Photoshop is evolving in a new version boosted with AI (artificial intelligence), with even more efficient tools and even an automatic restoration function for old photos which gives stunning results.
The annual Adobe MAX event is always eagerly awaited by photographers, graphic designers and other creators, who are eager to discover the novelties brought to the various software programs of the famous American publisher. And the least we can say is that they were not disappointed this year! Photoshop, the essential photo editing application – so much so that its name has entered common parlance – is entitled to a major update that relies more than ever on artificial intelligence (AI) Adobe Sensei – based on machine learning – to improve its functions. And the result is truly impressive.
Photoshop 2022: a magic function to restore old photos
Adobe’s new version of Photoshop has a new neural filter that can restore old photos, restoring original hues and removing scratches and other damage caused by time. As a reminder, neural filters – Neural Filters in English – automate certain photo retouching thanks to AI – smoothing of the skin, transfer of style, colorization of a photo which was initially in black and white… – which makes it possible to win valuable time – and therefore money. By automating these tasks, Adobe relieves professionals who spend their day using Photoshop stamps.
The new neural filter, soberly dubbed ‘Photo Restoration’, is able to reconstruct old damaged images using machine learning, removing scratches and other minor imperfections, and restoring faded photos to their original hues – silver photos, being the result of chemical reactions, are based on a paper that reacts to external conditions, such as light, humidity or even temperature. The results presented by the firm during its conference are very impressive.
Photoshop 2022: more precise tools than ever
Adobe is improving some of its tools with its Adobe Sensei AI. This is the case for the selection tool, which automatically detects the different elements that make up an image just by hovering over them with the mouse. It gains in precision since it is now able to identify and outline objects such as the sky, buildings, plants, different types of soil, but also hair – flyaways and frizz tend to be a real problem. thorn in the foot. Even better, Photoshop differentiates between parts of the same person. For example, it separates a person from the surfboard they are carrying.
Ditto on the side of deleting elements, which gains in precision as well as a shortcut – just select the element and press Shift + Del simultaneously to delete it. But where it’s strong is that Adobe Sensei replaces the “hole” with the background of the image, as if the element had never been in the photo – a function similar to the magic eraser on Google Pixel smartphones. For example, a surfer is wiped out and the AI reconstructs the sea, waves, and foam believed to be behind him. Another novelty: you can copy-paste text from Illustrator to Photoshop, keeping all the formatting – font, style, size, alignment, orientation, color… – and being able to modify the layer. Before, only layers, shapes and vector paths could be copy-pasted.
Photoshop 2022: even more collaborative
Adobe enhances the collaborative side of Photoshop so that users can share their file with other people, and everyone can work on it together. Indeed, the Share for review function – “share for review” in French – allows you to send a link to your collaborators, who can then leave comments in real time. Every modification is immediately visible to everyone, without them needing to register or log in – on the other hand, they cannot modify the document themselves.
Some new features also land on the iPad version of Photoshop, which was so far a weak variation of the PC version. Many tools are coming to the tablet, which is increasingly popular with graphic designers, such as background removal, automatic color adjustment, human subject selection, and after-content fill.
