What’s New with Lightroom Classic 12?
It’s that time of year again! This is a brief look into our review of the new changes in the Lightroom Classic 12 update. Adobe released Lightroom Classic 12 in October this year, gifting us a few highly anticipated features. By far, the most impressive category of the update are the many new masking tools, but let’s jump right into it before we spoil all the surprises.
Content Aware Masking
People
The “Person Mask Options” are packed with smart masking technology. Lightroom will recognize each person in a photo and give you the ability to mask an entire person (or people). But they didn’t stop there! You can also create a custom mask targeting as many (or few) human features as you like. Face skin, body skin, hair, teeth, and many more pre-populated options are available. This will make retouching significantly more expedient and reduce the need to use photoshop.
Background
Yes finally! No longer do you have to go through several steps to isolate the background. A click of a button automatically selects and masks the background. Such a simple update, but it’s an excellent time-saver.
Objects
Want to target a specific thing for adjustments? Then use the objects mask to intelligently identify virtually any item. The tool allows you to scribble a brush over the object you’re intending to adjust and like magic, Lightroom isolates the object for modifications.
Content Aware Removal Brush
And now for our personal favorite game-changer! Adobe has brought their content aware object removal to Lightroom! We’ve found that this tool is much faster at removing larger objects than the traditional healing/cloning tools. Better yet, they’ve given us an option to refresh or select your own source if you’re not satisfied with the removal. Much like the traditional cloning tools the results can be hit or miss, but it’s an amazing step towards the future.
Less exciting but still very important
Support for new cameras and lenses
As always, Lightroom released support for the newest camera models and lens profiles.
Swap Panels
In your preferences under the “Interface” tab, you have the option to switch which side you prefer your panels to default. This could be handy for some, but most users probably will be indifferent.
Cons
This update requires newer operating systems, officially phasing out compatibility with some of the more popular Apple machines released in 2010-2012 (depending on the model). This has been the biggest complaint from our clients, since many of those models have proven to be long-lasting workhorses. Here’s a reference for compatible computer models for MacOS and Windows.
System Requirements
Windows 10 v20H2 or later, or Windows 11.
macOS now requires macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later.
Click here to see the official Adobe announcement for Lightroom Classic 2023. Next post we’ll go more in depth on how to make the most out of the new masking updates!