Lightroom’s New Non-Destructive Enhance Features (VIDEO)

Today we’re taking a quick look at the new Enhance features in Lightroom Classic, specifically how to apply Denoise, Raw Details, and Super Resolution to photographs non-destructively. Here’s how Adobe expert Julienne Kost introduces the topic: “This technology update provides additional flexibility when editing and reduces the use of disk space as well as the number of files that need to be managed.”

There’s a link in the description beneath the video with additional important details on the AI-powered features described in the six-minute video. The ultimate goal of using Enhance is to increase image quality for making large prints or increasing the resolution of cropped images.

Here’s how to take advantage of Lightroom’s new capabilities without making a new DNG file: Select Camera Raw Preferences > Technology Previews > New AI Feature and Settings panel. Denoise easily removes artifacts from images captured at high-ISO setting or in low light, and now you can process several supported file types using AI to reduce noise without sacrificing fine details.

Kost explains that Raw Details (previously called Enhance Details) “produces crisp detail and more accurate renditions of edges, while improving color rendering and reducing artifacts.” It’s particularly handy for large displays and making big prints with maximum detail.

Then there’s Super Resolution which works similarly to Raw Details, but with two times the linear resolution. As Kost says, “this means that the enhanced file will have two times the width, two times the height, and four times the total pixel count of the original image.” This feature supports the same file types as Raw Details, with the addition of Jpeg and TIFF.

With all this nomenclature under your belt, Kost then walks you through the specifics of putting these new features to work with this important note: “You can only enhance an image once, which means that you cannot reapply Raw Details or Super Resolution to an already enhanced image.”

Once you’re done watching head over to Kost’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find a variety of how-to videos for processing photos with Lightroom and Photoshop.

We also suggest watching a tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing expert who demonstrates a quick no-nonsense Lightroom solution for rehabilitating underexposed photographs without introducing noise.