Neural filters that pretty much accomplish repairs automatically, while you sit back and admire your impressive “skills.” Bottom line: You probably don’t want to volunteer to be the family restoration expert, but when you’re asked (and that will happen sooner or later) you’ll be ready to handle the task. Just don’t lose your notes.

The Adobe Photoshop YouTube channel is full of helpful tricks for users of all skill levels, so remember to pay a visit when you have time.

And check out the tutorial we posted earlier, explaining why another editing expert says it’s often better to adjust Vibrance than Saturation when color correcting an image.

What if we told you there’s a key on your keyboard that can do a bit of magic in Lightroom? That may sound like a silly claim, but according to a respected pro it’s absolutely true. The tutorial below demonstrates exactly how it works for a variety of important editing tasks.

Stijn Borgers (AKA Sightseeing Stan on YouTube) is a Belgian photographer based in in Germany’s Black Forest. He’s also an adept instructor known for unique photo tips, and today’s episode is a good one.

What we’re talking about here is the Alt key on a PC keyboard (Option key on a Mac) and Borgers says it provides “genius editing” when working in Lightroom. As you’ll see, it does so by revealing hidden functions that will definitely accelerate and improve your workflow.

Borders demonstrates how the Alt/Option key enables you to “do some pro Lightroom editing and discover new tricks.” He also promises that taking advantage of his tips will take your skills to the next level.

The video includes several great productivity tricks, and Borgers begins with Lightroom’s Tone Curve tool that’s super powerful for adjusting the tonal range of an image. The problem is that it can be somewhat “fiddly” when making fine adjustments. However, by holding the magic key while making Tone Curve modifications, the drag speed slows down thereby making fine adjustments less clumsy and more precise.

Borgers explains several other ways that the Alt/Option key works wonders, including how to use it in conjunction with Masking filters, the Linear Gradient filter, and the Brush filter. You’ll also see how this trick simplifies the process when using Lightroom’s Spot Removal and Crop tools.

There’s a lot more this magic key can do, from clipping, sharpening, and noise reduction, to controlling post-crop vignetting. So give it a try and put the Alt/Option key in your Lightroom bag of tricks.

After watching the lesson head over to the Sightseeing Stan YouTube channel where there’s much more to learn.

And if you missed Part Four of the popular Lightroom Masterclass we’ve been posting weekly, you can find it here.

Creating soft, blurry backgrounds is a popular technique for making subjects stand out from their surroundings. It’s also useful for eliminating clutter, and directing a viewer’s eye to the most important element of a scene.

This task can be accomplished in the camera with the right lens, proper settings, and good technique. Today’s quick tutorial demonstrates how to mimic the effect during the editing process when you didn’t quite get things right in the field.

This episode from Photoshop Café also relates to creating out-of-focus “bokeh” effects, a look many photographers seek. In barely six minutes you’ll learn how the get the job done while avoiding common pitfalls.

Instructor Colin Smith is an expert at all things Adobe, and his goal here is to help you “take an exiting photograph and create more separation between foreground and background.”  Trust us, by following this advice your photos will have significantly more impact.

This straightforward method involves three simple steps; the first of which is what Smith calls “isolating your subject.” This involves a trip to the toolbar and selecting one of the three “magic” options—either the Magic Wand, Quick Selection, or Object Selection tools will work.

As soon as you do this, a Select Subject box appears atop the screen. But before you click the button be sure to select the Cloud option that Smith says delivers optimum results. Then Photoshop’s AI makes the selection, and there are ways to do a bit of cleanup if necessary.

Next Smith explains how to avoid a common mistake before applying the blur. Here the goal is preventing ugly halos around your subject. As you’ll see, the solution is “preparing the background properly” in the manner Smith recommends.

Now you’re ready to apply the blur and finish up the edit. Smith demonstrates the correct way to do this with precision. If you’ve been doing it wrong, wipe that approach from your mind.

There are many more editing tricks on Smith’s instructional YouTube channel. So be sure to pay a visit the next time you’re in a bind.

And check out the tutorial we posted recently, explaining why another expert recommends using the Vibrance tool instead of Saturation to adjust colors in your photos.