6 Under-the-Radar Photoshop Updates You May Have Missed (VIDEO)

Whenever Adobe updates their software it seems as though one or two new headline features grab all the attention, while other second-tier tools and capabilities don’t get the credit they deserve. Today’s eye-opening tutorial with one of the world’s foremost post-processing experts reveals six of these lesser-known upgrades you don’t want to overlook because they can make your workflow faster, easier, and more creative.

Julienne Kost is a photographer, author, workshop instructor, and self-proclaimed post processing evangelist, and when she speaks it’s a good idea to stop and pay attention. She begins the lesson with Lightroom’s oft-ignored Quiet mode that enables you to silence distracting pop-ups and notifications in both Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).

Second on the list is a tip for using the Selection brush that most of us employ by painting on the canvas to create a selection. But did you know that this ubiquitous tool will also behave like a Lasso tool when you brush around the periphery of a problem element in the frame? Then when you release the cursor Photoshop will select everything within the boundary in whatever color you prefer.

Rick #3 pertains to what’s called the Generative AI Model Picker and Kost explains it like this: “Since different AI models have unique strengths, Photoshop now lets you choose which model to use with Generative Fill.” You can also experiment with different variations by using an icon in Lightroom’s Properties panel.

Then when you select “Generate Again” Photoshop will use the newly selected model on the newly created content. At this point Kost is halfway through her discussion of overlooked features and tricks, and you’ll have to watch the video to see exactly how they work.

But here’s  a clue: One involves using Curves to reference intuitive color gradients, another lets you send your work to other apps, and the third involves Star tool adjustments to easily modify points, corners, and radii with new onscreen controls.

There are many more very helpful how-to videos on Kost’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to take a close look. We also recommend watching the tutorial we featured with a highly acclaimed New York pro who demonstrates how to capture the best possible Jpeg photos when you’d rather not shoot in Raw.