Lightroom Classic just got a major upgrade for 2023 photo editing. Here are two new major updates that will help you create better photos.

If you've been using Lightroom Classic for a while you know that they are making small updates to take the place of Photoshop for photographers. 

Well, this time, they made a major update for photographers. 

Enter the new AI selection and masking tools and the new Content Aware Fill tool. If you are unfamiliar with the AI takeover in photo editing, just know that they stand for artificial intelligence scripts that make your photo edits a breeze.

Let's look at the AI selection tools updates first...

Lightroom's New AI Selection Tools

In the past, you either had to make haphazard selections in Lightroom that were... well, they weren't great, or you had to do a dance back and forth between Lightroom and Photoshop to get the selection you wanted. 

With the new AI selection tools in Lightroom, you can make really good selections with one click of your mouse. 

I was honestly extremely skeptical of the new selection tools in Lightroom, so I decided to put them to the test when they first came out. 

I made a video showing how to use the new AI selection tools in Lightroom and then used the exact same tools in Photoshop to see which software performed better and made more accurate selections. I was actually surprised by the results...

Lightroom and Photoshop actually performed equally as well. 

Ok, so what about this content aware fill tool? 

I'm glad you asked because It's my favorite Lightroom update in a long, long time.

Lightroom's New Content Aware Fill Tool

Content aware fill has been available in Photoshop for years. Again, Lightroom is attempting to replace Photoshop for photographers and this tool is just another leap in that direction. 

Just like the selection tools, I wanted to know how well this tool would perform. 

I am so tired of the sloppy cloning or spot replacements in Lightroom, I was itching for this to be exactly what I wanted it to be.

And it was! But also, it wasn't. Let me explain.

Content aware in Lightroom performed incredibly well for small objects. It uses artificial intelligence to replace a selected area with a digitally created asset in its place. That's fancy talk for "it creates similar objects to cover up the ugly stuff."

I used it on road signs and small people. It was the tool of my dreams.

BUT, could it perform just as well with larger objects and people? In short, no, but there are some workaround ideas as I describe in this video. 

Now you're ready to dominate 2023 in Lightroom.

I have no doubt that these tools with getting updated as 2023 rolls on and they will improve. Subscribe and watch for more updates that can help you create the photos of your dreams!