Photoshop's generative fill and generative expand tools can seem impressive at first, but there's a critical limitation you need to know about before relying on them heavily. Understanding these tools' limits is crucial for anyone editing high-resolution images intended for professional use or large prints.
Coming to you from Anthony Morganti, this insightful video highlights an important downside of generative expand and generative fill in Photoshop—specifically, their resolution constraints. Both features are limited to adding content within a 2,000 by 2,000 pixel area, regardless of your image's overall size. Morganti clearly demonstrates this by expanding a vertical photo into a horizontal frame, which involves adding extensive pixels beyond the tool’s resolution capability. As a result, the newly generated areas noticeably lose sharpness and clarity compared to the original image sections. While Photoshop recently introduced a way to double this resolution limit to 4,000 by 4,000 pixels using the "enhance detail" function, Morganti illustrates that even this improvement falls short of professional standards when closely examined.
The video points out how easy it is to be initially dazzled by these generative tools, especially when Adobe’s built-in tutorials consistently present features under ideal conditions. However, Morganti emphasizes the reality check photographers encounter once they use these tools extensively. The initial appeal fades when the results show blurred edges and reduced detail, significantly diminishing the practical usability for high-resolution applications. This resolution issue is particularly significant if you're working with modern cameras that capture images exceeding 30 megapixels—situations where adding large sections with these tools becomes problematic.
Morganti's hands-on example effectively illustrates why this limitation matters in practical scenarios. When extending his image to a wider horizontal format, the generative tool clearly struggles to maintain detail and sharpness. He compares the generated sections directly against the original areas, making the limitations visually undeniable. Even after applying the "enhance detail" feature, the quality improvement is evident but still insufficient for large-scale professional use.
Beyond general advice, Morganti provides context about his own experiences, explaining his initial excitement and subsequent realization about these features' limitations. He candidly admits previously highlighting the tools positively based on superficial initial uses. Now, having worked extensively with the features, Morganti advocates for cautious, realistic expectations about what Photoshop’s generative tools can genuinely achieve. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Morganti.
