I’m proud to be an amateur photographer. I don’t have fancy cameras, ring lights, tripods, or other equipment. Everything I’ve learned about taking great photos has come from years of trial and error and absorbing advice from experts I stumbled across online, including from the experts at CNET .
My photo-taking process often ends after I take the photo, or at most after I tap Apple Photo’s automatic improvement tools. I’ve used professional editing software in the past, but found it overwhelming and unnecessarily boring. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this Adobe program has been upgraded for beginners like me.
I got to try out all the latest versions of Adobe software at the company’s annual creative conference, Adobe Max, earlier this month, and there was a lot to like. Adobe’s AI model Firefly now has video generation capabilities. Photoshop, the original photography and design tool, is receiving more generative AI-powered updates, including tools to remove obtrusive wires and cables. Illustrator’s Project Neo attempts to make it easier to manipulate 3D objects and set objects on specific paths. But for me, it was the latest version of Adobe Lightroom that caught my attention the most.
Lightroom has received several updates this month to improve its features, but there’s a big trend toward making Lightroom more beginner-friendly. Jon Tehero, group product manager for Lightroom, told me on Max:
These are some of my favorite things about Adobe Lightroom, including how to use each feature to turn photos taken with the iPhone 11 into pretty decent shots.
Lighting aid for dummies
One of my favorite tools was Quick Actions in Lightroom. Easily let Lightroom do the work for you. With one tap, your photo will be analyzed and any necessary adjustments will be made. You don’t need to know the exact right exposure or saturation level. Let Lightroom’s professional algorithms do the work for you. You can also use them to isolate and edit specific parts of an image, such as the subject, the background, the outdoor sky, or specific facial features.
Take this unedited photo of me. The bright light of the display behind me casts a dark shadow on me, making it almost impossible to see my face or expressions. When I analyzed it in Lightroom and had it automatically edited, the image became brighter, but it was still quite dark and difficult to see. When I used the “Subject” quick action, Lightroom correctly identified me as the main feature of the photo and only brightened that part of the photo. Here’s what happens next:
I used some Lightroom quick actions and presets to brighten the original image (left) and make it more visible in the edited version (right).
You can also use the Quick Actions Background and Sky buttons to isolate and improve what’s behind your subject. I found the dehaze option under Sky to be particularly helpful in removing odd sun glare and cloud clumps. Get early access to quick actions on mobile right now.
Erase by generative remove
Another feature that really impressed me is the Generative Remove tool. When you opt in to use generative AI, Lightroom removes distracting objects, such as people in the background, and seamlessly recreates the affected area. It’s similar to Google’s Magic Eraser tool available on smartphones, but as a loyal iPhone user, I’ve never tried this kind of AI technology on mobile. Now I’m pretty obsessed with it.
During my photography training session in Adobe Max, we worked with external lighting, but again, as an amateur, external light and fellow photographers sometimes got reflected in the edges of my shots. . However, using Generative Remove I was able to select them and remove them from the shot.
Using Generative Remove, I was able to edit the lights in the original (left) so that they were not included in the final product (right). I also used quick actions to level up the lighting in the final photo. Model: Chanette Chanel
Like all AI software, it’s not perfect. More details may be lost in the replaced areas of the image. For example, in the example above, part of the background structure is cut out. If you don’t want to enable Generation AI, Lightroom will grab other areas of the image to fill in the gaps, which can lead to unstable results. But it’s certainly a step beyond my usual process of ignoring objects in the way or simply deciding the photo is unusable. A new update introduced this month should also improve object detection and selection.
Add content credentials automatically
It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between images created entirely by AI and real images. That’s why it’s more important than ever for creators of all skill levels to advocate for their work and account for their use of AI. Adobe makes this easy with content credentials. Content credentials are invisible digital signatures that allow creators to sign their work, disclose AI usage, and opt out of having their work used to train AI models.
Attach content credentials across the entire Lightroom ecosystem, not just mobile. Just turn on content credentials before exporting your project. You can also access Adobe’s new web app, Content Authenticity, and sign up for free to manage all your content credentials, whether created with Adobe or not.
I love how easy it is to attach these credentials to my work. This was especially important when using Lightroom’s generate delete feature. Figuring out how to properly credit your work can be stressful for amateur creators, and attaching content credentials is one way to be transparent about your work. is.
TL;DR: Lightroom isn’t just for professionals
As a non-professional photographer, I find there’s still a lot to like about Lightroom. Quick actions allow you to easily adjust different segments of your image without having to manually adjust every slider. Generative Remove allows you to clean up cluttered images, digitally sign your work with content credentials, and indicate your AI training preferences.
One downside is that Lightroom is a paid program, so it’s not for enthusiasts who want to learn on a budget. I think Lightroom offers quite a bit of value for money beyond what you can get on a smartphone, but it comes at a few different price points. Plans start at $10 per month for Lightroom only and go up to $60 per month for the entire Creative Cloud suite. We recommend checking to see if your workplace or university also has access.
Lightroom makes me feel like a more and more capable photographer even without fancy equipment at my disposal. The best thing about Lightroom is that you can use it to level up your games and social media posts without spending a lot of time and money on the process.
