Testing Photoshop's A.I.: Every Neural Filter Reviewed

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Skin Smoothing
• Smart Portrait
• Makeup Transfer
• Landscape Mixer
• Style Transfer
• Harmonization
• Color Transfer
• Colorize
• Super Zoom
• Depth Blur
• JPEG Artifacts Removal
• Photo Restoration
• Conclusion

Every Neural Filter in Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a powerful tool that has been used by professionals for years. With the introduction of Neural Filters, Photoshop has become even more powerful. Neural Filters are artificial intelligence filters powered by Adobe Sensei, the AI and machine learning tool from Adobe. These filters use AI to change how an image looks with just a few clicks, and some of them are pretty amazing. In this article, we will explore every Neural Filter in Photoshop and see what they can do.

Skin Smoothing

The first three filters are only available if Photoshop detects a face in the image, so bear that in mind. Skin Smoothing is probably the easiest to use, since it only has two controls - blur and smoothness. As the name itself implies, this filter makes the skin smoother, removing marks, pimples, and blemishes. Photoshop doesn’t exactly say what each control does, so we can only assume that one smooths and the other blurs. Even if You set both controllers all the way to the left, it doesn’t set the filter strength to zero, there is a minimum amount that is always applied when you turn the filter on. I don’t particularly like softening the skin like this, so I find that the most pleasing results come from using really small values in both controllers, especially in Blur, because if you set it too high, it kinda removes the pores on the skin, which makes it look very unnatural. It works really well for what it’s intended, but I don’t like it very much.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Removes marks, pimples, and blemishes

Cons:

• Minimum amount of filter strength is always applied
• Softens skin unnaturally

Smart Portrait

Next, we have Smart Portrait, which, honestly, from all the photos I tried, it Never produced usable results. This filter is supposed to let you change facial expressions, eye direction, make someone look older, younger, angry, or perhaps surprised. Yeah, as you can see it kinda always makes things look weird and uncanny, especially when you try to make people happy. It just can’t get the teeth right, they always look crooked and ugly. This is a tool that can be amazing if it gets improved, but as it is right now, it’s still not there.

Pros:

• None

Cons:

• Produces unusable results
• Makes things look weird and uncanny

Makeup Transfer

The Makeup Transfer filter allows you to Apply makeup from one photo to another. This one is a little bit tricky to use, you need two photos that are roughly similar, with similar lighting and faces pointing in the same direction. It’s also better to have two people with similar skin tones and the whole face clearly seen, otherwise, the filter won’t work properly. This filter doesn’t have any controls, you just need both photos open in Photoshop and then just select the photo that has the makeup on the dropdown menu. You can also source the image from your computer if you like.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Allows you to apply makeup from one photo to another

Cons:

• Tricky to use
• Requires two photos that are roughly similar

Landscape Mixer

With the Landscape Mixer, you can completely change the look of a landscape. You have a few options with this one: you can select one of the presets that come with the filter, upload your own image to be used as a reference, use the sliders to apply specific changes to the image or even mix and match all of them. I personally like messing with the sliders a lot because they can give you some really cool results. I found that landscapes with a lot of greenery and rocks, like mountains and forests, work particularly well. You have one slider for each season of the year, one for day, one for night, and one for sunset. I feel like the Landscape Mixer is a little bit of trial and error - some things work really well in one image, but not at all on another. So, the best way is to play with the sliders and the presets until you figure out what works best with the image you have opened.

Pros:

• Allows you to completely change the look of a landscape
• Provides a lot of options to customize the image

Cons:

• Can be a little bit of trial and error

Style Transfer

The Style Transfer is another really cool filter. It can transfer the artistic style from one image to the other, so you can use all kinds of paintings and drawings to completely change the way an image looks. Just like the Landscape Mixer, the Style Transfer comes with a lot of presets, but you can also upload your own images to use as a reference. This one is also a little bit of trial and error - not every style will work with every picture. Some work best with people, some work best with mountains, some work best with cities, and so on. You need to find some kind of match between the image you have opened and the one you’re using as a reference. For example, if the art style you’re trying to apply has a lot of outlines and hard edges, maybe try applying it on something like a city, which has lots of lines and contours. They way I prefer to operate the Style Transfer is to, usually, reduce the strength and opacity of the style, so you can more clearly see the image below but still maintain the style applied. Balance is key in life, friends. Beware that this filter is really intense on your computer, especially if you’re working with big images.

Pros:

• Allows you to transfer the artistic style from one image to the other
• Provides a lot of options to customize the image

Cons:

• Can be a little bit of trial and error
• Intense on your computer

Harmonization

Harmonization allows you to match two images that have different color gradings, and let me tell you, it does a pretty good job. Just bear in mind, the filter will only match the color of the images - things like perspective and the direction of lighting should still be a natural match for the compositing to be believable. The filter is always applied on the foreground layer, so you’ll always be matching the foreground to the colors of the background. To use the filter, you need to select a layer with transparency or with a mask, and then, on the filter window, select the background. After allowing the filter to work its magic, you can fine-tune the lighting and color matching using the sliders below.

Pros:

• Allows you to match two images that have different color gradings
• Provides a lot of options to customize the image

Cons:

• None

Color Transfer

The Color Transfer filter works very similarly to the Harmonization, but you don’t need two layers on the same document - you can just use one of the color presets, or select another image, either already opened in Photoshop, or from a folder on your computer. After choosing which image you want to transfer the colors, just wait for the filter to apply the new color grading and then make your fine adjustments using the controls below. You can change hue, saturation, brightness, and the intensity of the new colors. There’s also a checkbox to preserve lighting, which in most cases gives better results.

Pros:

• Allows you to transfer colors from one image to another
• Provides a lot of options to customize the image

Cons:

• None

Colorize

Colorize basically applies color to a black and white photo, a task which was already possible in Photoshop, but it was hard and required a good knowledge of colors to be performed well. Using the Colorize filter, sometimes just a single click is all that is needed to have a great result, but if the colors don’t please you, you can manually color the image using the panel on the right side. You also have some controls to add profiles to the image for that vintage look, as well as balancing the colors and adjusting the saturation. This filter is really cool.

Pros:

• Allows you to apply color to a black and white photo
• Provides a lot of options to customize the image

Cons:

• None

Super Zoom

Super Zoom is your good old AI upscaler. There’s a couple of things you can adjust on the bottom of the panel, such as noise reduction, sharpness, and checkboxes to enhance details. When you’re done, click the zoom buttons below the preview image to select how much you want to upscale. I made a test by comparing 3 images: the first is the original one, with the original size, the Second one was reduced by 4 times the original size and then upscaled 4 times using one of the traditional resampling methods of Photoshop, and the third was upscaled using Super Zoom. And honestly… I kinda prefer the traditional resampling. Didn’t like Super Zoom all that much, but I guess it kinda works.

Pros:

• Allows you to upscale images

Cons:

• Traditional resampling works better

Depth Blur

The Depth Blur filter is what is known as portrait mode in some phones, it basically blurs the background. Though it works way better than it does on phones, and that’s because in Photoshop, this filter actually creates a depth map, so the further something is from the subject, the more it gets blurred. This filter worked surprisingly well - subject selection is nearly Flawless. You have a few controllers on the right side panel. You can click on the preview image to select the focal point and then adjust the focal length below, but in most case scenarios, just check “focus subject” and you’re good to go. You can also select the blur strength and add haze around the focused subject, which looks kinda nice. You can also adjust temperature, tint, saturation, brightness, and add grain, all which have nothing to do with the blur effect, so I’m not entirely sure why they’re there. In any case, this one is superb.

Pros:

• Creates a depth map for better results
• Provides a lot of options to customize the image

Cons:

• None

JPEG Artifacts Removal

This filter removes artifacts from low-quality JPEG files. Artifacts are squares that appear in a JPEG file when it has too much compression. In this filter, you don’t have any control other than the strength of the removal process, but let me tell you, it does a great job. Here’s a comparison between 2 files: the original image, and one that was saved with lots of compression and then restored with the filter. You lose a little bit of Detail and color, that is expected, but the results are really, really good.

Pros:

• Removes artifacts from low-quality JPEG files

Cons:

• None

Photo Restoration

And the last filter is the Photo Restoration, which is used to restore old images, probably scanned or photographed, that have scratches, pieces missing, folds, and other kinds of bruises. It’s also something that was already possible to do manually in Photoshop, but now you have the help of AI. You have a few controls to adjust the intensity of scratches removal, noise reduction, and also some options to enhance the image. In my experience, it does a very rough job, you definitely need to clean up the image after using the filter because it deforms some parts of the image. But it definitely saves you a lot of time on removing the most noticeable marks.

Pros:

• Allows you to restore old images
• Provides a lot of options to customize the image

Cons:

• Does a rough job and deforms some parts of the image

Conclusion

In conclusion, Neural Filters in Photoshop are a great addition to an already powerful tool. Some filters work better than others, but they all have their uses. Whether you’re a professional or just starting out, Neural Filters can help you achieve the results you want. So, go ahead and try them out, and let us know which one is your favorite.