Sometimes when photographing wildlife at a game reserve, the zoo (or even in the field) there’s a fence between you and your subject that really messes up a shot. In this quick tutorial from Photoshop PixelFie you’ll learn how to effortlessly remove these unwanted distractions.

The PixelFie channel is a  great resource for learning the basics of post-processing in Photoshop so that you can “keep creating” and enhance your skills. The goal of their helpful lessons is this: “We believe in learning the concept, rather than just learning the steps, so that you can translate your imagination visually to the world.”

Today’s unnamed instructor guides you through the straightforward process of removing a fence, showcasing handy tips and tricks for getting the job done in a hurry. He notes that every situation is a bit different, but by mastering this approach the appropriate steps will automatically follow.

The process is so simple it takes 90 seconds to explain and begins by making a duplicate layer to keep the original file safe during your edit. Then choose a Brush from the toolbar, while making sure that the foreground color is set to black. Now Press Q to enter the Quick Mask mode and carefully paint over the fence. A red overlay illustrates your progress.

Now press the Q key again to exit the Quick Mask mode and your painted area will become a selection which you’ll Invert with the keyboard shortcut provided. Next choose Content Aware Fill from the top menu. Photoshop will then analyze the surrounding area and fill in the selection.

And there you have it: The unwanted fence has just disappeared “just like magic” and you’re left with a perfect image of the key subject in the frame. This technique isn’t limited to wildlife imagery, and you can use it whenever an unwanted fence gets in your way.

If you found this episode helpful be sure to check out the Photoshop PixelFie YouTube channel where you’ll find many more quick-and-easy methods for transforming images in Photoshop.

And don’t miss last week’s tutorial demonstrating how to use what another image-editing expert calls “the best hidden feature” in Adobe’s Photoshop 2025 update. It’s guaranteed to make a big improvement to your post-processing workflow.

It’s hard to imagine a more majestic “office” than that of a South American llama herder. Gazing into the vast, awe-inspiring distance through the crystal clear mountain air. Even if the llamas wander off, the view of the surrounding volcanoes is a reward in itself. I’ll be back on the Andean ridges myself very soon, keeping an eye out for the giant wings of condors, and I trust they won’t disappoint me. And if they do? Nothing to worry about! As always, I’ll be on the road, testing some interesting gear and gathering experiences to share with you soon. Wishing you good light as you read this edition of our Photography News.

Get more from your smartphone by exploring hidden hardware features and performing professional-looking edits on the images you capture. This story focuses on iPhones only, but there are similar apps available for Android fans. But first, a serious warning to users of any flavor of apps, photo and otherwise.

A Serious Warning
Some apps access and record your personal data. It doesn’t matter what they do with it — what if their databases are compromised? What will the hacking actors do with it?

Some capture personal identifiers, financial info, your location, search history, purchases and contact info. Are these things you’re willing share with total strangers? Some of these I don’t even share with friends.

Fortunately, Apple lists the types of data an app collects, and indicates whether or not the data is linked to you. So be smart, check the details, and avoid the data collectors, even if they offer a cool-looking app. Make sure your kiddos do the same.

Adobe Lightroom Photo & Video Editor
If you’re a user of the desktop version of LR or Light Room Classic, you’re certainly already familiar with its mobile cousin. It’s unclear how many times Lightroom Photo & Video Editor has been downloaded, but it’s received 280,000 ratings at the app store, so I’m guessing a number higher than 3 million. Maybe twice that number.

Adobe’s Lightroom Photo & Video Editor is free and the in-app purchase options are for cloud storage space. It suggests Quick Actions to enhance your photos, and has Adaptive Presets that work like magic. Also, you can create and save your own Filters and Presets to apply to all your photos. Best of all for some, the current version (which requires iOS 16 or later) features the powerful Adobe Firefly-based Generative Remove to vanish your ex when the romance is over.

On the video side, Lightroom Photo & Video Editor offers Presets plus Light, Color and Edit tools so you can make your videos truly your own before posting on social media.

Download Adobe’s Lightroom Photo & Video Editor here.

NightCap Camera
If you’re frustrated by so-so results when using your iPhone in dim light, download NightCap Camera and enjoy amazing low light and night photos, videos and 4K time lapse. It also offers four different Astronomy Modes to capture the stars, Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis ) and more. Damn — could’ve used it last week when the Northern Lights danced in the skies over New York.

If you like to take pictures of the night sky, download NightCap Camera. It’s free and the developer does not collect any data whatsoever. Good for them. We like.

Careful!
The next three apps have names that are ridiculously similar. As far as I know, there’s no connection between them except, perhaps, the reluctance to pick a unique name.

Pro Camera by Moment
Priced at $8.99 (plus optional in-app purchases you’ll probably want), Pro Camera by Moment does indeed deliver several professional features, including control over shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus — and some more esoteric stuff like burst shooting in Raw, LUT support in video mode, and more. Check it out.

Take control of your iPhone. Download Pro Camera by Moment from the app store.

ProCam – Pro Camera
If you love your iPhone but hanker for some of the high-end features you enjoyed with your DSLR or mirrorless marvel, take a close look at ProCam – Pro Camera. Shoot Raw and TIFF files, perform AE bracketing, explore 3-shot HDR imagery, view a live histogram and select the aspect ratio (4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 1:1). Pro Cam — Pro Camera costs $9.99 plus the long list of in-app purchases you’ll likely want.

The developer does not collect any data. You can download ProCam – Pro Camera here.

We Cautioned You to Be Careful!
Here’s yet another useful app that has a name that’s hard to avoid confusing with the previous two. Developers: get a clue.

ProCamera. Professional Camera
Priced at $24.95 (plus optional in-app purchases) ProCamera. Professional Camera is one of the most complete iPhone control apps you’ll eve encounter. In addition to the mundane exposure, focus and zoom, it goes much deeper. It offers Focus Peaking, exposure compensation with zebra stripes, Raw, ProRAW, TIFF and HEIF formats, manual White Balance, Image Stabilization, upscaling to 48 megapixels, EXIF and metadate viewing, adjustable aspect ratios (4:3, 5:4, 3:2, 1:1, 16:9, 2:1, 2.4:1, 3:1, golden ratio), gray card calibration and the option to embed your copyright notice.

ProCamera. Professional Camera is available from the app store. Considering the name confusion, confirm you’re selecting the correct app.

A vobis peto, ut consilium probetis.
Speaking just for me, not Shutterbug, I hate smartphone cameras. The better models produce photos and video footage that’s good enough to dissuade people from discovering the enjoyment and higher quality of real cameras. There are so many great things you can do with a smartphone, but there are so many more you cannot. So if you’re getting great snaps and satisfaction from your pocket phone, do yourself a huge favor and use a high-quality digital camera once in a while — at least part of the time — otherwise you’re missing more than you know. Please.

Want to Become a Better Photographer?
Begin by taking more pictures. Carry a camera everywhere you go and shoot even when you’re 100% sure the picture won’t turn out. Review all of your images with a critical eye and share them with others – and that includes posting the best on our Gallery. Subscribe to our newsletter (see sign-up form on our homepage) and bookmark Shutterbug as a Favorite on your browser so you can check back often. We’re in this for the same reason as you – we love photography, and we’re learning more about it every day.

—Jon Sienkiewicz

One of the most valuable updates to the iPhone 16 camera is that it can now capture eye-popping macro photos and videos. Previously this was a feature only available on Apple’s Pro models, but it’s now trickled down the base iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.

Thus tutorial from instructor Luke Edwin covers everything you to know, from camera settings, focusing tricks, composing the shot, and more. He also provides a tip for users of iPhone 16 Pro models that enable you to shoot 48-megapixel macro images. That’s because there’s actually a trick you need to know for unlocking this powerful feature.

Edwin is a successful shooter whose concise lessons run the gamut from gear, the latest developments in imaging technologies, and the art of photography—whether your weapon of choice is a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or an up-to-date mobile device. You can find a list of the equipment he prefers in the description beneath this four-minute video.

Edwin is using an iPhone 16 for today’s episode, and he begins with this important note: “The ultrawide lens is the only one that can capture super-close macro shots.” In other words, it’s essential to place your subject in front of the uppermost lens when photographing macro subjects.

Edwin explains that the iPhone, by default, digitally crops into images captured with the ultrawide lens to provide a closer view. The camera app will indicate that the 1X lens is selected, “but this isn’t actually true because your ultrawide image is cropped until it’s the same aspect ratio of the 1X lens.” However, you can manually switch over to the 0.5X for a wider field of view (and the camera will still focus on the close object).

It’s also important to understand that the iPhone will always switch to macro mode when there’s something close to the camera, which is great when macro photography is the name of the game. But this “feature” can be really annoying when your subject is in the distance and you’re shooting through a window screen, fence, or other element near the lens that inadvertently becomes the point of focus.

Tapping on the screen doesn’t solve this frustrating dilemma, but fortunately the solution is as easy as changing a setting so that the camera attains focus exactly where you want. Edwin demonstrates a few more tips and techniques that will enable you to get up close and personal when setting and shooting with an iPhone the correct way.

There much more to learn on Edwin’s YouTube channel about all types of camera gear and styles of photography, so make sure you check in out when you have time to explore.

We also invite you to watch a tutorial we posted back in May, demonstrating the settings and techniques that another accomplished mobile photographer uses to capture spectacular nature and landscape images with his smartphone.