Polarr has just announced its new Polarr Next Public Beta 2.0. It is a considerable update, introducing integrated AI culling as well as enhanced AI editing experiences. I took a closer look at the new update to see how it can solve some of the frustrations photographers face in their current workflows.
There are very few things that unite photographers of different genres. Having met photographers from all walks of life, one of these struggles is, of course, culling images. It’s something that deserves a book. In fact, there’s a book solely on culling images. *Magnum Contact Sheets* provides great insight into how some of the world’s most renowned press photographers chose their winning shots, which made covers and, in some cases, changed the course of history. That was, of course, in the days of shooting 35mm film, where there was a hard limit on how much you could shoot before your rolls ran out. As frame rates got higher, photographers naturally started shooting more pictures. Photographers today can shoot entire rolls of film in a second, if not less. While that’s great, it also made the culling problem a lot more pronounced. So much so, even people like myself, who shoot on very slow cameras, still face the problem of culling daily. In fact, I’m writing this article while sitting on quite a lot of selection and culling to go through. I think for every article I’ve written so far, I always had a shoot to select images from.
A 360 Photo-Editing Solution
Polarr has made it its mission to give photographers a tool they can use for culling, AI training, and editing. Many companies make software for just culling, just AI training, or just editing. While it’s convenient to have all these tools at your disposal, it can also be a problem if you have to move several thousand images between different software programs to process them somewhat automatically. Polarr is uniting all of these crucial elements of the post-production workflow under one umbrella. With its new update, you’re no longer slowed down by having to use different software for different stages. There are financial benefits to this too, as you’re not paying for several software copies but instead just one that does it all. The user-friendly interface of Polarr Next is able to tackle culling, AI training, and editing all at once. This saves a lot of time and money, allowing you to focus on shooting more and editing less.
AI Culling Made for Photographers
Their AI culling feature particularly impressed me, as it’s able to integrate directly into your editing process. It reduces the time you need to spend looking at your monitor significantly. The AI culling in Polarr Next can open large projects within seconds, group similar images in real time, and analyze key elements such as face recognition, eye quality, and focus instantly. This means that many photographers can filter out unusable shots and focus on the ones that will work for the client and brief in mind.
Once the culling is complete, you can edit the images right away, all in the same app, which saves a lot of time. Polarr Next is able to analyze reference photos. This allows photographers to deliver images that reflect their personal style, with the comfort of automated editing. The Polarr Next AI adapts to your editing habits, streamlining the entire process as a result. You can switch between culling and editing modes instantly, meaning you can move back and forth quickly, should more or fewer images be required.
If you'd like a quick tutorial of how it works, watch this.
Desktop App
Another exciting update is the all-new desktop app. Polarr Next was previously only available on the web. While that has already seen quite a lot of positive feedback, it was only natural to take the next step and introduce a dedicated desktop application. After all, there are many downsides to editing in a browser. That said both the desktop and the web app are made to perform consistently through technologies such as WebGPU and WebAssembly. Users can be sure to expect the same level of performance from both the web and desktop versions. Photographers who work with a lot of high-resolution images will be big fans of this, as it makes post-production much easier and smoother. It’s suited for a larger number of users, for example, those who need to use the power of their machine if the project is more complex than expected.
There’s another benefit to this, a safety one. By doing the image processing on your own machine, you can have peace of mind about the privacy of your images. Both the web and desktop apps are processing images locally, without uploading to the servers. This ensures that all adjustments are stored securely on your device. No data is uploaded to the could, ensuring maximum privacy.
While full offline functionality is not possible in Polarr Next, you are still able to do quite a lot without an internet connection. You do need a connection to open Polarr Next, and export images, but a lot of other tasks can be completed offline. For example, you are able to start while being online, and then continue offline. This adds a layer of versatility that other editing apps may not have.
Real-Time Machine Learning
Polarr Next 2.0 harnesses the power of AI to tailor itself to your editing style. This is made possible by the AI continuously adapting to your individual style, providing personalized adjustments for color grading, cropping, and other essential edits in real time. This way, you can create smart presets, in a sense. The AI tracks your style in real time and makes all the necessary adjustments. What better way to edit a lot of images in a short period of time, am I right? You can maintain full creative control while saving a bunch of time on the more tedious parts of editing.
Closing
You can join the Polarr Next Beta 2.0 right now by visiting this link. Additionally, you can download their new desktop app. Polarr Next 2.0 opens up many opportunities for photographers who want to take their editing to the next level and let AI handle the tedious work while focusing on the things that make photography great.
