This post applies to Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic & the Lightroom Ecosystem products. The Lightroom team is sharing an early look for AI-powered Lens Blur–giving you the ability to apply optical blur on any image regardless of how it was taken. Lens Blur is now available to try on all Lightroom surfaces. How does Lens Blur work? Lens blur applies a depth-based blur effect, similar to what can be achieved with real-world optical lenses, by using AI-generated or device-captured depth data (when available). Lens blur will automatically prioritize focus for the detected subject, but you can also interactively adjust the focus distance. Precise focus range tuning is also available (currently desktop only: Lightroom Desktop, Lightroom Classic, and Camera Raw). You can also further customize the Bokeh shapes, highlight Boost (desktop only), and make depth map refinements (desktop only). Will my Lens Blur adjustments on one surface be synced to other surfaces? I.e. mobile to web to desktop, and vice versa? Yes, all edits will sync. To revert settings, you can go back to previous versions or history steps, or un-apply Lens Blur settings. Can I add Lens Blur settings to my presets? No, presets and copy + paste workflows are not currently enabled for Lens Blur during Early Access. For more information, please check out Lens Blur. Please give it a try and share feedback in this thread as we continually improve this feature. Lisa Ngo: Lightroom Product Manager Current Popular Lens Blur Feature Requests: Add Noise Option Custom Bokeh Stop by and give them a vote if they're of interest to you! Posted by:

Question

P: New AI-powered Lens Blur (Early Access) available across all surfaces.

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
September 27, 2023
1380 replies
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This post applies to Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic & the Lightroom Ecosystem products.

The Lightroom team is sharing an early look for AI-powered Lens Blur–giving you the ability to apply optical blur on any image regardless of how it was taken. Lens Blur is now available to try on all Lightroom surfaces.

How does Lens Blur work?

Lens blur applies a depth-based blur effect, similar to what can be achieved with real-world optical lenses, by using AI-generated or device-captured depth data (when available).
Lens blur will automatically prioritize focus for the detected subject, but you can also interactively adjust the focus distance. Precise focus range tuning is also available (currently desktop only: Lightroom Desktop, Lightroom Classic, and Camera Raw).
You can also further customize the Bokeh shapes, highlight Boost (desktop only), and make depth map refinements (desktop only).

Will my Lens Blur adjustments on one surface be synced to other surfaces? I.e. mobile to web to desktop, and vice versa?

Yes, all edits will sync. To revert settings, you can go back to previous versions or history steps, or un-apply Lens Blur settings.

Can I add Lens Blur settings to my presets?

No, presets and copy + paste workflows are not currently enabled for Lens Blur during Early Access.

For more information, please check out Lens Blur.

Please give it a try and share feedback in this thread as we continually improve this feature.

Lisa Ngo: Lightroom Product Manager

Current Popular Lens Blur Feature Requests:

Add Noise Option
Custom Bokeh

Stop by and give them a vote if they're of interest to you!

Posted by:

Show previous replies

rickm41851996

Participant

If the blurred area could also be treated as a selection, then it could be further edited. For example, I frequently find it useful to darken a blurred area behind the subject.

1

19Jason84

Participant

Really uncanny how well it works out the box. I think that it is looking for the natural bokeh to run off of first and if that isn't there, it's looking for subject(s) then everything else is blurred. For this photo I wanted to really draw attention to the runner. Normally I would be wide open at f2.8 but the client wanted minimal bokeh photos so I was stopped rather high for my liking.

When everything is sharp is seemingly where this has a misstep. It seems to go away from single subject to multi subjects, with a default of only the distance out of focus, except with this image she was clearly the subject and it pretty much kept her face in focus with even her fingers and hair blown out. The way it defaulted this image was equivalent to ~ f1.4. Using the selective feature let me paint the fingers, hair, arm, and a couple of other features back in focus; really minimal work, took about 15 seconds. This is a fairly natural bokeh, although it could use -0.2 color edge muting as it seems the colors seem to stay too sharp even though the image has depth of field, but that's really just nitpicking. Over all 10/10 for this feature.

UPDATE REQUEST would be to read EXIF data to use focus point as a bokeh anchor and focus could be selectable in f stop.

R

Rado5D50

Participant

The feature with huge perspective. It is pretty useful and I used it already on regular basis if image needs it. Hereby the commetns:

1. Editing the Depth filed is complicated but after some training you can catch the poiunt how it works. Would be good to simplify the Depth filed editing. I would propose to adopt a pointer-cursor into Focal range filed view which will enable me to choose the right depth I want to edit.

2. There is an issue with manual adaptation of depth of filed (Visualize Depth) if I return to Camera Raw Filter from Photoshop (DNG opened as smart object): All manual adaptation are removed. All other adjustmets remain OK.

patriciar85576808

Participant

I was asked for feedback on the early access lens-blur. I really like it. doesn't work for all photo's but over all; Thank you, nice tool!

M

Malo58

Participant

Very interesting results so far so good

M3xiz

Participant

I really like this feature. it makes some wonderful magic.

However, I am encountering a technical problem. I can see that the Memory is not released after having used it. The same happens when using it from Photoshop. After a few photos, the memory is full and Lightroom is crashing.

I am forced to close Lightroom after 1 or 2 photos.

I know that my system is quite old, but all drivers are updated.

Elkanan

Known Participant

I think there are other memory managment problems in the new releases of LR and PS, but I agree very much with this comment. Also, leaving the lens blur option open while moving to another photo in the develop mode can lead to havic. When using lens blur, I'm often having to close LR and start again.

M

Monika Chace

Participant

Love the brush tool. Couldn't figure out how to make it work with masks. Field blur would be nice. Also a preview option while hovering over a point or being able to adjust amount of blur "on the fly" instead of deleting & going back with another percentage.