NEW Lightroom AI feature COMPLETELY RESTORES Under Exposed images!!

Mark McGee Photos
28 May 202306:26

TLDRAdobe Lightroom's latest update introduces a groundbreaking AI feature that significantly enhances the quality of underexposed images. The AI-powered denoising tool is demonstrated on a skateboarder photo in Trafalgar Square, initially underexposed by 2 stops and shot at a high ISO of 3200. After creating virtual copies and adjusting exposure, the old noise reduction method is compared with the new AI Denoise feature. The AI feature, despite a longer processing time, delivers a cleaner, more detailed, and sharper image, with less noise and better color vibrancy. The script also explores the feature's impact on a more challenging image with 2.5 stops underexposure and a high ISO of 6400, highlighting the AI's ability to restore details in shadow areas and enhance overall image quality. The video concludes with a discussion on the evolving capabilities of Lightroom, questioning the future need for Photoshop, and offers a preset pack for download.

Takeaways

  • 🚀 Adobe Lightroom's new AI feature can significantly restore underexposed images, enhancing their quality.
  • 📸 An example image of a skateboarder in Trafalgar Square, which was 2 stops underexposed, was used to demonstrate the feature.
  • 🔍 The AI Denoise button was used to increase exposure by 2 stops without introducing excessive noise, unlike traditional methods.
  • ⏱️ Processing time for the AI feature was approximately 2 minutes for the first image and 6 minutes for a higher ISO image.
  • 🆕 The new AI Denoise feature creates a new DNG version of the image with AI processing, resulting in cleaner and more detailed images.
  • 👕 Notable improvements were seen in the quality of the subject's t-shirt, skin smoothness, and definition in hands and forearm muscles.
  • 🆚 When compared to the original overexposed image without noise reduction, the AI feature provided a stark contrast in image quality.
  • 🎨 After using the AI feature, applying a preset like Urban Nightlights made the image pop, showcasing the feature's effectiveness.
  • 📈 The AI feature also excelled in shadow areas, bringing out details and enhancing colors in a natural way.
  • 🤔 The video raises the question of whether future Lightroom updates might make Photoshop less necessary due to its increasing capabilities.
  • 📈 For photographers, this feature offers a solution for underexposed images that couldn't be avoided due to lighting conditions or motion blur concerns.

Q & A

  • What new feature in Adobe Lightroom was introduced to improve image quality?

    -Adobe Lightroom introduced a new AI-powered denoising feature that can restore poor quality and underexposed images, bringing them back to life with enhanced clarity and sharpness.

  • How many virtual copies of the raw file were created for comparison in the video?

    -Three virtual copies of the raw file were created for comparison.

  • What was the high ISO used for shooting the skateboarder image in Trafalgar Square?

    -The high ISO used for shooting the image was 3200.

  • How much exposure adjustment was made to the first virtual copy in the video?

    -The exposure was adjusted by approximately 2 stops.

  • What is the usual method to fix noise in an image before the new AI Denoise feature?

    -The usual method involved adjusting the luminance in the detail and noise reduction panel, often increasing it to around 50.

  • What does the AI Denoise button do when clicked?

    -The AI Denoise button opens a control window that provides a pixel-level preview, processes the image using AI, and creates a new DNG version of the image with reduced noise and improved detail.

  • How long did it take for the AI to process the image with the new Denoise feature?

    -The estimated time for the AI to process the image was 2 minutes for the first example and 6 minutes for the second example taken with a 100 MP camera.

  • What is the main advantage of the new AI Denoise feature over the old noise reduction method?

    -The AI Denoise feature virtually removes all noise, defines details that were almost lost, and enhances clarity and sharpness in a more natural and realistic way compared to the old method.

  • How does the AI Denoise feature handle shadow areas in underexposed images?

    -The AI Denoise feature significantly improves detail and clarity in shadow areas, bringing out defined details that were not visible in the original or manually noise-reduced images.

  • What is the practical application of the AI Denoise feature for photographers?

    -The AI Denoise feature allows photographers to salvage underexposed images with high ISO and noise, enhancing them to a quality that can be used effectively in their work.

  • What is the presenter's speculation about the future of Adobe Photoshop in relation to Lightroom's capabilities?

    -The presenter wonders if, with Lightroom's increasing capabilities, such as applying curves to adaptive masks, there may come a time when Photoshop is no longer necessary.

  • How can viewers obtain the presenter's Preset Pack Urban Nightlights?

    -Links to download the presenter's Preset Pack Urban Nightlights are provided in the video description.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 AI Denoise Feature in Lightroom: A Game Changer

Adobe Lightroom's recent update introduces a groundbreaking AI Denoise feature that significantly improves image quality. The update allows restoration of poor quality and underexposed images, bringing them back to life with enhanced clarity and sharpness. The script demonstrates this by comparing three virtual copies of an underexposed skateboarder image in Trafalgar Square. The first copy is adjusted for exposure, revealing excessive noise. The second copy uses traditional noise reduction, resulting in a softer image. The final copy utilizes the new AI Denoise feature, which dramatically reduces noise and preserves details, including textures and colors, in a natural way. The feature's effectiveness is further highlighted with another underexposed image taken at a high ISO, showcasing how it can define details in shadow areas and enhance overall image quality.

05:02

📸 The Reality of Underexposed Photography and Lightroom's Solution

The script acknowledges the challenges photographers face when capturing images in low light conditions, often leading to underexposed photos with high ISO settings. Despite the ideal scenario of taking photos at correct exposure, there are situations where this is not feasible, such as when dealing with moving subjects or limited lighting. Lightroom's AI Denoise feature offers a solution to salvage such images, allowing photographers to recover details and reduce noise effectively. The video also ponders the future of photo editing software, as Lightroom's capabilities increasingly overlap with those of Photoshop, especially with the addition of curve adjustments to adaptive masks. The script concludes with an invitation to download a preset pack and a reminder to support the channel.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is a popular photo editing software developed by Adobe Inc. It is widely used by photographers for organizing, developing, and editing their digital photos. In the video, it is mentioned as the platform where the new AI feature is introduced to restore underexposed images, highlighting its role in enhancing image quality.

💡AI Denoise

AI Denoise refers to an artificial intelligence-powered noise reduction feature within Adobe Lightroom. It is designed to improve the quality of underexposed or noisy images by reducing unwanted noise while preserving important details. The video demonstrates how this feature can drastically enhance the quality of an image, making it cleaner and more defined.

💡Underexposed images

Underexposed images are photographs that have been captured with insufficient light, resulting in a darker appearance than intended. This can lead to a lack of detail and increased noise in the image. The video discusses how Adobe Lightroom's AI feature can restore such images, bringing them back to life with improved detail and reduced noise.

💡High ISO

High ISO refers to a camera setting that increases the sensitivity of the camera's sensor to light. While this can help capture images in low-light conditions, it can also lead to increased noise in the resulting images. The video script mentions shooting at a high ISO of 3200 and 6400, illustrating the challenges of capturing quality images in dark environments.

💡Virtual copies

In Adobe Lightroom, virtual copies are non-destructive duplicates of a single raw file that allow photographers to make different adjustments to the same image without altering the original. The video uses virtual copies to compare the effects of different noise reduction techniques on the same underexposed image.

💡Noise reduction

Noise reduction is the process of minimizing the visual noise or grain that appears in digital images, often as a result of high ISO settings or underexposure. The video contrasts the traditional noise reduction methods with the new AI Denoise feature in Lightroom, showing the latter's superior ability to maintain image detail and quality.

💡Detail and clarity

Detail and clarity refer to the sharpness and distinctness of the elements within a photograph. The video emphasizes how the AI Denoise feature in Lightroom not only removes noise but also enhances the definition of details in the image, such as the texture of clothing or the features of a subject's face.

💡DNG version

A DNG version, or Digital Negative, is a raw image file format associated with Adobe products. It preserves all the original raw data from the camera and allows for non-destructive editing. The video mentions the creation of a new DNG version of an image after processing with AI, indicating the software's ability to work with and enhance raw image data.

💡Presets

Presets in Adobe Lightroom are pre-configured settings for various adjustments such as exposure, contrast, and color grading. They can be applied to images to quickly achieve a desired look. The video creator offers a Preset Pack called Urban Nightlights, which can be used to enhance images further after the AI Denoise process.

💡Shadow areas

Shadow areas in photography refer to the parts of an image that are not directly illuminated and are therefore darker. The video highlights the AI Denoise feature's effectiveness in improving the detail and color within these shadow areas, which is typically challenging to achieve with standard noise reduction techniques.

💡Motion blur

Motion blur is a visual effect that occurs in photography when a moving subject is captured during a longer exposure, resulting in a blurred image. The video mentions the need to avoid motion blur when photographing moving subjects, which is one of the reasons for choosing a higher shutter speed and ISO settings, leading to underexposed images.

Highlights

Adobe Lightroom introduces a new AI feature that can restore underexposed images.

The AI-powered feature significantly improves image quality by restoring poor quality and underexposed photographs.

A demonstration image of a skateboarder in Trafalgar Square is used to showcase the feature's capabilities.

The image was initially underexposed by about 2 stops and shot at a high ISO of 3200.

Three virtual copies of the raw file are created for comparison purposes.

The first virtual copy has its exposure increased, revealing noise and grain.

The old method of noise reduction is shown to be less effective, leaving the image soft and processed-looking.

The new AI Denoise feature is applied to the final virtual copy, resulting in a cleaner and more detailed image.

The AI processing creates a new DNG version of the image with enhanced clarity and sharpness.

The AI Denoise feature is shown to be drastically better than the old noise reduction method.

The feature is capable of defining details that were almost lost in the original raw file.

The AI feature is tested on a more challenging underexposed image with a high ISO of 6400.

The AI-powered denoising significantly improves the detail and clarity in shadow areas.

The feature's effectiveness is showcased through a comparison with an image without noise reduction.

The video discusses the practical challenges photographers face when capturing images in low light conditions.

The new Lightroom update is compared to Photoshop, suggesting a potential future where Photoshop may not be necessary.

The presenter offers a Preset Pack called Urban Nightlights to enhance the images further.

The video concludes with an invitation for viewers to download the preset pack and engage with the content.