Photoshop AI Relight is a generative AI tool available in the Photoshop desktop beta that places up to 3 virtual light sources onto any finished photograph and re-renders the scene’s illumination on a new, non-destructive layer. For ecommerce and advertising photographers, Photoshop AI Relight fixes a flat or misdirected lighting setup after the shoot has wrapped, without booking a reshoot. For retouchers working on composites, Photoshop AI Relight matches a placed subject’s illumination to a new background scene without manual painting. This guide covers what Photoshop AI Relight is, how to access it, and how to use it efficiently without draining a generative credit plan.
What Is Photoshop AI Relight?
Photoshop AI Relight is a generative AI feature that analyses the depth and surface information in a finished photograph and applies a new illumination model based on virtual light sources you position on a canvas overlay. The output lands on a dedicated Relight layer that sits above the source image and lets you mask, blend, or discard it without altering the original pixels.
Practical uses for Photoshop AI Relight include post-shoot lighting corrections for images where the original direction or quality of light does not match the creative brief, matching the illumination of a cut-out subject to a new composite background, changing the emotional mood of an approved image for a regional campaign, and adding rim separation or a colored accent to product photography without a reshoot.
Each Relight session supports up to 3 independent virtual light sources, each with its own controls for position, intensity, diffusion, color, and a Close/Far setting that determines how the light wraps across the scene’s depth. Adobe Community (2026) documents Photoshop AI Relight as part of beta build 27.12.0 20260927.m.3691 and confirms the three-light limit per session.
How Do You Access Photoshop AI Relight in the Beta Channel?
Only the Photoshop Beta channel includes AI Relight; the standard commercial release doesn’t. To install it, open the Creative Cloud desktop app, navigate to the Beta Apps section, and install Photoshop (Beta). Once installed, Photoshop AI Relight appears at Layer > New Relight Layer. If the menu item does not appear, confirm that the installed build is 27.12.0 20260927.m.3691 or a later beta release rather than the standard release channel.
After selecting Layer > New Relight Layer, the canvas enters a Relight editing state where you add and position virtual lights using on-canvas handles. The preview renders at low resolution continuously throughout the session, so moving lights, adjusting intensity and diffusion, changing color, and toggling visibility all cost no credits. Photoshop charges 30 generative credits only when you click Done to commit the full-resolution cloud render. Re-opening a saved Relight layer and clicking Done again to modify it deducts another 30 credits, so thorough setup during the initial preview session avoids paying for the same image twice.
Because Photoshop AI Relight is in active beta development, menu item placement and build numbers may shift between updates. The Adobe Community forums track current build availability and known issues for the Photoshop beta channel, making them a reliable first stop when troubleshooting access problems or unexpected rendering behavior.
- Diffusion is the most impactful control: low values create hard-edged directional shadows, high values produce soft, wrapping illumination with gradual transitions
- On-canvas previews update free of charge at low resolution; the full-resolution cloud output only fires on Done, spending the credit allowance at that point
- Reducing Original Lighting to zero discards all existing illumination; blending it back to 20 to 50 percent typically recovers natural textures and maintains photographic depth
- Toggling each light’s visibility during setup is faster than re-running the render to audit individual light contributions
- Pairing a finished Relight layer with a pixel mask lets you restrict the lighting effect to a subject without altering the background
How Do You Create Professional Lighting Setups with Photoshop AI Relight?
Classic three-point studio lighting maps directly onto Relight’s three-light limit: a key light establishes direction and drama, a fill light opens shadow detail without eliminating directional contrast, and a rim or backlight creates subject separation from the background. Mapping real studio lighting roles to Relight’s three virtual light source slots produces predictable results rather than exploratory renders that steadily deplete a credit plan.
Key light: One light, medium-to-high intensity, low-to-medium diffusion, positioned at roughly 45 degrees to the subject’s face or the product’s dominant reflecting surface. This is the foundational setup for portrait and product relighting and the best place to start if you are new to the tool.
Fill light: A second light on the opposite side from the key, high diffusion, and intensity set noticeably lower than the key. The goal is to reduce harsh shadow depth without erasing directional contrast entirely. Pushing fill intensity too high flattens the image back toward the problem the Relight session was meant to correct.
Rim or backlight: A third light positioned behind and above the subject with low diffusion and moderately high intensity. A rim light produces the narrow highlight along a shoulder or product edge that visually lifts the subject from the background. In portrait work, rim separation is one of the most frequently requested post-production changes, and it is among the more convincing results Photoshop AI Relight produces on clean source material.
Colored accent: Assign a saturated hue to a low-intensity light and place it at the subject’s edge or in the background zone. Combined with a neutral key light, a colored accent creates the commercial color contrast common in advertising and social media visuals without a dedicated studio setup or extensive compositing time.
| Method | Non-Destructive | Changes Light Direction | Credit Cost | Internet Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relight Layer | Yes | Yes | 30 credits per render | Yes |
| Dodge and Burn | Yes (on blank overlay layer) | No | Free | No |
| Adjustment Layers | Yes | No | Free | No |
| Camera Raw Light Mix | Yes | Partial | Free | No |
Among the relighting methods compared in the table above, only the Relight Layer genuinely changes the direction of illumination rather than painting tonal values or shifting color globally. That capability comes with a real tradeoff: the AI lighting model is probabilistic and can produce visible artifacts at complex edges, in hair, and across highly reflective or transparent surfaces. For those areas, a brief dodge-and-burn pass above the Relight layer is usually faster than running a second render.
For compositing work, the most practical application of Photoshop AI Relight is matching a placed subject’s lighting direction to a new background scene. Dropping a Relight layer on the subject’s layer and setting the light direction to match the background’s dominant source reduces the pasted-on flatness that characterizes most quick composites, without manual painting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Photoshop AI Relight and what can it do?
Photoshop AI Relight is a generative AI tool in the Photoshop desktop beta that places virtual light sources onto any finished photo and re-renders the scene’s illumination on a separate, non-destructive layer. Practical uses include post-shoot lighting corrections, matching a cut-out subject’s light to a new composite background, changing the emotional mood of an approved image for a different market, and adding rim separation or a color accent to product photography without a reshoot.
How do you access Relight in Photoshop Beta?
To access Photoshop AI Relight, install Photoshop (Beta) from the Beta Apps section in the Creative Cloud desktop app. You’ll find the option at Layer > New Relight Layer in Beta; the standard release doesn’t include it. Adobe Community (2026) documents the current build as 27.12.0 20260927.m.3691, so if the menu item does not appear, confirm you are running that build or a later beta rather than the standard release channel.
How many virtual light sources can you add in Photoshop Relight?
Photoshop AI Relight supports up to 3 independent light sources per session, confirmed by Adobe Community (2026), each with its own position, intensity, diffusion, color, and Close/Far settings. A standard three-point studio setup uses all three slots. For simpler work, a key-and-fill combination of two lights often produces cleaner output, leaving the third slot available if you decide to add rim lighting or a colored accent after reviewing the initial render.
Does Photoshop Relight cost generative credits?
Yes. Photoshop AI Relight costs 30 generative credits each time you click Done to produce the full-resolution cloud render, as confirmed by Adobe Community (2026). The on-canvas preview updates throughout the session without spending credits. One important caveat: re-opening a saved Relight layer and clicking Done a second time to modify the result deducts another 30 credits. Set up and tune all lights thoroughly during the initial preview session to avoid paying twice for the same image.
What does the Original Lighting slider do in Photoshop Relight?
The Original Lighting slider in Photoshop AI Relight controls how much of the photo’s existing illumination carries through to the final render. At maximum, virtual sources add on top of the existing light without replacing it. Reducing the slider progressively removes the original illumination and gives virtual sources more control over the scene. For images where the original light direction strongly conflicts with the desired result, reducing Original Lighting substantially rather than all the way to zero often preserves enough material texture and tonal depth to keep the output looking photographic rather than computer-generated.
