To auto generate in Photoshop, you primarily use its Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered features like Generative Fill and Generative Expand, which allow you to create new content within your image based on text descriptions or existing image data.
Understanding Photoshop's Auto Generation Capabilities
Photoshop's auto-generation tools leverage Adobe Firefly's generative AI model to produce realistic or surreal imagery. The most prominent features for this are:
- Generative Fill: Adds new content to a selected area within your image, replacing or blending with existing pixels.
- Generative Expand: Extends the canvas and fills the new empty space with generated content that matches the existing image.
These tools enable you to quickly add objects, change backgrounds, expand scenes, and more, simply by describing what you want.
Using Generative Fill
Generative Fill is ideal for adding new elements, removing objects and filling the space, or changing parts of an image.
- Make a Selection: Use any selection tool (Marquee, Lasso, Object Selection, etc.) to define the area where you want to generate content.
- Access the Contextual Task Bar: Once you make a selection, the Contextual Task Bar usually appears automatically.
- Enter a Text Prompt: Click inside the text box on the Contextual Task Bar. According to sources like video guides on Generative Fill in Photoshop, it's recommended to use descriptive English prompts employing adjectives and nouns. For example, instead of just "cat", you might type "a sleeping fluffy gray cat". You can also leave the prompt blank to have Photoshop attempt to fill the selection based on the surrounding image.
- Click 'Generate': Photoshop will process your request and provide several variations (usually three) in a new Generative Layer in the Layers panel.
You can click 'Generate' again to get more variations.
Using Generative Expand
Generative Expand is useful for extending your canvas and seamlessly filling the added space, perfect for changing aspect ratios or creating wider scenes.
- Select the Crop Tool: Choose the Crop tool from the toolbar.
- Expand the Canvas: Drag the handles around your image to expand the canvas beyond the original boundaries. The added area will typically be transparent or filled with a default color.
- Select the Generative Expand Mode: In the options bar at the top, ensure "Generative Expand" is selected from the "Fill" dropdown menu.
- (Optional) Enter a Prompt: You can add a prompt in the prompt bar to guide the content generation in the expanded area, or leave it blank for Photoshop to intelligently fill based on the existing image edges.
- Click the Checkmark or Press Enter: Photoshop will generate content to fill the expanded canvas, also creating a Generative Layer.
| Feature | Primary Use Case | How to Use | Requires Prompt? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generative Fill | Adding/Replacing content in selections | Select area, Type prompt, Click Generate | Optional |
| Generative Expand | Extending canvas, filling empty space | Expand canvas with Crop tool, Type prompt, Click Generate | Optional |
By mastering these generative AI features, you can significantly streamline your creative workflow and explore new possibilities for image manipulation and creation within Photoshop.
