Adobe Unleashes AI Power: Critique Your Photos and Remove Backgrounds Instantly!

TL;DR

• Adobe’s experimental iOS camera app, Project Indigo, now features an AI-powered photo critique tool that analyzes framing, lighting, color, and emotional impact to offer professional feedback.
• The new AI Playground tab introduces advanced object removal capabilities, allowing users to instantly toggle the removal of clutter like wires, fences, vehicles, and people, or describe custom objects to erase.
• These generative AI features, powered by Google’s Gemini Nano, are currently in a testing phase available only to a select "few percent" of Project Indigo users for a limited few weeks.

Adobe’s Experimental Camera App Gets a Professional Brain

Adobe is quietly reshaping mobile photography by injecting a powerful new layer of artificial intelligence into its experimental iOS camera app, Project Indigo. Launched last year as a hub for pro-level controls and multi-frame super-resolution, the app has now evolved to include real-time, AI-driven guidance that mimics a professional photographer’s eye. This update, dubbed the AI Playground, aims to assist photographers not just after the shot, but at the very point of capture, bridging the gap between casual mobile snaps and professional-grade imagery.

The AI Photo Critique: Your Personal Editor in the Viewfinder

The standout feature of this update is the photo critique tool, which leverages large language models (LLMs) to provide a "professional" opinion on every image. Unlike standard filters that simply adjust colors, this tool evaluates the technical and artistic merits of a photo, offering specific feedback on framing, lighting, colors, and emotional impact.

The critique goes beyond post-capture analysis. The app also provides capture and edit suggestions that appear directly in the viewfinder before you even take the picture. If the framing is off or the exposure is too low, the AI suggests how to recompose the shot or adjust settings to remove unwanted distractions. For example, the app might identify a distracting element near the edge of the frame and recommend a slight shift in angle to improve the composition. This deterministic, button-driven approach is designed to offer more reliable, actionable advice than traditional prompt-based generative tools.

Instant Background Removal with Project Indigo

Beyond advice, the app now offers robust automated object removal tools that make editing effortless. Project Indigo introduces a new set of toggles for removing specific types of clutter from an image, including people, trash cans, wires, poles, fences, and vehicles. Users no longer need to manually paint over unwanted elements; they can simply select the category of object to remove.

The feature also supports custom object removal, allowing users to describe a specific item they want to erase from the scene. This capability mirrors advanced tools found in Adobe’s desktop software like Lightroom and Photoshop but simplifies the process for mobile users. Additionally, the app can remove fog from a scene, further enhancing clarity and detail in challenging environments.

Simulating Professional Depth and Artistic Styles

The AI Playground isn’t just about cleaning up images; it also helps users achieve complex photographic effects that are typically difficult on mobile devices. One key addition is the ability to generate depth of field artificially, simulating a blurred background (bokeh) to isolate subjects and create a professional look.

Furthermore, Adobe is experimenting with style transfer features that can transform photos into various artistic tones. Users can turn their pictures into watercolor, pen and ink, ink line with color wash, monochromatic, or backlit subject styles. Interestingly, the app also works in reverse, capable of analyzing artistic images and converting them into realistic photographs.

Limited Access and the Tech Behind the Magic

While these features represent a significant leap forward, they are currently experimental and restricted. The AI Playground is live only for a "few percent" of Project Indigo users, and the initial release is expected to run for just a few weeks. Access is not guaranteed for all app users, marking this as a beta test for Adobe’s next generation of mobile creative tools.

Technically, these capabilities are powered by Google’s Gemini-based Nano Banana model, though Adobe has indicated it may swap in its own Adobe Firefly models in the future. Led by Marc Levoy and the Nextcam Team, this initiative reflects Adobe’s broader strategy to integrate sophisticated AI models directly into its creative ecosystem, making high-end editing accessible at the point of capture.

AndroGuider Team

Articles written by the AndroGuider team. We try to make them thorough and informational while being easy to read.