Adobe has just revealed a ton of updates to its software programs, which will change how creative people create. And if you thought the company's products aren't for you, think again. True, some of the innovations are for apps mostly used by professionals, such as the industry essential, Photoshop.
New features mean it's easy to remove that photo-bombing stranger with one click, while leaving the background pristine, or enhancing images by extending the landscape, even to places outside the frame of a photo
But there's a lot more from the company that's of interest to all of us. Artificial intelligence weaves through everything Adobe is developing: at this year's MAX conference, the CEO admitted that none of the announced updates were even on the roadmap twelve months ago, things are moving so fast in the world of Al.
Adobe Firefly is a creative web app which is great for text-to-image and generative fill, as Adobe calls it. The key is Al, of course, but it is trained on assets that the company has the right to use, something called the Firefly Image Model. Since this was launched six months ago, more than 3 billion images have been created using it via web browsers including Chrome and Safari.
Mirror Online readers can try it for themselves by going to firefly.adobe.com. You need to sign in or create an account (free) and then choose Text to Image and type in some words. You can put pretty much anything and in a few seconds it will generate four images completely from scratch. Try something simple like "a photorealistic emu studies a book", for instance. Or something wacky like "a cartoon tidal wave bemuses a Roman soldier". Let your imagination run free. The results are not meant to be finished graphics, but to inspire or amuse in the creative process.
There are other ways to take advantage of Adobe's latest new features. If you don't use Photoshop, you can still benefit from photo-editing features in apps like Pixelmator, available on the Apple App Store. It lets you swipe your finger on an unwanted element in a photo and make it disappear instantly. It's like the Photo Eraser feature on the Google Pixel, and it's very precise and impressive.
Adobe Lightroom, the photo and video editor app that is available on the iPad, has just added more features. It includes neat elements like lens blur to give an elegant portrait mode effect, or tools to simply remove image noise so you can transform your images with the minimum of fuss.
And Premiere Pro, the video editing app on the Mac and Windows PCs, for instance, has a staggering suite of new features. For example, if you've shot a video, perhaps a birthday message from one family member to another, it can remove all the ums and ers they said, with just a few clicks. What's more, it leaves no visible clue, even down to the speaker's lips which are in perfect sync.
And if the background noise is intrusive, Premiere Pro can remove it to focus on the speaker's voice.
Finally, there's a very user-friendly app called Adobe Express. It's a free app that is accessible and powerful, letting you work with illustrations to add animation to them, for a start. You can remove video backgrounds easily, and even make animated characters talk in your own voice with spookily good accuracy.