Adobe has announced a new feature for Lightroom, its photo editor, that promises to simplify the removal of unwanted elements in images. This new tool, called “Generative Removal”, is based on artificial intelligence and is currently in public beta testing phase. The feature will be available across the entire Lightroom ecosystem, including mobile apps, desktop, and web.
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Generative deletion uses Firefly, Adobe’s AI model, to smoothly replace unwanted elements. The process is simple: the user just has to paint over the area to be removed and Lightroom will send this information to Adobe’s Firefly servers for processing. This process takes no more than a few seconds, although the speed may vary depending on the internet connection.
Unlike other AI functions from Adobe, such as the recently launched “Reference Image” in Photoshop, Lightroom’s AI tools are specifically designed to enhance photographers’ workflow.
And the thing is, according to Adobe, one of the most difficult tasks in image editing is removing distracting elements. Traditionally, this was done with Lightroom tools like “Content-Aware”, which hides unwanted elements by matching the surrounding areas. However, these tools can struggle with large objects or complex backgrounds.
Generative elimination goes a step further by being able to handle much larger objects on any background, significantly reducing the time and technical knowledge required to perform these tasks. In addition, this Adobe tool generates three different versions of the elimination, allowing the user to choose the one that best suits their needs.
Although Generative Inpainting is a truly impressive and useful feature, it is not a completely new idea. Google Photos already offers a similar feature called Magic Eraser, and its Magic Editor allows you to alter the lighting of a scene, or even cut and paste subjects within the image, something that Generative Inpainting cannot do.