Los Angeles,UPDATED: Oct 11, 2023 09:01 IST
At this year’s Adobe MAX, Adobe Firefly definitely was the star of the show — drawing most conversations and discussions among industry experts and leaders — as Adobe announced that over 3 billion images have been created using its recently announced AI model. But, Firefly isn’t the only platform that is getting a major overhaul. The Adobe Lightroom is also getting some significant updates including a new Lens Blur tool that simulates depth of field and the introduction of end-to-end High Dynamic Range (HDR) workflow.
The idea behind these new features is simple — expanding the Adobe Lightroom use cases beyond professionals, Adobe highlighted in its press note. “Our goal is to empower you, whatever your level of expertise, to create the best photos possible when and wherever inspiration strikes,” it said.
Here is a look at everything new coming to Adobe Lightroom this year:
Lens Blur (early access) – The biggest update to the Adobe Lightroom is the Lens Blur feature. The tool adds an aesthetic optical blur effect to any photo with a single tap as demonstrated by Adobe during the event. The tool gives more power to the creators as they can select the blur amount using a slider and the overall look of the blur. The company is adding five different blur types which replicate the effect created by different camera lenses. Adobe says that the blur amount will match the f-stop of the lenses.
We have seen a similar approach by many smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Xiaomi, that allow users to add bokeh to their pictures from the in-built photo editing app. Of course, smartphones are being used by almost everyone to click pictures, while Lightroom is a more professional tool.
Apart from controlling the amount of blur, users will also be able to adjust the focus area in the image to change how the blur is applied to the scene. Adobe said that Lightroom will use depth map information if it is already included in the image file, else, it will simply analyse the scene to determine the subject and create a digital depth map that underlies the lens blur feature.
The early access of lens blur feature will be available on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android), Lightroom for web, and Adobe Camera Raw.
HDR optimisation – The other notable addition to Lightroom is the ability to take advantage of improved HDR optimisation. This obviously comes with terms and conditions. The users should be using an HDR display but Adobe says that the feature will also work for images that were not initially captured as multiple-exposure HDR files but were turned into HDR after capture.
“In an industry-first, Lightroom now provides a full end-to-end High Dynamic Range (HDR) workflow, from capture (on mobile) to edit and export – all in one place. This means you can create stunning HDR photos that look truer to real life by taking advantage of the latest display technologies,” it said.
HDR optimisation will be available on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android), and Lightroom for web.
Point Color – It is a new tool that allows users to make targeted adjustments to colors with improved precision. It means that if you change the colors at a specific point in a picture, it will not affect the colors in the rest of the area. It allows for flexible color selection with a selector tool, plus additional color input refinement across three dimensions – hue, saturation, and luminance.
It will be available on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Adobe Camera Raw, and Lightroom for web.
Apart from this, the Lightroom app is also getting an update for both iOS Android. Adobe said that the new app update adds faster mobile photo access and an improved overall editing experience. The app includes a new streamlined toolbar that prioritises the most commonly used editing tools, making it more intuitive to edit photos on a smartphone.
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