Each month, Adobe listens to tens of thousands of Lightroom users via the Adobe Community Forums, in-app feedback, and other channels. Your input is invaluable in helping Adobe address your photo editing needs and make Photoshop Lightroom the best it can be.
Adobe’s goal is to empower you, whatever your level of expertise, to create the best photos possible, when, and wherever inspiration strikes. Adobe is excited to unveil a range of innovative Lightroom features that make it easier than ever to express your creative vision, now with more choice over where your images are stored.
Here’s an overview of what’s new:
Lens Blur (early access)
(Available on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android), Lightroom for web, and Adobe Camera Raw.)
Lens Blur adds an aesthetic optical blur effect to any photo with a single tap. The interactive experience and flexible controls also enable you to achieve fun, creative looks that make your photos pop. Lens Blur is perfect for up levelling your images no matter how they were originally captured.
Using revolutionary AI, Lens Blur can estimate the depth map for any image to achieve natural blur effects. Adjusting the Blur slider simulates adjusting the aperture or f-stop settings on a camera lens. You can also further customise the blur effect by adjusting the focus area and/or the bokeh shapes. Adobe is excited to share early access to Lens Blur and they look forward to hearing your feedback.
Faster mobile photo access and editing experience
(Available on Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android)
Now you can find your favourite editing features faster with a new streamlined toolbar. The enhanced interface on Lightroom for mobile prioritises the most commonly used editing tools, making it faster and more intuitive to edit photos on your phone.
You no longer need to scroll to find your tools or import photos just to see them in Lightroom for mobile. Just tap on Device on iOS and Gallery on Android to instantly access all your images and videos. Then use the streamlined toolbar to see the entire toolset in one view, making it easier to edit a photo in just a few taps.
The new editing flow feels more natural for editing on your phone, and it’s easier to explore and tap through each tool, which helps you to improve and share your images much more quickly.
HDR Optimisation
(Available on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android), and Lightroom for web. Requires a display that supports HDR)
In an industry-first, Lightroom now provides a full end-to-end High Dynamic Range (HDR) workflow, from capture (on mobile) to edit and export — all in one place. This means you can create stunning HDR photos that look truer to real life by taking advantage of the latest display technologies. It even works for photos that weren’t originally captured as multiple-exposure HDR!
If you’re using an HDR monitor, iPhone X and newer, and Pixel 7 phones and newer, you can view, edit, and output photos in true HDR, similar to how a human eye perceives a scene.
View and edit images with a much wider tonal range and colour fidelity in even greater detail, and then save HDR photos in new industry-standard formats such as AVIF and JPEG XL, which offer higher quality at smaller file sizes.
Point Colour
(Available on Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Adobe Camera Raw, and Lightroom for web)
Point Colour lets you make targeted adjustments with great precision. It allows flexible colour selection with the selector tool, as well as additional colour input refinement across three dimensions (Hue, Saturation, and Luminance).
You can make accurate colour refinements without affecting colours elsewhere. The advanced settings give you detailed control over the individual colours in your image. Point Colour can be used, for example, to adjust specific colours in product photography, correct unwanted colour casts in shadow areas, or fix colour shifts in skin tones. The feature works independently of the Colour Mixer, which uses a more general predefined colour model.
Locally edit and store in Lightroom
(Available on Lightroom only)
You now have the option to work with your photos and videos in Lightroom without having to import or sync them to the cloud. This means you can choose to access files directly on your computer’s internal drive, an external drive, or a server — whatever matches your ideal storage system. Of course, you can still work entirely in the cloud if you prefer or choose to sync only specific files or batches of files to the cloud.
You’re in control of your workflow and can even use both local storage and cloud storage to sync just the photos of your choosing. Sync your favourite edits to the cloud for sharing or as a backup for safekeeping. Working on-the-go? Sync only your most current project to the cloud to work on it across devices.
Even more Lightroom features
There are also several new updates that will help you sharpen your skills, engage with the community, and give you more flexibility in using Lightroom.
Lightroom Academy
Lightroom Academy is a free inspirational learning resource for photographers and educators of all levels and interests. Use the ever-growing library of unique inspiring and engaging content to improve and expand your photography skills or to refine your Lightroom workflow and editing techniques to develop a unique style. You can learn via interactive illustrations and On Your Own assignments to strengthen essential skills and knowledge.
New supported file formats for the Content Authenticity Initiative
(Available on Lightroom only)
Adobe is continuing their commitment to the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) by supporting new format types including AVIF, DNG, and TFF. Creators in Lightroom can use Content Credentials to obtain proper recognition and promote transparency in the content creation process.
Discover is now Community
(Available on Lightroom, Lightroom for mobile (iOS & Android), and Lightroom for web)
Whether you’re a mobile photo enthusiast, a seasoned hobbyist, a working professional, or just interested in editing your favourite photos, Adobe is encouraging everyone to share their Lightroom edits with the Lightroom Community. Browse through thousands of images to view the step-by-step edit processing, download countless Lightroom presets to try on your own images, and use the Remix feature to process other Lightroom Community members’ images.
Filter based on likes and comments
(Available on Lightroom only)
You can now search for photos based on whether people have liked or commented on them in your shared albums. This much-requested feature enables you to select an album and filter it, so that it shows only photos that have received “likes”, only photos that people have commented on, or photos that have both “likes” and comments. Because likes and comments are album-specific, this filter is disabled if you have selected multiple albums at the same time, or if you are not in an album.
Try out the new features today
The latest features in Lightroom for mobile will gradually roll out everywhere, and can be downloaded in the Apple App Store, Samsung Galaxy Store, and Google Play Store.
Lightroom for web features are available today at lightroom.adobe.com, no download required. The features in Lightroom for desktop are now available and can be downloaded via the Creative Cloud Desktop app.
Learn more about these updates and improvements to Photoshop Lightroom by contacting the Dax Data team.
