This new Photoshop tool is going to change design and photography forever.
Guaranteed.
The new AI power Generative Fill in Photoshop allows you to seamlessly
remove complex objects from your photos, extend images by adding realistic details,
generate realistic objects, and generate new believable backgrounds.
My name is Jesus Ramírez,
and I've been a professional graphic artist for almost 20 years.
I must say, I've never been more excited,
amazed, and slightly terrified about a new feature in Photoshop.
I think this tool is going to be a huge game changer as much as layers were when
they were first introduced back in Photoshop 3, maybe even more.
This video will be a complete
and comprehensive guide on the Generative Fill.
I'll cover all these capabilities and its downsides.
Do me a favor, if you learn something new,
hit the like button, subscribe, and share this video with a friend.
The Generative Fill feature is now available through the Photoshop beta,
which you can access through the Creative Cloud app under the Beta Apps tab.
First, make sure you have an internet connection.
Photoshop will process your prompts through the Cloud.
I'll start by showing you how to generate
objects, then we'll move to the other capabilities.
The first step is to create a selection.
You can use any Selection Tool you like.
I'll use the Lasso tool and freehand a selection over the couch.
You should now see the contextual task bar next to the selection.
If you don't, go into the Window menu to enable it.
From here, you can click on Generative Fill to enter your prompt.
At the time of this recording, you can only use prompts in English.
They should be descriptive using adjectives and nouns.
For example, you can type the prompt,
A Sleeping Fluffy Great Cat, then click on Generate,
and Photoshop will send the prompt to the Cloud to generate my image.
For this first prompt,
I'll let it generate in real time so you get a sense of how long it takes,
but I will speed up the process and future renders to save time on this video.
That took about 12 seconds and the results are incredible.
We got exactly what we asked for.
Photoshop matched the lighting,
perspective, color, and everything else to make this composite look realistic.
But seriously, this is insane.
Let me know what you're thinking as you're watching this.
Let's now look at the result and how it all works.
All this was generated in a new layer allowing you to work non-disruptively.
Also notice three things.
First, this layer has a Layer Mask containing the object we generated.
The layer name shows the prompt we used.
And on the bottom right of the layer thumbnail, you'll see a brand new icon.
This icon indicates that this is a Generative Fill layer.
When a Generative Fill layer is active,
the properties panel gives you more options.
You can see the prompt you use and three variations.
You can click on them to apply them
to your image and keep the one you like best.
If you're unhappy with the results,
click on Generate from the Properties Panel to add three more variations.
You will not lose the original three.
From the Properties Panel, you can change the prompt.
For example, we can change it to an orange cat.
Now we have three orange cat variations alongside the six gray cats.
When you click on any of the variation icons, the prompt will change to display
the prompt used to generate that particular fill.
We can now add one more set, but this time we'll change the prompt
and we'll make it into a Sleeping Fluffy Brown Dog.
Now you can decide between these 12 cats and dogs to use in your image.
By the way,
if you dislike one of the variations, you can just click on the X to remove it.
You can keep adding variations if you
like, but each variation will increase your file size.
I recommend deleting the ones that will not work for your project.
Also, keep in mind that instructional prompts are not supported.
For example, the prompt, Make the Dog Bigger will not work.
Photoshop will generate different dogs and they're not much bigger.
Now, let me show you how insane
the Generator Fill is at creating water and reflections.
You will never need another water plugin ever again.
In this image, I have a selection on the bottom half
and I use the prop Lake With Calm Reflective Waves.
And look at how well the water contours
around the pyramid and how realistic the reflections look.
Let me show you another example
with reflections that I really think you'll like.
With the ground selected, I use the prop Reflective Wet Ground.
Photoshop will then generate an image that looks incredibly realistic.
The reflections in the woman, the cab,
and the surrounding buildings are so realistic.
And the same thing is true on the other variations.
It's incredible that you can do all this with just a few clicks.
Here's a tip for when you generate an object but you don't like the placement.
For this example,
I use the prompt Old Classic 1950's Car, and I get a pretty good result.
But if I decide to change the position with the Move tool, you will notice that I
also will move the background around the car.
Photoshop will generate new pixels over the entire selection you created.
It will not have transparent pixels.
If you want the car in this new area,
click on the Generate button in the Properties panel to generate a new car.
Unfortunately, there's no way to keep the previously generated car.
These cars are similar, but not exactly the same.
Hopefully, Adobe adds this feature in the future.
Also, another thing to keep in mind is
that you don't need to type HD, 4K, a camera type,
or anything like that in your prompt like you do in Midjourney because
Photoshop is looking at the content of your image to generate the object.
I've also tested adding clothing to people.
I already have a selection active around my shirt and my arms,
and I'm going to use the Generative Fill to add a leather jacket over my body.
You can also hit the Enter or return key to apply the Generative Fill.
And Photoshop doesn't always do a good job.
This jacket makes me look really skinny,
which I probably need in real life, but in this photo it doesn't work.
The variations are not much better.
If your field generations don't work, try hitting the generate button a few more
times and see if you can get something you can work with.
It looks like Photoshop is really struggling with this leather jacket.
I'll keep trying a few more times to see if I can get something that works.
After clicking on the generate button
a few more times and coming up with horrific images like this one,
I think I was able to find one that will work for this image.
That one's not too bad,
but I think that this one here is something that I can definitely work with.
Next, let's talk about the importance of selections with the Generative Fill.
With the Marquee Tool active, I'm going to make a selection around
my head, and I'll use the prompt blonde hair and click on Generate.
I will get blonde hair,
but it will also replace my face because the selection was also covering my face.
Photoshop replaces all the pixels within the selection.
There is no transparency.
As you can see, I did get the blonde hair, but that is definitely not my face.
This also showcases one of the downsides with the Generative Fill.
Faces don't look very realistic.
What you need to do instead is create a selection on the areas you want
to remove and make sure you disregard the areas you want to keep.
I'm just going to make a quick Lasso Tool selection around my hair.
And again, I'll give the same prompt to blonde hair.
And the results are much better.
What do you think?
Now, let me show you what to do when you
want to generate something with transparency.
I have a rectangular Marquee selection
over my face and I will use the prompt, Glasses.
Now, even though these glasses look like they have transparency, they really don't.
These are AI generated eyes.
They're not my eyes.
I think this variation gives you a better example of that.
And when you zoom in, you can really tell that those are definitely not my eyes.
If you're working on an image like this one where you need transparency,
what I recommend that you do is work with the Layer Mask.
You can click on the Layer Mask and now from the contextual bar,
you can click on subtract from mask to make the foreground color black.
When you paint over the mask with black,
you will hide the generated pixels revealing the original layer.
You can use the bracket keys
on the keyboard to resize your brush as you paint.
You always have access to the traditional
tools in Photoshop to help you make the generated images work.
Now, let's generate a background.
You can generate portions of a background by making a selection over your image.
I'll use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to select the right side.
Then I'll use the prompt Building With Reflective Windows.
The results are simply stunning.
Look at how well the reflections match
the original background on all the variations.
Let's now generate a complete background.
From the contextual task bar, click on Select Subject to select the man.
Then, click on this icon to invert the selection.
Then click on the Generative Fill button and use any prompt you like.
I'll go with Mountains With Trees And A Lake.
Generative AI does really well with landscapes.
And as you can see, all the variations are very realistic.
Again, none of these are real images.
They were generated by Photoshop.
Another cool thing you can do
with the Generative Fill is create a background piece by piece.
This is a new document.
It's 1920 by 1080.
And with the Rectangular Marquee Tool, I'll select the bottom part of the canvas
and I'll use the prompt, Long Grass Field With Patches Of Dirt.
And look at these incredible variations.
They all look so realistic.
For this composite, I'll go with the second variation.
Now, make a selection around the top part
and use the prompt, overcast sky with clouds and distant mountains.
And again, the results are mind blowing.
Look at all the variations.
They look very realistic.
In this case, I'll stick with the first one.
And now you can add elements to this background.
Make a selection and use the prompt, Old Broken-down Red Barn.
Photoshop will create three amazing variations that will match the perspective
lighting and everything else in the scene to make this into a realistic composite.
For this image, I'll stick to the third variation.
Then I'll enable the Lasso Tool and make
a selection on the bottom left of the image.
I'll use the prompt Rocky Creek With Reflective Water.
Again, no surprise, Photoshop does an amazing job
in generating the creek with the reflective water.
There's not so much water in the second one.
The third one looks amazing and it's
the one that I'll stick to for this composite.
And it's astounding that we can create a realistic composite just by using a few
selections and prompts inside of Photoshop.
As you're watching this, let me know how you feel about this new technology.
Are you excited? Are you worried?
What's going through your mind?
Let's now talk about outcropping or extending images.
To me, this is one of the most useful features of a generative fill.
If you have an image like this one and you
want to extend the background to change the aspect ratio, you can enable the crop
tool and drag the handles to increase the canvas size.
Commit the changes.
Now enable the Rectangular Marquee Tool and select each side.
Make sure to include a tiny portion of the original image.
Hold Shift and do the same on the other side.
Now click on the Generative Fill button and leave the prompt empty.
Don't type anything in, just hit the generate button.
Now Photoshop will figure out what
the transparent area should look like and the results are just mind blowing.
Look at these variations.
Isn't this just incredible?
Photoshop matched the lighting, color, perspective and shadows.
This would have taken hours to complete
in the past, but as great as it looks, there is a downside.
At the time of this recording, the Generative Fill can only generate
images that are 1080 pixels wide on the longer side.
If you're working with a selection larger than that, Photoshop will stretch
the resulting 1080 image to fit the larger area.
In some cases, there will be noticeable pixelation.
When you're extending an image or doing anything that requires a large selection,
I recommend splitting the selection into multiple parts instead of generating
one 1080 image and scaling it to cover the entire canvas.
You will get better results by generating
multiple images and stretching them over smaller areas.
It's not perfect, but definitely better.
In this example, you can start by selecting the left side
of the image and use the Generative fill over that section.
Again, leave the prompt empty
and then do the same on the other side and generate the fill.
Again, the completed image looks fantastic and when you zoom in,
you'll see less fixation and everything looks more cohesive.
It's not perfect, but definitely better.
Another huge advantage of doing the background extension on multiple parts
is that you can select the variation you like best for either side.
For example, you're now stuck with a great left side and a not so great right side.
Here's a trick you're going to love.
Photoshop did a great job of figuring out what would be on either side of the image.
But what if you wanted to add something specific to say the right side?
You can certainly do so.
Select the right side
and from the Properties Panel, add any prompt you like.
I'll add Lake With Mountains in the background.
Then click on the generate button and just look at these results.
It's truly insane how realistic these variations are.
Now, in my experience, most things look great when you expand
them out horizontally, but I've come across a few issues when
expanding images vertically, usually because the generated portions
of human bodies or animals don't look as convincing.
You can definitely use some of these
results and spend some time with traditional Photoshop tools to make
them work, but it will not always be a one click solution.
However, I'm convinced that this technology will only get better as time
goes on, and soon this will not be that big of an issue.
Now, let's talk about removing objects.
This is an area where the Generative Fill really shines.
Just by making a rough selection and leaving the prompts empty,
you can generate realistic content to make it seem that people were never there.
Think about all the amazing vacation photos you're going to have.
The Generative Fill is also great
at removing people who are interacting with others in a photo.
In this case, I have a loose selection
around the man, and I'll click the Generate button without a prompt.
And Photoshop will do a great job in removing the man from this image.
During my test, sometimes I got a result
without an arm, and other times it had an arm.
If this happens to you and Photoshop
generates an object you don't want, simply make a selection around
that distracting object and run the Generative Fill again.
The results are pretty good.
You can also look at the other variations
to see if there's anything you like better.
Here's an advanced technique.
You might remember a tutorial I did a few
years ago called How to Remove Anything From a Photo in Photoshop.
It was a popular video.
It received 6.4 million views and it
showed advanced techniques to remove the car from this image.
The video was about 20 minutes long,
but in reality it took about an hour to remove the car.
But with the Generative Fill, we can do it all in just under one minute.
Start by making a loose selection around both the car and the woman.
I'm using the Lasso Tool, but you can use any tool you like.
Remember, you don't have to be precise.
Just make sure you select both elements.
Then from the Contextual Task Bar, generate with an empty prompt.
As you would expect, the results look fantastic.
We now have a clean background plate
and we're going to use this to remove the car.
Now select the Layer Mask and fill with black.
Black is currently my background color,
so I'll press CTRL and backspace to fill the Layer Mask with black.
A black mask will hide all the contents of a layer.
In this case, the mask hides the Generative Fill.
Now enable the original layer, then click on the Select Subject button
from the Contextual Task Bar to make a selection around the woman.
Then click on this icon to invert
the selection so that the background is selected.
Now click on the mask to enable it, then enable the Brush Tool,
and with white, paint over the blue car to make it disappear.
By painting with white on the mask,
we're selectively revealing the generated pixels.
And if you made it this far, give this video a like and subscribe.