Why Doesn’t Adobe Camera Raw Use Photoshop’s Superior Masking Engine?

Almost all of my editing in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop involves birds and their backgrounds. I regularly use ACR’s Subject Mask to make targeted adjustments, but the masking engine in ACR is far less accurate than the cloud-based version available in Photoshop. Photoshop consistently delivers better results, with more complete subjects and fewer background errors. The extra time it takes to generate the mask in Photoshop is negligible.

Since ACR is the better place to apply tonal and color corrections, it’s frustrating that we can’t access the same high-quality masking engine there. ACR’s local model frequently includes poles, wires, or parts of the background, and sometimes even misses parts of the actual subject.

In one recent example, I had a landscape-style image with two Great Blue Herons. One was prominently in the foreground, and the other was farther back but still clearly visible. ACR masked only the closer bird. Photoshop, using its cloud-based engine, successfully detected both.

Adobe clearly understands that many photographers rely on ACR for its streamlined, non-destructive RAW workflow and superior tonal control. While Photoshop also supports non-destructive editing through tools like Smart Objects and adjustment layers, ACR allows for non-pixel-based editing directly on RAW data, often yielding better results for foundational adjustments.

Please consider implementing this. Many of us would gladly trade a few extra seconds for a more accurate mask, especially when subject selection is central to the editing process.