Photoshop’s New Clarity, Dehaze & Grain Adjustment Layers (Full Guide)

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Photoshop Clarity Dehaze Grain Adjustment Layer

Photoshop has just introduced two brand-new adjustment layers that photographers and editors have been asking for for years:

  • Clarity & Dehaze Adjustment Layer
  • Grain Adjustment Layer

In this guide, I’ll walk you through what these new adjustment layers are, where to find them, and how to use them in real-world edits.

Where to Find the New Adjustment Layers

Until now, Clarity, Dehaze, and Grain only lived inside Camera Raw. With this update, they’re now available directly inside Photoshop as adjustment layers.

You can access them in a few ways:

  • Open the Photography workspace
  • Go to Window → Adjustments
  • Click the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel

You’ll now see:

  • Clarity & Dehaze
  • Grain

Because these are adjustment layers, they’re completely non-destructive and include built-in layer masks.

Using the Clarity & Dehaze Adjustment Layer

Let’s start with the Clarity & Dehaze adjustment layer.

Applying Clarity & Dehaze to the Entire Image

If you want to affect the whole image:

  1. Click Clarity & Dehaze in the Adjustments panel
  2. Move the Dehaze slider to increase contrast and cut through haze
  3. Add a bit of Clarity to enhance midtone contrast

By default, the adjustment applies to the entire image.

Since this is an adjustment layer, you automatically get a layer mask. That means you can grab the Brush tool and paint out areas where you don’t want the effect.

This gives you far more control than Camera Raw ever did.

Targeting Specific Areas with Selections

Instead of applying the adjustment globally, you can target specific areas using selections.

Applying Dehaze to the Foreground Only

  1. Go to Select → Sky
  2. Use the Contextual Task Bar and click Invert Selection
  3. Click Clarity & Dehaze
  4. Adjust the Dehaze slider

Now the effect only applies to the mountains and foreground, helping the subject stand out while leaving the sky untouched.

Applying Dehaze to the Sky

To adjust the sky separately:

  1. Go to Select → Sky again
  2. Click Clarity & Dehaze
  3. Increase Dehaze for added drama

You may briefly see a message saying the adjustment is paused while Photoshop updates the layers below — that’s normal.

At this point, you can stack multiple Clarity & Dehaze adjustment layers:

  • One for the foreground
  • One for the sky
  • Fine-tune each independently

The result is a much more controlled and professional-looking image.

Using the New Grain Adjustment Layer

Next up is the Grain Adjustment Layer, which is especially useful for creative edits.

For this example, let’s switch to a different image and quickly convert it to black and white.

Grain is often a stylistic choice, especially for:

  • Black and white photography
  • Street photography
  • Low-light or film-inspired looks

Grain Adjustment Controls

When you add the Grain adjustment layer, you’ll see three sliders:

  • Amount
  • Size
  • Roughness

The Size and Roughness sliders remain grayed out until you increase the Amount.

How Each Slider Works

  • Amount controls how much grain is added
  • Size controls how large the grain appears
  • Roughness controls how harsh or smooth the grain looks

It’s best to start with a higher Amount just to see what the grain is doing, then dial it back for a more realistic result.

You can also lower the layer opacity to subtly blend the grain into the image.

Because this is an adjustment layer, you can:

  • Mask grain out of skin
  • Apply grain only to shadows
  • Toggle it on and off
  • Adjust it at any time

Final Thoughts

These new Clarity, Dehaze, and Grain adjustment layers are a big step forward for Photoshop.

They offer:

  • Non-destructive editing
  • Better masking control
  • More flexibility than Camera Raw

Whether you’re editing landscapes, portraits, or black-and-white images, these tools make Photoshop even more powerful.

If you found this tutorial helpful, consider subscribing on YouTube for more Photoshop tips and updates. Let me know in the comments what you think about these new adjustment layers.

Remember — it’s never too late to learn.

See my previous blog article here ➡️ How to Use Assisted Culling and Auto-Stacking in Lightroom Classic 15 (Save Hours Editing)

See Adobe website here ➡️ https://www.adobe.com/home