Adobe finally brings AI to Lightroom with Generative Remove

We have been wowed by the powers of Adobe’s generative AI across the company’s suite of apps, with AI popping up in video, graphics and photo applications to aid content editing and generation. According to Adobe, Firefly has been used to generate over 7 billion images worldwide across Adobe creative tools since its initial debut in March 2023. 

For photographers, we have been treated to some seriously impressive photo editing powers in Express and Photoshop apps for the last year or so now, from AI-powered object removal and replacement to Generative Expand imagining brand-new data around the edges of an image to increase the canvas size.

Adobe’s Lightroom software has so far felt a little left out of the AI party. So far very little of the company’s focus has been directed at what is perhaps its most beloved app by photo editors. That is about to change, however, as Adobe has unveiled the first Firefly-AI-powered tools in the Lightroom ecosystem – via Lightroom CC on mobile, desktop, iPad, and web, and Lightroom Classic.

The first new AI tool in Lightroom’s toolbox will be Generative Remove. Perfect for removing distractions from photos, Generative Remove empowers you to effortlessly eliminate unwanted objects without altering the original image. (As with all Lightroom edits, Generative Remove is non-destructive and can be undone in a click.) 

Generative Remove uses Firefly AI to replace the removed area with AI-imagined content that it hopes seamlessly matches the look and feel of the original image. 

Not stopping there, several other new features are also making their way to the software in the latest update. Lightroom’s AI-powered Lens Blur tool, which aims to artificially create the background blur of using a wide aperture lens, is now generally available after spending some time in an early access beta over the last few months. Adobe has added some all-new presets to the tool, giving more choice over the aesthetic blur effects applied to the photo.

Adobe is also expanding tethering support to Sony cameras, making it more of a seamless experience to shoot and capture images directly into Lightroom to speed up the import and editing process. Lightroom already supports tethering for Canon and Nikon cameras. 

HDR Optimization has been improved, which should enable anyone capturing HDR photos to edit and export their photos with brighter highlights, deeper shadows, and more vivid colors. Instant access to photo libraries in Lightroom mobile and desktop apps should also make getting into photo editing that much quicker. Finally, Lightroom’s mobile experience is improved with an all-new mobile toolbar to prioritize the most popular features, which should make it faster and more intuitive to edit.

The specter of AI will continue to make many creatives wary. For anyone worried about using AI content in their work, Adobe is keen to point out that Firefly is trained on licensed content, including Adobe Stock, and Firefly should generate content suitable for commercial use that does not infringe on copyright and intellectual property rights such as trademarks and logos. And, with Adobe being a founding member of the Content Authenticity Initiative, when using Generative Remove in Lightroom, Content Credentials will be automatically attached to photos edited with the feature.

All the features above including Generative Remove will be available today to all Lightroom users in an early access form. You can find the new updates in the Adobe CC app, or you can manually kick off the update in Lightroom under the ‘Help’ menu. 

For more choices in editing your images check out our guide to the best photo editing software.