Photoshop now with AI filters, Lightroom with colour grading
Photoshop now has filters that work with machine learning and a function that replaces the sky. Lightroom Classic comes with a new colour grading function.
Adobe has released major updates for numerous applications. These include Photoshop and Lightroom.
Photoshop 22 aka Photoshop 2021
The filter list now has one more menu item: "Neural Filters". Like all filters, they change the existing image, but differ from the others in that they have been trained using machine learning. This expands the possibilities.
Only two of these filters are currently ready: skin smoothing and style transfer. Skin smoothing retouches spots, wrinkles and other blemishes using a slider. The style transfer is intended to transfer a certain image style to your photo. For example, I can create a portrait in the style of a Vincent van Gogh painting. In my first attempts, this filter only produced images of grey. So far, I can't see any added value compared to a fun app for smartphones.
Another six neural filters are in the beta stage and can already be tried out. With eight beta filters, you can't do anything yet except click on "I'm interested". I assume that Adobe is being guided by customer wishes here.
Perhaps it's also about a kind of legitimisation. You can not only choose from classic image editing tasks such as removing dust and scratches, but also things known as deepfake. For example, you can virtually age a person, "style" their hair or give them a different facial feature using a slider. Apart from the fact that the results are laughably bad at this beta stage - see cover picture: such functions are not without controversy. A function that creates caricatures from portraits is also being considered.
The second major innovation: a white sky can be replaced. There are many different types of sky available. However, there is not a sky that looks realistic for every situation. Even if the automatic assembly itself works well.
Lightroom Classic 10
The most important new feature in Lightroom is colour grading. It replaces the previous partial toning function. In addition to shadows and highlights, the midtones can now also be coloured separately. Or all together. There are also more options available. Hue and saturation are selected using a slider, in the colour wheel or using an eyedropper. You can also set the luminance, the mixing mode and the balance.
My interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.