Photoshop How To

If the headline above seems a bit overstated, it’s not—at least according to image-editing impresario Colin Smith who’s not given to hyperbole. Smith took a look at the new June, 2021 Photoshop update, and he’s really impressed by the latest capabilities.

As you’ll see in the 10-minute episode below, the new release of Photoshop includes features that are not only powerful, but offer immediate results. These impressive tools include the ability to instantly colorize b&w photos and change focus instantly with excellent results.

Smith walks you through all of the exciting features in the June update so that you’ll know when and how to use them when editing your images. He’s particularly excited about Photoshop’s new Neural Filters, and that’s where he begins. These non-destructive new tools simplify a bunch of complicated tasks to just a few quick clicks.

Here Smith demonstrates the magic of neural filters by colorizing a classic b&w photo of Marilyn Monroe—faster than you can say “Happy birthday Mr. President.” All you have to do before executing this magic is remember to change the image mode from grayscale to RGB. That’s because you can’t add colors to a single-channel image.

Once Smith lifts his jaw up off the floor he invokes another Neural Filter called Depth Blur, which provides a quick and virtually foolproof method for increasing or reducing depth of field, adjusting the amount of blur, or selecting a specific point of focus.

These are just two of the many remarkable new capabilities of the June, 2021 Photoshop update, so check out the video and have some fun. Then head over to Smith’s YouTube channel for more tips and tricks.

We also recommend you look at a recent Photoshop tutorial we posted from another expert, explaining why you should ditch Photoshop’s HSL Tool and use Curves instead.