AI-POWERED TOOLS
Adobe Lightroom has enjoyed some impressive AI-powered updates recently including Lens Blur to create bokeh. James Abbott investigates its effectiveness to discover whether or not it lives up to the hype
Artificial Intelligence has become an integral part of photoediting software and has, for the most part, delivered some unbelievably useful features that make some editing tasks quicker and easier than ever before. Photoshop may be leading the charge with its contentious Generative Fill Feature and other AI-powered tools, but Lightroom has also seen its fair share of impressive AI features including the more recent Lens Blur control.
Lens Blur, as the name suggests, applies lens blur to images to create realistic and aesthetically pleasing bokeh. This, in essence, allows you to change the point of focus in images with a large depth-of-field and to defocus backgrounds to remove clutter and make the subject more prominent. This is achieved using AIpowered subject selection and a range of tools that allow you to adjust and refine the blur that’s introduced to photos.
This idea has been around for a while – remember the Lytro cameras where you could adjust and set the point of focus in the Lytro software post-capture? It was an interesting idea that never really took off, but Adobe has come up with a feature that works with practically any image taken with any camera. On paper, it sounds incredible, and while the results are mixed depending on the image used, there’s little doubt it will be popular because of how well it can work in certain situations. But the question is, is it any good and how does it compare to real optical bokeh?
Top tip
Lens Blur is initially applied automatically with subject detection performed by the algorithm. It often does a better job with simple subjects against simple backgrounds, but even in this situation you have to apply a degree of manual control to achieve a result that looks realistic. More complex images, with multiple layers of depth, and those with visual elements that span these layers, typically require more work. The more you use Lens Blur, the better accustomed you become to what it can and can’t do. You instinctively learn what will need to be done before you even run an image through the process.
GET TO KNOW THE LENS BLUR CONTROLS
In the Lens Blur tab, expand Refine to show more controls and check the Apply checkbox. Increase the Blur Amount to the desired level and select the desired Bokeh type. You can work with the automated subject selection, use the Subject focus button or the Point/ Area Focus Tool to click on
