One of the best ways that AI has improved our lives as photographers and content creators is this very simple, un-controversial tool: The ability to identify subjects & objects, and even define them within an image.
Indeed, this level of AI goes beyond simply recognizing, “that’s a face”… It can outline and isolate that subject from its surroundings, and this has massive potential for us as photographers during the photo editing process!
Now, Zoner Photo Studio X is adding just such a time-saving tool in its spring 2025 update. That is, ZPS X is using AI to create masks for your subjects. In the past, masking a subject was one of the most technical (and least artistic) steps in the editing process, which is why we’re so thrilled to kiss it goodbye! Having the masking process be almost fully automated means we can get even more creative, while also having more time left over to do other things besides stare at a computer screen.
In this article, we’re going to take a deeper look at how AI-powered image masking works, and what you can use it for in your photography. We’re also going to talk about a few other exciting new features that ZPS X is debuting in this spring 2025 update!
Zoner Photo Studio X (ZPS X) is free to try for 7 days, and a yearly subscription is $59/year.
AI-Powered Masks
AI is affecting a lot of things lately, especially for artists. Some of it is controversial, with respect to human creativity and the intellectual property of artists themselves. However, there is one thing we feel is universally beneficial: AI is allowing artists to eliminate a lot of the technical, mundane tasks such as masking a subject with a precise edge, etc.
If you’re a photographer who has ever spent hours delicately outlining a subject with a selection tool, and trying to feather the selection edge just right, then you know just how much mental energy it consumes!
This is why we’re thrilled to see AI masks becoming available to the masses. Having this tool in ZPS X is a major leap forward for any photo editor who does any sort of burning & dodging, or local adjustments such as retouching, color balancing, etc.
The possibilities are impressive: You can now selectively burn & dodge different parts of a landscape, or seemingly “re-light” a portrait to really emphasize a subject. You can adjust individual colors, too. Additionally, since basically all Develop & Edit adjustments are available during masking, you can perform even more specialized edits, such as softening skin in a portrait a little bit. (The good ‘ol, negative Clarity slider trick, that is!)
AI Masks & Batch Editing
By the way, when ZPS X added AI Masking, it included the ability to apply such masks in batches. This means that if you have a portrait or landscape image you wish to apply selective adjustments to, ZPS X can apply (or synchronize) those edits across multiple images.
This takes your time-saving to a whole new level. Quite often, you’re only going to have to pay minimal attention to subsequent images in the same set.
How To Use AI Masks In ZPS X
The ZPS X masking interface is intuitive and quick to operate. Whenever you’re working in the Develop panel and you find an image where you want to do any sort of localized editing, the masking tool is right there as a new tab, (see the yellow dot below!) …and the masking process is relatively self-explanatory. (Also, if you hover over any of the options, you can get quick tips on how to use that particular tool!)
You can select a subject, a background, a sky, or even a range of color. Also, you can easily add or subtract subjects/objects to/from the mask, and again the process is incredibly intuitive.
Lastly, make the adjustments to that area! You’ll have access to most of the usual Develop tools, which means you can selectively (AKA “locally”) adjust an incredibly wide range of settings. This allows the process to go beyond
More New Features In ZPS X | Spring 2025
Aside from this major, powerful new feature that is an impressive and welcome new feature for ZPS X Users, there are a handful of other new tools and updates that have arrived in the spring of 2025…
Selective Clarity | Control Highlights & Shadows Separately
This is a really unique tool that I’m excited to continue using in the future on various types of images. ZPS X has taken the popular adjustment, “Clarity”, and added an incredibly useful improvement: you can now adjust the clarity of your images’ highlights and shadows separately!
This is an innovative, excellent new possibility with many applications. For example, very often I find that when I’m editing a landscape photo, the “perfect” amount of clarity for most of my image is actually too much for the shadowy parts of a scene. This new tool will allow me to adjust Clarity so that the shadows remain a little less “crunchy”, while the highlights (and mid-tones, to some extent) get the perfect amount of Clarity.
Chromatic Aberration Special Effects
In recent years, most lenses and photo editing apps have virtually eliminated all forms of optical aberration and artifacts. This is a good thing for some photographers, however, it can also leave images feeling too perfect, clinical, and simply uninteresting.
Many visual artists have begun to notice this cold, clinical look in modern imagery, but there haven’t been very many tools for getting back to that era of cameras and lenses where images had “soul” or “character”…
With this in mind, ZPS X has added another very unique new feature: the ability to add a new special effect, chromatic aberration. Obviously, this feature isn’t for everyone. But for those who desire what it offers, this is a rather unique option that is not easy to find elsewhere on the market for photo editing.
Collages & Carousels
Another thing that has become very prevalent in recent years is, of course, content creation for social media and web presentation. The new Collages & Carousels tool is an excellent new tool that unlocks a host of opportunities for visual storytelling. Further streamlining your own content creation process for different audiences and platforms, you can create visuals such as tryptichs, split-image carousels, etc.
HEIF & HEVC Format Support
For the real photography nerds out there, you know there’s always a handful of updates that are necessary as image technology advances. Lately, a lot of cameras, from phones to pro mirrorless cameras, are adding new HEIF and HEVC formats, and ZPS X is doing a good job of keeping pace with these new formats on a regular basis.
Conclusion | Zoner Photo Studio X Spring 2025 Update
All in all, image editing software continues to improve by leaps and bounds this year. We’re seeing AI make improvements to our photo editing tools that are really saving us a lot of time, while offering help with our artistic, creative process. We wish these types of tools had been around a decade or two ago when we started editing thousands of photos per week! Today, of course, the benefits are still compounding every day.
If you are able to grab the latest update to ZPS X, you’ll enjoy saving time in the editing process, so that you can get off your computer sooner and go outside or be with family… Also, you’re adding new creative tools to your kit, which helps improve your artistic craft!
Zoner Photo Studio X (ZPS X) is free to try for 7 days, and a yearly subscription is $59/year.
