Learn and Design

37 AI USES

1. Replacing Overexposed Skies

• AI can easily fix an overexposed sky or make a photo feel more creative.
• You use the lasso tool to select the overexposed area that needs replacing.
• Leaving the prompt empty fixes hotspots, or typing a prompt generates a brand new sky.
• This adds a totally new feel to the image without needing advanced selection skills.

2. Generating Custom Overlays

• This method saves you from having to find or purchase texture overlays online.
• You select the entire canvas and type prompts like "film grain dust and scratches texture on black".
• By changing the layer blending mode to screen, you can remove the black background.
• Lowering the opacity blends the AI-generated texture perfectly with your underlying image.

3. Creating Reflections

• AI can generate realistic reflections based on other layers in your project.
• Use the rectangular marquee tool to define the area where the reflection should appear.
• Type "reflection" into the prompt to generate a result that blends into the foreground.
• You can click generate multiple times in the properties panel until you achieve the desired look.

4. Turning Photos into Paintings

• You can turn your photos into art while ensuring the AI maintains the original image details.
• This requires creating a new channel layer and increasing its contrast to guide the generation.
• Command or control-clicking the layer thumbnail creates a selection based on the channel.
• Typing a prompt like "watercolor painting" will generate an artistic version of your photo.

5. Retouching Complex Glare

• AI helps retouch complex situations, like removing light flares from a subject's glasses.
• You duplicate the channel with the most contrast and adjust levels to isolate the reflections.
• After creating a selection from this channel, you refine it to only target the eye area.
• Leaving the prompt empty removes the reflections seamlessly without advanced brushing techniques.

6. Adding Facial Hair

• You can easily use AI to add new facial hair or improve a subject's existing beard.
• Create a selection around the subject's chin and jawline using the lasso tool.
• Typing "beard" generates various facial hair options to choose from.
• You can use a layer mask and a black brush to reveal the subject's original lips if needed.

7. Fixing Damaged Edges

• Generative fill is excellent for repairing weird or damaged edges around archived film scans.
• Use the marquee tool to select the white borders, damaged corners, and unwanted stamps.
• Ensure the selection slightly overlaps with the actual photo to give the AI context.
• Leaving the prompt empty automatically extends the photo and removes the damaged borders.

8. Retouching Flyaway Hair

• This technique fixes messy hair in portraits without requiring tons of manual sampling.
• Grab the lasso tool and draw a rough selection around the edge of the subject's hair.
• Leave the generative fill prompt empty so Photoshop can guess how to fill the gaps.
• The AI generates super realistic results that look much better than the original flyaways.

9. Removing Specific People

• Generative fill is one of the best ways to remove unwanted individuals from your photographs.
• Create a lasso selection entirely around the person you want to eliminate.
• Ensure your selection slightly overlaps with surrounding subjects or background elements.
• Leaving the prompt blank tells Photoshop to fill the space by connecting the outer edges.

10. Removing Crowds

• When dealing with large groups rather than a single person, the AI-powered remove tool is ideal.
• You can try the "find distractions" feature to automatically select people, though it isn't perfect.
• Alternatively, paint manually over all the subjects and their shadows on a new blank layer.
• The AI does the majority of the removal work, leaving only minor touch-ups behind.

11. Smoothing Skin

• This feature is found in the Neural Filters menu rather than standard generative fill.
• You access it by duplicating your image non-destructively and navigating to the filters menu.
• Activating the skin smoothing filter automatically gives subjects an angelic, magazine-quality look.
• You can adjust the intensity settings to customize the exact amount of smoothing applied.

12. Changing Facial Expressions

• The Smart Portrait Neural Filter allows you to alter a person's facial expressions.
• Cranking up the happiness slider can force the subject to have a brand-new smile.
• The AI generates these new expressions automatically based on your slider adjustments.
• The results can be hit-and-miss, requiring some experimentation to look natural.

13. Changing Subject Age

• You can alter how old a person looks using a simple slider in the Neural Filters menu.
• Increasing the age changes the subject's hair and adds wrinkles for dramatic effect.
• You can output the result to a new masked layer to maintain control over the effect.
• Masking allows you to keep the aged effects on the face while hiding unwanted hair changes.

14. Adding Lipstick

• AI can easily change your subject's lip color or apply new makeup digitally.
• Use the lasso tool to create a selection around the outside of the subject's mouth.
• Typing a prompt like "red lipstick" applies the makeup in the relative shape of the mouth.
• This results in a pretty good-looking cosmetic effect without any manual painting.

15. Adding Eyelashes

• You can generate brand new eyelashes for a subject without painting them from scratch.
• Use the lasso tool to select the areas directly around the subject's existing eyelashes.
• Hold the shift key to select multiple areas around both eyes simultaneously.
• The AI fills the selection with realistic lashes to enhance the subject's look.

16. Changing Eye Color

• AI provides a quick way to completely change the color of a subject's eyes.
• Create general selections around both eyes using the rectangular marquee tool.
• Typing a prompt like "green eyes" generates a completely new eye color immediately.
• You can experiment with different color prompts to find the exact style you want.

17. Changing Clothing

• You can give your subject a totally new outfit, which is great for adjusting headshots.
• Select the existing clothing with the lasso tool, making sure to define an outline.
• Type your desired clothing item into the prompt, such as "black button-up shirt".
• The AI replaces the old clothes with a realistic new garment.

18. Adding Accessories

• If a subject forgot to wear an accessory, you can use AI to add it digitally.
• Draw a selection in the area where the accessory, like a necklace, should appear.
• Use a prompt like "gold necklace" to generate the item directly onto the subject.
• You can cycle through the generated options to find the most realistic fit.

19. Creating Corporate Headshots

• You can turn a basic selfie into a professional corporate hero shot using AI.
• Select your face and neck, then invert the selection so everything except your face is targeted.
• Type a descriptive prompt mentioning the subject, attire, and background setting.
• The AI generates a suit and professional background, saving you from booking a photographer.

20. Customizing Hairstyles

• Generative fill lets you test out new hairstyles on yourself or others.
• Use the lasso tool to select all the way around the subject's current hairline.
• Enter a prompt for a specific haircut, such as "buzzcut," and hit generate.
• This provides a quick visualization of how a radically different haircut might look.

21. Changing Backgrounds

• You can replace a photo's background entirely without needing advanced knowledge.
• Duplicate the layer, use "select subject," and mask it to isolate the person.
• Invert the selection on the original layer, type a new background prompt, and generate.
• Place your isolated subject above the generated layer and clean up any weird artifacts.

22. Generating Graphics

• AI can generate specific PNGs and graphics directly within your project.
• Create a loose lasso selection in the general shape of the graphic you need.
• Type a specific prompt like "watercolor maple leaf PNG" and hit generate.
• This saves you time by creating a custom graphic so you don't have to search online.

23. Blending Images Together

• Generative fill is excellent for seamlessly blending two separate images.
• Place a new element, like a flower field, near your subject to create a composite.
• Create a selection that overlaps both the new element and the area you want it to fill.
• Leaving the prompt empty tells Photoshop to blend the outer edges of both selections.

24. Creating Custom Frames

• You can generate unique, stylized frames around your photos easily.
• Select the main subject, then invert the selection to target the outer edges of the canvas.
• Type a descriptive prompt for your border, such as "torn paper photo frame".
• This creates an interesting framing effect that would be difficult to make manually.

25. Generating Photos from Scratch

• You can use the "generate image" window to create entirely new images from a blank canvas.
• This feature offers advanced settings, allowing you to specify styles like "photo" or "concept art".
• Type highly specific, detailed prompts to guide the exact look of the generation.
• It produces a variety of cool images that you can continuously experiment with.

26. Extending Images (Generative Expand)

• You can turn a vertical photo into a horizontal one by expanding the canvas.
• Grab the crop tool and drag the edges outward to create extra empty space.
• Set the fill option to "generative expand" and press the check mark.
• Photoshop automatically fills the newly created areas with matching background details.

27. Extending Specific Layers

• If you only want to extend a single layer instead of the entire canvas, AI can handle that too.
• Use the marquee tool to select a portion of the specific photo and the empty area beside it.
• Disable underlying layers to prevent confusing the AI, then run generative fill empty.
• Use a layer mask and brush to remove any unwanted alterations to the original image.

28. Creating Typography Effects

• AI can generate creative text styling, like spray paint effects, without manual work.
• Select the area around the text, subtract the inner edge of the text, and expand the selection.
• This creates a precise selection boundary hugging the edges of your letters.
• Using a prompt like "splattered paint edges" stylizes the text instantly.

29. Generating Textures

• You can easily create custom textures to apply to text or other graphics.
• Use the generate image option and type a prompt describing the surface you need.
• Specify lighting and style preferences, such as "brick texture flat lighting red bricks photorealistic".
• While it may take a few cycles, you quickly get a usable, simple texture.

30. Removing Tattoos

• The easiest way to remove unwanted tattoos from a subject is by using AI.
• Create a lasso selection around the tattoo, without needing to be perfectly precise.
• It is recommended to process multiple tattoos one at a time for the best results.
• Clicking generate with an empty prompt cleanly removes the ink from the subject's skin.

31. Adding Tattoos

• The same technique used to remove ink can be reversed to digitally add tattoos.
• Draw a lasso selection over the area of skin where you want the new ink to appear.
• Describe the exact style and subject of the tattoo in the generative fill prompt.
• The AI will generate and realistically map the requested tattoo onto the subject.

32. Creating Mockup Templates

• You can generate base images from scratch to use as custom mockup templates.
• Open the generate image feature to describe the blank object you want to design on.
• Use prompts indicating a plain object on a white studio background with even lighting.
• This provides several clean templates to build your personal mockups upon.

33. Removing Power Lines

• The AI can automatically detect and delete distracting power lines from cityscapes.
• Select the remove tool, navigate to "find distractions," and click on "wires and cables".
• Photoshop will automatically identify, highlight, and erase all the cables.
• This completely removes the need for complicated masking or manual selections.

34. Adding Architectural Elements

• Architects and editors can easily generate new structural elements directly into photos.
• Click and drag the marquee tool to define the space where the new element should go.
• Type a prompt like "glass French doors" to insert the structure.
• If the first result isn't perfect, keep generating until the structure matches the scene.

35. Retouching on Complex Textures

• AI excels at removing distracting objects placed on highly textured surfaces like sand.
• Use the lasso tool to loosely select the object ruining your composition.
• Click generate with a blank prompt to let the AI blend the difficult textures automatically.
• This achieves realistic results that are nearly impossible to do manually with the clone stamp tool.

36. Generating Composites

• You can instantly create composites by generating completely new objects into a scene.
• Select the area where you want the new object, like a fire pit, to sit.
• Typing a prompt like "campfire" drops the generated asset directly into the environment.
• The AI automatically handles the difficult task of realistically blending the object into the photo.

37. Enhancing Composites with Details

• Once a composite element is placed, you can enhance it by adding secondary details.
• Create smaller selections over areas where you want to inject more life into the edit.
• Using a prompt like "flames" adds extra atmosphere and realistic touches to the base generation.
• This final step changes the overall vibe of the image and completes the creative edit.