Project Indigo's latest AI Playground update introduces a suite of advanced features, including generative filter effects, intelligent object removal, and AI-driven feedback for photography.
Adobe’s experimental camera application, Project Indigo, initially launched last year to offer iPhone users a "more natural (SLR-like) look" for their photographs, is now undergoing a significant transformation. The Indigo app is being enhanced with a collection of generative AI tools, notably without relying on Adobe’s proprietary Firefly AI models.
Adobe frames this new "AI Playground" tooling suite as an ongoing experiment. Users have the option to opt out and continue using the app's original functionalities. For the next few weeks, a select percentage of Indigo users will receive free access to the suite, requiring no sign-on. Marc Levoy, an Adobe fellow, stated in the announcement blog, "Our goal is to learn how people use GenAI-powered editing. Depending on its success we may extend the experiment, or expand the user pool, or run follow-on experiments." He further indicated, "If the feature proves popular, we will eventually offer a paid version."
The AI Playground, integrated with the Indigo app's version 1.1 update, is structured into four distinct sections: Styles, Object Editing, Photo Guidance, and Custom Edit. According to Levoy, each section features "multiple buttons or toggles, which trigger GenAI with prompts we have engineered for them." Users can re-engage a button if unsatisfied with an edit, typically yielding "something slightly different."
The Styles section applies preset AI-generated filter effects to photos captured with Indigo, transforming them into illustrations or altering lighting. Object Editing provides tools to remove unwanted elements like people, objects, or distractions from image backgrounds, with generative AI intelligently filling the resultant empty spaces, akin to Google’s Magic Eraser. Photo Guidance is an innovative feedback mechanism where AI analyzes images to offer suggestions for reshoots and further editing.
The final feature, Custom Edit, serves as a more expansive prompting tool, enabling users to describe desired image manipulations with greater precision. For instance, if a Styles preset doesn't quite meet expectations, Custom Edit allows for specific adjustments. Adobe is initially leveraging Google’s Nano Banana AI model for this update but has indicated the possibility of switching or incorporating additional model support over time.
This evolution marks a considerable shift from Indigo’s initial offering, which a colleague, Allison, described as "a camera app built by camera nerds for camera nerds." At its launch, Indigo emphasized computational photography features to help mobile photographers achieve high-quality, SLR-like images, complemented by manual controls for focus, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. However, the introduction of generative AI editing capabilities may have been part of Adobe's long-term strategy from the outset.
Marc Levoy's statement at the Indigo app's initial launch supports this view: "This is the beginning of a journey for Adobe — towards an integrated mobile camera and editing experience that takes advantage of the latest advances in computational photography and AI."
It is worth noting that this experiment currently exhibits a different level of AI transparency compared to Adobe's usual standards. Levoy confirmed that the Indigo team is actively working to integrate C2PA Content Credentials—a metadata standard for identifying AI-generated content, already prevalent in Adobe’s Firefly models—into images processed by Indigo’s generative AI tools. He also highlighted that the Nano Banana model inherently applies Google’s invisible SynthID watermark.
Levoy underscored the importance of user responsibility, stating, "Whether the edits you apply are ‘fair’ or ‘misleading’ depend on what you do, who you share the images with, and how you present them." He concluded, "In the end, nothing can be implemented that reduces the importance of behaving responsibly."
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