A few days ago, Adobe released a new beta version of its popular Photoshop application. Along with that, the launch of the new artificial intelligence (AI) Generative Fill tool, has the photography community humming with joy. While the web is already full of examples of the amazing power of this tool, I thought I’d try it myself. The result you see above. As for the “how” and whether I consider the new AI-based features a photographer’s friend or foe, moving on after the jump…
The new AI-based Generative Fill function is marketed as Adobe Firefly, and is also included in the latest beta of Photoshop. It is based on hundreds of millions of high quality licensed images from Adobe Stock. This will ensure Firefly will not generate content based on someone else’s IP. This is a text-to-image generator and very easy to use.
You can use your own image as a starting point, or start using it on a blank Photoshop canvas. You simply mark an area of your image (or select the entire blank canvas) and type in a description of what you want to appear in the image. Then hit “generate”, and after a few seconds the desired content magically appears. It embeds itself perfectly in the image, including the right shading, reflections, etc….simply stunning. The generated content appears in three variants, which you can select with the click of a button, and is embedded on separate layers. The downside (for now) is that you can’t move the generated content. Since the content includes the selected background area, the resulting shadows, lighting effects, etc. will move with it and not fit in any other drawing area. But this might change with future versions.
Is it easy to use this tool? Oh yes! In my test, I used a photo I took during a recent vacation to Greece of the sun setting behind a small island fortress (more on its history below). I selected the rectangular area at the bottom left of the image and typed “silhouette of a small Greek fishing boat” into the user interface. And voila… it magically appears on the surface of a glistening golden sea. Then I selected another area on the top right and typed in “silhouettes of two flying seagulls”….and they came up. Now take a look and let me know if the boats and birds look natural in this picture. The fishing boat even casts its own natural shadow into the water. Crazy.
Now is Adobe Firefly (and its Photoshop interface) a friend of a foe? To be honest, I haven’t made up my mind yet. On the plus side, you can enhance your own image with a few words and clicks, transforming it from an ordinary shot into a much nicer image. But again, that’s fake. Isn’t it great in photography to go hunting for those special moments where it all comes together? Generative Fill enhanced images will still be your creations, no doubt about it. But what will be in the final image is not what you originally captured. And this is the case when looking at future coffee table books. No one will be able to tell whether what you see on the page in front of you is an authentic depiction of reality. Well, I’m sure, the discussion will continue…
Now, as promised, a little bit about the history of the island and the (original) fort I caught then in Greece on a nice, warm summer evening, though without the boats and the seagulls.
Bourtzi is the name of the islet at the entrance to the port of the Greek city of Nafplio and the fortress (island palace) located on it, from which the island also gets its name. This small island is about 120 meters long and measures 43 meters at its widest point. It is almost completely covered by the fortress of the same name. The distance to the mainland is 400 meters.
The Republic of Venice, which had conquered Nafplio in 1389, first built a tower on the islet in 1473. In the late 17th century – after the Ottoman reconquest of Nafplio in 1696 – the remainder of the fortress was reconstructed in its present form. At that time, a chain was stretched overnight from Bourtzi to the mainland to protect the harbor from entry by foreign ships; hence the Italian name Porto della Catena ‘Chain Port’ for Nafplio. Already at that point, you have to differentiate between friend or foe.
Have a nice Thursday
Marcus
Related post:
Greece explored – Mycenae
Our Happy Vacation Place
Back on the streets
Greece explored – Foodporn
