Adobe adds Generative Expand and better masking to Lightroom

Adobe has rolled out a substantial set of updates across its Lightroom ecosystem, bringing new AI tools, improved masking controls and expanded support for cameras and lenses.

The August update covers Lightroom Classic, Lightroom for desktop, iPad and mobile, with some features arriving across multiple versions of the software.

Lightroom Classic gets more precise masking

For photographers using Lightroom Classic 15.5, one of the most useful additions is a new set of controls for refining masks.

The update introduces Feather and Edge sliders, allowing users to soften a mask's boundaries or expand and contract the selected area. The tools should make it easier to fine-tune selections, particularly when working with complicated subjects such as hair, foliage and other fine details.

Adobe has also added a control for changing the opacity of areas outside a crop while using the Crop tool, making it easier to assess a composition before committing to a crop.

Users can now save edited photographs as new DNG files with their current adjustments applied, while the update also brings additional camera and lens support.

Supported additions include the GoPro Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro cameras, along with lenses including the Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO, Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO and Sigma 85mm f/1.2 DG.

Generative Expand comes to Lightroom

One of the headline additions arrives in Lightroom 9.5, with Adobe bringing its AI-powered Generative Expand tool to Lightroom.

The feature allows photographers to extend the boundaries of an image and have Lightroom generate content to fill the newly created space. It can be useful for changing an image's aspect ratio, creating additional breathing room around a subject or adapting photographs for different formats.

The technology has previously been available in Photoshop, so its arrival in Lightroom gives photographers access to the capability without having to move their images into Adobe's more advanced editing application.

Generative Expand is also coming to Lightroom Mobile, including iPhone.

Lightroom 9.5 additionally receives the new masking refinement controls introduced in Lightroom Classic, along with further camera and lens support.

AI Denoise finally arrives on iPad

Adobe has also added AI Denoise to Lightroom for iPad, a feature that should be particularly useful for photographers working with high-ISO images away from a desktop computer.

The tool uses AI to reduce luminance noise while attempting to retain fine image detail. Adobe's Terry Lee White described the feature on Reddit as one of the most requested additions from Lightroom's iPad users.

There is a hardware catch, however. Because AI Denoise is computationally demanding, Adobe requires an M-series iPad with at least 8GB of RAM to run it.

The latest Lightroom updates are available now across the supported platforms.