Adobe is developing an update to its photography software. This update enables the tool to be content-aware.

In the video below, the Photoshop team provides a demo on how the can be content-aware, enabling the user to digital remove elements of the photo. The user may then replace the contents with image material similar to its edited surroundings (video below).

This is a software revolution, but it raises some moral questions: when does a photo stop being a photo, a representation of reality? Is it okay now to remove people from photos? Can media journalism be unquestioned if doctored photos can no longer be detected?

While there may be no bounds in the morality of post-processing  for fashion magazines (it’s well-known that perfect models on the cover models were touched up), the morality of post-processing will ultimately fall in the hands of the photographer. When I submit photos on a photo critique site, all post-processing work is disclosed.

This disclosure is a personal choice, because one way to present a perfect(ly edited) photo is to be upfront about the work done to it. That way, the viewer may decide how a photo should be judged.

In any case, from a technological standpoint, many photographers will rejoice that hours upon hours of post-processing can now be accomplished in mere minutes.

Video: Content-Aware Fill Sneak Peek

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH0aEp1oDOI[/youtube]

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