Try the Adobe Firefly Web App right now—for FREE—or step up to Adobe Express Premium.

There’s a lot of noise about AI right now, and most of it AIn’t good. That’s understandable. Even so, don’t let the naysayers detour you from experiencing the most powerful photo editing tools in the universe.

If you want to discover what you’ve been missing, or if you’re just AI-curious, here’s enough to get started enjoying Adobe Firefly, the future of graphics, in its various guises.  

If you use Adobe Creative Cloud apps, you undoubtedly have been using AI in the form of Adobe Firefly, perhaps without realizing it. Firefly is Adobe’s name for the AI engine that powers exciting features in Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Stock and Adobe Express. Firefly Web App is a freestanding (and free) web-based app that you can begin using immediately. Adobe Express adds more features and is optimized for social media posts. Basic Express is also free, and the Premium version can be sampled with a 30-day free trial.

The most compelling, in my alleged mind, are Generative Fill and Generative Expand. For thorough examination of these two features, read Photoshop (Beta) Generative Fill Lets You Change Everything and Adobe Adds Exciting Generative Expand Feature to Photoshop (Beta) which appeared in Shutterbug in months past when they were first incorporated into the beta version of Photoshop.

Start Now — At No Cost to You
The Adobe Firefly Web App is free to all. You do not have to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud, and more importantly, it does not require any Photoshop skills. It performs basic transformational operations, namely Text to Image, Generative Fill, Text Effects and Generative Recolor, clearly enough to fill idle winter hours with creative adventures. There are a couple other features “In exploration” including 3D to Image and the mysterious Project Stardust.

You can access all of this AI power here: Firefly Web App.

The free version includes 25 Generative Credit tokens, enough to experiment and get your feet wet. You can step up to the Premium subscription for $4.99 per month. It provides 100 credits monthly, plus Adobe Fonts Free, and no watermarks on images generated by Firefly. You can cancel at any time.

Recently Adobe announced the new Firefly Image 2 Model. With it you can choose between Image 2 and Image 1 models to expand your options—and your imagination.

Jump In
Again, without being an Adobe Creative Cloud user, you can up your AI game with Adobe Express. It includes features like quickly removing backgrounds and resizing designs. Aimed in a large part toward social media enthusiasts, Adobe Express makes it easy to make flyers, social posts, TikToks, Reels and more. Plus it includes thousands of premium templates that make your efforts look truly professional.

Basic Adobe Express is free but includes only 25 Generative Credit tokens and limited functions. Upgrade to premium and enjoy 250 tokens and other enriched features including access to over 195 million on-trend, royalty-free Adobe Stock Collection photos, videos, and music.

The Adobe Express premium all-in-one app subscription costs $9.99 per month. You can try it with a 30-day free trial. Follow this link Adobe Express Premium and click “Start Free Trial” at the bottom of the page.

The Guard Rails Are in Place
Adobe recently announced that every asset created using Adobe Firefly’s AI assistance will include Content Credentials by default; therefore, every fabricated asset automatically includes creative attribution. Adobe compares this to a Nutrition Label for artwork, but I think of it as more of a public DNA record.

Hopefully, the Content Credentials provenance implementation will alleviate the fear associated with AI-assisted photo editing.

One Example Created by the Adobe Firefly Web App

Inside Tip for Creative Cloud Subscribers
If you are a Creative Cloud user, log in to you your account and download Photoshop (Beta). It includes previews of new AI-powered features—in their beta state—before they are incorporated into Photoshop. It can run concurrently with regular Photoshop and is free. It’s also a lot of fun.

As I age and extended photo excursions become more challenging, it’s great the be able to use Adobe Firefly muscles to pursue my hobby. And as I said earlier, during those long, idle winter hours.

Become a Member of the Shutterbug Community
Register for a free account. Sign up for our newsletter. Spend five minutes (or less) uploading your best shots once every week or so. Potentially become a Shutterbug Photo of the Day winner. Enjoy viewing the fantastic work being done by thousands of photographers all over the world—and add your images to the enduring collection.

—Jon Sienkiewicz