Artificial intelligence might be scary to some. But for anyone who spends time editing photos, it's about to be a dream come true.
On Tuesday, Adobe announced the release of Photoshop 19.1, the newest iteration of its flagship graphics and photo editor. The update includes a number of new features, most of which make it easier to select objects for editing, movement, and other forms of manipulation.
SEE ALSO: Family shares hilarious Photoshop fail from a photographer they hiredThe most notable new feature is called "Select Subject." It's powered by Adobe Sensei, the company's proprietary artificial intelligence. The tool automatically finds the most prominent subject in your image, and allows you to select it (and manipulate it) with just one click.
Previously, selecting an object quickly involved outlining it with the "Quick Selection" tool or using the "Magic Wand" tool and hoping it actually worked. It could often be a huge annoyance, time-consuming, and, frankly, inaccurate.
It was typically difficult for users to work around individual hairs and fingers, so they'd sometimes need to individually erase bits of sidewalk, sky, or other background from the object after selecting it. Now, it's going to be way easier.
To use the new tool, "Select Subject," click "Subject" under the "Select" menu while editing an image. "Select Subject" also appears in the Options bar while you're using the Quick Selection and Magic Wand tools.
If the AI messes up and includes some background in the image it's selected, you can still use the "Subtract from Selection Option" to whittle the subject down.
Once you have your subject selected, the fun really begins. The potential for Photoshop battles and meme creation is endless. You could, for example, insert yourself into your childhood photos, put a better flower girl in your wedding, or decide what the Obamas are really planting in just a few seconds. You could also develop Fake News, if you're into that.
Adobe's update also allows you to easily decrease contamination (color overflow from one area of an image to another), and makes easier to copy and paste vector graphics between Photoshop and XD, Adobe's user experience design software. You can also finally adjust paint brush settings while you paint (as opposed to between strokes) using Microsoft's Surface Dial tool.
Adobe has been working to make Photoshop, famously an advanced and expensive software, more accessible. The company has been releasing Adobe Photoshop Express, its free online version of Photoshop, for various devices since 2014. In 2015 it launched Photoshop Fix, a free app compiling the most popular features of Photoshop into a free app for amateur editors.
To get in on the fun, check the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application to download the update.