by Adobe Lightroom, a popular photo editing tool, is receiving some significant updates to enhance user experience and expand its use cases. Alongside the buzz around Adobe Firefly at this year’s Adobe MAX event, the company announced that its recently announced AI model has been used to create over 3 billion images. However, Adobe Lightroom is not to be overshadowed, as it introduces new features including a Lens Blur tool and an end-to-end High Dynamic Range (HDR) workflow.
The aim of these updates, as mentioned in Adobe’s press note, is to empower users of all expertise levels to create the best possible photos, whenever and wherever inspiration strikes.
The main highlight of the updates is the new Lens Blur feature. With a single tap, users can add an aesthetic optical blur effect to any photo. The tool provides creators with the ability to choose the blur amount using a slider and customize the overall look of the blur. Additionally, Adobe is introducing five different blur types that replicate the effects produced by various camera lenses. The blur amount will match the f-stop of the lenses, giving users even more control over their photos.
While smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Xiaomi have already integrated similar bokeh effects into their built-in photo editing apps, Adobe Lightroom stands out as a more professional tool.
In addition to controlling the blur intensity, users can also adjust the focus area in the image to determine how the blur is applied to the scene. Lightroom utilizes depth map information, if available in the image file, or analyzes the scene to identify the subject and create a digital depth map for the lens blur feature.
The Lens Blur feature will be available as an early access feature on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android), Lightroom for web, and Adobe Camera Raw.
Another notable addition to Lightroom is the HDR optimization feature. To take advantage of this enhancement, users must have an HDR display. However, Adobe assures that the feature will also work for images that were not initially captured as multiple-exposure HDR files but were converted into HDR after capture.
Lightroom now offers a full end-to-end HDR workflow, allowing users to capture, edit, and export HDR photos in one place. This ensures that HDR photos appear more true-to-life, utilizing the latest display technologies.
HDR optimization will be accessible on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android), and Lightroom for web.
Additionally, Lightroom introduces the Point Color tool, which enables users to make targeted adjustments to colors with improved precision. This means that changing colors at a specific point in a picture will not affect the colors in the rest of the image. The tool provides flexible color selection with a selector tool and offers additional color input refinement across three dimensions: hue, saturation, and luminance.
The Point Color tool will be available on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Adobe Camera Raw, and Lightroom for web.
The Lightroom app is also receiving an update for both iOS and Android, offering faster mobile photo access and a more streamlined editing experience. The new update includes a redesigned toolbar that prioritizes the most commonly used editing tools, making it more intuitive to edit photos on a smartphone.
These updates to Adobe Lightroom aim to make professional-level photo editing more accessible and user-friendly for all individuals, regardless of their expertise. With the addition of the Lens Blur tool, HDR optimization, and the Point Color feature, users can enhance their photos with greater precision and creativity.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
