Photoshop finally adds a Clarity and Dehaze layer – and I can't believe it took this long

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Photoshop finally adds a Clarity and Dehaze layer – and I can’t believe it took this long

Adobe announces new Photoshop updates for creative professionals
Two new layer adjustments Clarity & Dehaze and Grain revealed
Firefly AI tools get an upgrade for both the app and Photoshop on the web

Adobe has today announced several major updates to Photoshop, including the introduction of two new adjustment layers and more expansive AI tools.

The changes are chiefly aimed at creative professionals looking for greater control over their work, without spending hours on tasks such as compositing, refining, or cleaning up images.

The headline feature has to be the introduction of the Clarity & Dehaze layer, which is going to significantly speed up workflows. In a blog post, the company stated that the new updates – which features a new beta text tool – will help users “exercise more precision and control, so you can maintain your creative momentum and spend more time bringing your creative vision to life.”

What’s new in Adobe Photoshop?

I’ve been yearning for some serious upgrades to Adobe Photoshop that aren’t just AI, AI, and more AI.

And while there’s plenty of that on offer here, the latest update also includes some significant changes that I think creative professionals are going to love.

Here’s what users can expect:

Clarity & Dehaze and Grain non-destructive, maskable adjustment layers
The beta version of Dynamic Text is out now
Major upgrade to Generative Fill, Generative Expand and Remove Tool
More control over Reference Image for Generative Fill

Adobe Photoshop updates in action, showing AI tools and layers to adjust the photograph's subject

(Image credit: Adobe)

Kicking off with Clarity & Dehaze and Grain, then. These are two new layer-based non-destructive adjustments that, Adobe says, are based on community feedback for greater precision and control while working with layers.

Using Dehaze, you can balance lighting and haze effects, while Clarity – as the name suggests – brings enhancements and crispen your subjects. So, no more cracking open the Camera Raw filter to dehaze an image.

Meanwhile, Grain helps add dimension to your photographs. According to Adobe, this can all be achieved while masking and blending each adjustment. Both layers get a general release.

Now in beta, Dynamic Text is one of those simple quality-of-life additions – so simple, in fact, it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been there all along. Click a text layer, choose between circular, arched, or bowed shapes, and Photoshop does the rest of the work, fitting and resizing text to match.

Adobe Photoshop updates in action, showing AI tools and layers to adjust the photograph's subject

(Image credit: Adobe)

Then comes two big changes for Firefly-powered tools, with the introduction of a new Fill and Expand model and Remove Tool 3 model.

Generative Fill, Generative Expand, and the Remove tool are now all capable of outputs up to 2K resolution, with Adobe promising “sharper detail and fewer artifacts.”

The goal, the company states, is to create results that match your prompts better than the previous AI models do, with the addition of more natural lighting and depth. Realism, it seems, is the order of the day here.

Alongside that, Reference Image for Generative Fill now delivers more control over results.

What that actually means is that when switching out one object – in Adobe’s example, they’ve switched one handbag for another (see above) – the AI tools are better able to retain the ‘identity’ of the original product.

This one looks to be a killer update for anyone using Photoshop for ecommerce and marketing, with AI now capable of serving up “geometry-aware results that better match the scene, reorienting to the correct scale, rotation, lighting, color and perspective.”

All the updates are available now in the desktop version of Photoshop, while the Firefly updates can be used across both the app and Photoshop on the web.