Adobe has released the latest Photoshop update. Version 22.0 also known as Photoshop 2021 with some amazing new features. Taking advantage of AI this is the most advanced version of Photoshop so far. I’m sure a lot of people, are going to be blown away by some of these new tools. I sure am.
Here they are as listed in the video above by the legendary Unmesh at PiXimperfect.
The video is quite long, so you can click on the timestamps to open the list at the right point as you want, or simply click on the video thumbnail above to watch the full video.
Before we begin, let me highlight the fact that a lot of these new features are perfect for beginners, and some of them are still in the beta version.
I’m pretty impressed nonetheless.
Let’s get started.
Photoshop 2021 New Features
#21 Sky Replacement
Go to 00:35An exciting feature for landscape shooters in these Photoshop 2021 updates. It really allows you to replace a sky with one single click.
#20 – Skin Smoothing – Neural Filter
Go to 02:28This AI filter is amazing for controlling the blur and smoothness of skin in a subject.
#19 – Smart Portrait – Neural Filter
Go to 03:24The smart portrait filter is still in beta. This AI filter makes you literally change the facial features in a portrait by just dragging sliders left and right. Fun.
#18 – Colorize – Neural Filter
Go to 04:40I don’t know who will make use of this one, but if you have a black and white photo and what to add colors to it… Adobe’s got your back!
#17 – Pattern Preview
Go to 05:39Need to create patterns? It’s never been so easy.
#16 – Quick Actions
Go to 07:41Some useful one-button quick actions such as remove or blur background. Not perfect, but wow!
Related: How to Use Photoshop Actions
#15 – Live Shapes Enhancements
Go to 08:32More control and power over vector shapes. Nice one Adobe!
#14 – Discover Panel
Go to 09:46The help panel is finally useful. It tells you where things are and it has guided tutorials to help you learn what you need.
#13 – Preset Search
Go to 09:46Presets panels such as window > patterns are now searchable.
#12 – Version History
Go to 11:12I love this one too. It was about time that photo Adobe implemented this concept already available in programming. It keeps a history of the different versions of a file. So you can literally go back in time to what the file was two weeks ago for example. It only works with cloud documents.
#11 – Select Subject Improvements In Select and Mask Workspace
Go to 13:05Are you a big fan of “Select and Mask”? I am. Massive improvements there too. This is my favorite among all the Photoshop 2021 updates.
#10 – Select And Mask Presets
Go to 14:59You can create presets of your selection for similar images.
#9 – Refine Hair
Go to 15:48Also part of the select and mask tool. This will literally blow away your mind, and save a lot of time too.
#8 – Content-Aware Tracing Tool
Go to 16:27This one requires you to activate it from Preferences > Technology Previews. Fast way to create a path.
#7 – Easy Plugins
Go to 17:20Installing Photoshop plugins has never been so easy.
#6 – Depth-Aware Haze – Neural Filter
Go to 17:48For adding haze depending on the depth of the image.
#5 – Make-up Transfer – Neural Filter
Go to 18:22Are you jealous of someone else’s make up? Copy it to your own portrait!
#4 – Use Cloud Documents Offline
Go to 19:04If your documents are on the cloud but you know you’re going to work in an area with poor Internet, you can now choose to always have them available offline.
#3 – Reset Smart Objects
Go to 19:50Not of great use for photographers maybe, but as the name says, it allows you to reset smart objects to their original state.
#2 – Fast Access To Content-aware Fill
Go to 20:32Need to remove an object from a scene? Just make a quick selection around it and done. Remarkable.
#1 – Brush Tool Search
Go to 20:47The brush tool has a search bar so you can now find your favorite in no time… if you remember the name :/
Before You Go
Should you rely solely on these new AI-pumped filters and features to edit your photos? My answer is no.
Are these features super useful if you want to do quick edits for photos that are going to be displayed only on social media? Oh yeah!
And as always, over to you know.
What do you think about these Photoshop 2021 updates? Are you going to use the quick sky replacement or use one of the neural filters to refine your portraits? Let me know in the comments below.
Stefano Caioni is a photographer from Sydney, Australia. Founder and editor of Pixinfocus, his passion for photography helps him explore new places and live new adventures. Thanks to photography he reconnected with the outdoors and was able to travel the world and take photos of some of the most beautiful places on Earth.
Comments
I watched the video yesterday. Photoshop has really done some incredible things with these updates, but the new tools to change how faces look are worrying.
No one will trust what they see anymore. If you don’t trust what you see, then you don’t act, as you don’t know what the right answer is.
In a world of information overload I think we will end up with more and more people being apathetic, as finding truth is just too hard.
Ugh, they moved or removed the slicing tool…
Hey Ross, thanks for your comment. Yeah, software like Photoshop will rely more and more on Artificial Intelligence algorithms for similar features.
As always, I think it’s up to us photographers and end-users of such programs to make good use of it. Personally, as a photographer, I’m only happy to modify my images adjusting light, color, and contrast. Sometimes I remove unwanted distractions or clean up a photo. But I get what you mean.
I see these tools as just a fun toy for now. As I always say, it’s always better to be outdoor taking good photos than spending time in front of a computer editing them.