Adobe’s recent integration of AI functionality has truly been a game changer, that has had an actual impact on my workflow and capabilities as a photographer.

Once recent use case: using generative fill (outpainting) in Photoshop to expand photos so they can be posted on Instagram.

Instagram has a maximum 4×5 aspect ratio for photos, so it can be a challenge to fit photos from a camera, which usually default to 2×3 or even 9×16 on smartphones.

It was possible to stretch photos before somewhat to make them fit, or use the clone stamp tool to try to expand the image, but the new generative fill feature works much better.

I was able to use generative fill to post photos to IG from a recent salsa dance shoot without cutting people off by expanding them to a 4×5 ratio, generating chairs, floors and in some cases whole new people in order to make the image fit the aspect ratio.

Another recent feature Adobe recently added to Lightroom is an AI-powered denoising tool, that uses generative AI to remove noise from photos taken in a dark setting. I was at an event recently which was nearly pitch black, but I was able to generate some clear images thanks to the tool.

Overall I am very impressed by these new AI tools that Adobe is integrating into their apps. As a photographer for over a decade, with an intermediate-level of expertise in using tools like Photoshop & Lightroom, these new AI powered features help me improve the quality of my work and salvage photos I wouldn’t have been able to use before.