Adobe rolls out Creative Cloud updates aimed at speeding up photo and video workflows

Adobe has announced a new round of Creative Cloud updates, with fresh tools for photographers, videographers and designers across Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects and Illustrator.

The updates focus largely on reducing time spent on repetitive tasks, allowing creatives to spend more time editing and less time sorting, masking and cleaning up files.

Lightroom updates 

One of the standout updates for Mac users in Lightroom Classic is a noticeably faster Denoise tool (reportedly 2-3 times faster) that runs seamlessly in the background – allowing you to keep editing other images while it works its magic.

Overall processing speed increases are a welcome shift from years ago, when Lightroom Classic maximum RAM usage seemed to hover at around 24GB – even if your system packed 64GB or more – meaning the 'grunt' of higher end machines couldn't be utilised. Thankfully, those limitations appear to be a thing of the past.

Heavy AI features like Denoise and AI Masking rely almost entirely on the graphics processor. On modern Macs, utilising Apple Silicon Chips such as the M1-M5 series, where unified memory is shared between the CPU and GPU – macOS can allocate up to roughly 70% of that pool to the GPU when running intense AI tasks.

Standardised Tethering

Previously, Lightroom Classic relied on camera manufacturers official Software Developer Kit (SDK) to enable tethering. This meant whenever manufacturers released a brand-new camera, tethering wouldn't work out of the box. Adobe had to wait for them to update their proprietary code, and then integrate that code into a subsequent Lightroom update, creating a frustrating delay for photographers buying new gear.

Adobe is moving away from manufacturer-specific software kits and adopting an open, universal ISO standard called PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol).

Because this is a shared, open standard rather than a locked-down code package unique to each camera, Lightroom no longer needs to wait on manufacturers to release specific updates for every new body. As a result, newly launched cameras will be compatible with Lightroom's tethering system much faster than before – and hopefully with more reliable, stable connections.

Lightroom Assisted Culling

Adobe's Assisted Culling feature is starting to mature (gone from beta to 'general release') and helps photographers sort large shoots more efficiently. Face View can identify individual subjects and analyse factors such as eye sharpness and whether eyes are open, while a new Stacking feature groups similar images and suggests the strongest frame from a sequence. 

When Capture previously tested Assisted Culling, we found it worked fairly well for event photography, even if the AI struggled to discern what actually makes a photo look 'cool' or slightly more interesting. For instance, if you shoot a group photo using a five frame burst, the tool successfully identifies the images where people's eyes are open and stacks the sequence with its favourite choice on top. The problem is that the AI cannot yet evaluate the nuances of the human face to ensure everyone in the frame looks their 'best'. Subtleties like a goofy smile, a quizzical expression, or a bored look are details the technology simply cannot understand, or rank – at least, not yet.

Other Lightroom updates

Lightroom (web - not Classic) also gains Photo to Video, an AI-powered feature that can generate motion from still images using Adobe Firefly and Google Veo technology. The company says the tool is designed for creating short video clips and social media content from existing photographs.

Another notable addition is AI Sharpen, which integrates Topaz Labs' sharpening technology directly into Lightroom. The feature aims to recover fine detail in images without requiring photographers to export files to separate software.

Adobe has also confirmed support for RAW files from the recently announced Sony A7R VI across Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw.

Photoshop Updates

Photoshop receives a pair of practical workflow improvements. A new Reflection Removal tool can automatically detect and reduce reflections in photographs shot through glass, placing the removed reflections on a separate layer so photographers can adjust the effect if needed.

Meanwhile, Photoshop's Remove Tool can now access a generative AI model locally on a user's computer, allowing certain editing tasks to be completed without an internet connection.

Other Adobe Creative Cloud updates

Video editors are also receiving a broad range of updates in Premiere Pro. Highlights include faster AI-powered Object Masking, new visual effects and transitions, improved caption editing, and a new Stock Panel that allows users to browse and license Adobe Stock assets without leaving the application.

After Effects users gain a redesigned AI-assisted rotoscoping workflow called Object Matte, alongside expanded 3D capabilities and improved vector workflows, including the ability to import SVG files directly as editable shape layers.

Illustrator rounds out the update with Concept to Vector, a tool that can convert sketches or rough visual ideas into editable vector artwork and generate alternative design variations from a single source image.

The latest Creative Cloud updates are rolling out globally this week. For photographers, the most immediately useful additions are likely to be Lightroom's enhanced noise reduction, improved culling tools, and sharpening upgrades, alongside Photoshop's new reflection removal feature. The introduction of more reliable tethering within Lightroom Classic is also a welcome change, signalling that Adobe is finally taking a serious run at Capture One – the current industry standard for tethered shooting.

You can read more on the Adobe site here.