Adobe is adding new selective tools to Lightroom and Lightroom Classic image editing softwares in late October. The features will be powered by artificial intelligence and will allow users to select subjects like buildings, animals and people with a single click to edit them further. The company claims the upcoming features to be the biggest change to providing control over selectively enhancing photos since the release of Lightroom 2.
To make the new AI feature work more efficiently, the company has created mask groups that make it possible to combine different mask tools. To keep the workspace organised and to keep track of all the masks, the company has created a new masking panel that can be placed anywhere, docked into the edit panel, or minimised showing just a preview of the mask.
The AI-powered tools will be available on both mobile devices and desktops.
Selectively adjusting certain areas of a photo differently than other areas is a technique that’s nearly as old as photography itself. Early versions of Photoshop introduced tools like the dodge and burn tools, as well as selections, masking, layers, and layer masks which enabled photographers to make selective adjustments in the digital darkroom. Lightroom 2, released in 2008, introduced several other features that helped to edit images in a non-destructive way.
The company claims that the new features have been in the works for over a year and they will soon reveal a bunch of more AI-powered tools. “Both the Adobe Research and Design Research teams have a bunch of more tricks up their sleeves. From new and more powerful AI-powered tools to further refinements and improvements to the interactive experience, keep your eyes open for even more announcements in the near future — we’re just getting warmed up.” wrote Josh Bury, senior computer scientist at Adobe Camera Raw team in his blogpost where he revealed about the above mentioned features.