Tutorial 1

James Paterson gets to grips with the key updates in the 2020 releases of Photoshop and Lightroom CC to craft a stunning portrait effect

We run through the useful new features in the latest Photoshop CC update

We’re used to seeing Adobe roll out regular updates to Photoshop and Lightroom, and this summer they’ve come through with the goods again.

Those with an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription can take advantage of a range of excellent new features. The real showstopper here is Select Subject. First introduced in 2018, the command uses artificial intelligence to isolate your subject with an automatic selection. It’s always been an impressive tool, but the latest updates take it to a

whole new level of excellence, because now it can cut out hair.

The results are often excellent, even on windswept hair like the above. With a single click, we can now make a complex cut-out and isolate a person from their background. This will save time for those who already know how to cut out hair using Select and Mask, but it’s perhaps more useful for those who don’t know how. Within seconds, even a Photoshop novice can make a precise cut-out.

Elsewhere, there are more powerful updates to get stuck into. Camera Raw has been given a completely new look that brings it in line with Lightroom. What’s more, both Lightroom and Camera Raw now offer localized hue adjustments. So, after making a local adjustment with the Adjustment Brush, Graduated Filter or Radial Filter, you can now change the colours in the affected area with relative ease.

In this tutorial, we’ll explain how to craft a portrait effect like the above. Along the way we’ll encounter the key new features and enhanced tools, from new cropping aids and local hue edits in Camera Raw to automated portrait selections and clever curves adjustments.