What’s New in Lightroom Classic
with Cotton Miller
May 4 – 14, 2026
Course Description
Adobe continues to expand Lightroom Classic with powerful new tools, and recent updates in version 14 introduce even more advanced AI-driven features across both editing and workflow.
From expanded masking options, including Landscape detection to Assisted Culling, and the new Variance control within Point Color, Lightroom Classic users would be smart to stay current with these evolving capabilities. YouTube videos and Adobe’s website are helpful resources, but if you want a structured, hands-on approach to learning these tools with an experienced Lightroom educator, we offer this live, online workshop.
Let Cotton Miller unlock the full potential of the latest version of Adobe Lightroom Classic in this immersive four-session program. This comprehensive workshop is designed to equip photographers, photo editors, and creative professionals with both the newest features and the practical techniques needed to integrate them into a refined and efficient workflow.
In this workshop, you discover how to leverage Lightroom’s enhanced masking system, including Subject, Sky, People, and the new Landscape element detection, to create precise masks for water, vegetation, architecture, ground, and more. You learn how to combine masks using Add, Subtract, and Intersect logic to build targeted adjustments with greater control. Cotton demonstrates how to use Curves within masks, Color Range and Luminance Range selections, and AI-powered tools such as Generative Remove and expanded Denoise to elevate both subtle refinements and complex edits.
You will also explore Assisted Culling to intelligently review large sets of images and speed up the selection process, along with the updated Point Color panel, including the Variance slider, which allows for more precise and natural color isolation beyond traditional HSL adjustments. Cotton reviews the Adobe Profile Browser, including Adaptive Color and Adaptive Black and White profiles, and discusses how selecting the right profile establishes a strong tonal and color foundation before any slider adjustments are made. Adaptive presets and workflow strategies are woven throughout the course so you can work efficiently while maintaining a thoughtful and intentional editing process.
Join us online as Cotton guides you through the newest developments in Lightroom Classic, ensuring you not only understand these updates but confidently incorporate them into your own creative workflow.
Additional Information
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Open to anyone wanting to learn the newest features of Lightroom Classic.
What You Should Know:
A basic knowledge of Lightroom Classic is required. This is not a workshop to learn the basics.
Special Notes:
Class will meet 5:00 – 7:00 pm (Mountain Time) on Mondays and Thursdays starting May 4 and ending May 14 (four online group sessions). Enrollment is limited to 14 participants.
Zoom Video Conferencing software (available for no charge from Zoom.com) will be used to facilitate the class sessions. Further details will be emailed to registrants.
Santa Fe Workshops always aims to produce a high-quality experience for our online attendees. That said, variables including regional and local internet provider speeds, traffic on Zoom's servers, and your own computing hardware can contribute to a less than ideal streaming event. While we do our best to minimize the impact of these variables, they are outside the control of Santa Fe Workshops.
Policies:
View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.
For the convenience of participants, recordings of each class session are posted privately for one month after the end of each session. Santa Fe Workshops takes the recordings down after one month to protect the intellectual property of our instructors.
about
Cotton Miller received his MFA in Photography & New Media in 2013 from Lesley University College of Art and Design, in Boston. In addition to being honored by The Boston Globe as one of six artists to watch in 2013, he had multiple exhibits in Boston and has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association in 2007. Cotton has also assisted with projects for Time Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Athleta, and Highsnobiety.
Cotton is the Web Manager for Santa Fe Workshops and does web and exhibition consultation projects for a variety of artists, and is Adjunct Faculty for the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts – Houston. He has designed websites for Nevada Wier, Christopher James, Alison Wright, Elizabeth Opalenik, and Santa Fe Workshops. Cotton’s personal work combines traditional printing methods with digital, alternative process, mixed media, and multimedia. He worked as a master printer for Blazing Editions in Providence and Cotton was a research assistant for The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes (third edition) by Christopher James. Cotton collaborates with many artists for not only web design, but also digital retouching, graphic design, exhibition design, exhibition production, and printing fine art editions.
Website: cottonmiller.com
Instagram: @cottonmiller
