Evoto 8.0 Brings New Editing and Culling Features

Evoto has attracted a lot of attention in the past 5 years or so. When you consider Adobe’s decades-long domination of the editing and retouching space, that is a major accomplishment. Today, Evoto has announced a major update with a variety of new culling and editing improvements for photographers. It even includes an Asset Hub designed to help photographers make money. I attended the press event in NYC today, and here is my report from the event.

Jay Peterson, US Revenue and Marketing Director at Evoto AI, delivered the keynote, stating Evoto’s success comes from “not guessing what photographers need, but understanding what they need. Every idea came from someone in the industry saying [the current standard] is not good enough.” He introduced several photographers who discussed how they use Evoto.

NYC-based fashion photographer Lindsay Adler spoke of the high standards she sets for her work but emphasized, “All I want is my time back. I don’t want to be stuck in the retouching cave, never to escape.”

Lindsay showed a close-up image of a model where the focus of the image was on a cream being applied to the model’s face. The model was cast because of the presence of moles on her skin. “I want the skin to look perfect, but not too perfect,” she said. Lindsay showed how the Face Refinement tool creates a pleasing result even when the slider was simply moved all the way to 100%. Lindsay then refined the Freckles and Acne slider to even out the skin. Evoto understood which moles and pores should remain on the skin. After working on the image for less than 30 seconds, she said, “I would be fine delivering this to a client.” In years past, this process would have taken hours.

Mark Wallace demonstrated the new Workflow feature that allows you to automate everything from selecting your best shots from a shoot to retouching and delivering those images. “We have to do so many tasks manually. The truth is a lot of these steps are the same. It would be nice if I could automate that workflow,” said Mark.

Utilizing the Workflow interface, Mark first selected a folder of raw files that needed to be culled and adjusted. Mark created a new Workflow, selecting the Portrait preset as a starting point. First, he instructed the program to import all of the photos and cull the images down to a total of 9 final images. He then used one of his own presets that he had specifically designed for this type of portraiture. This preset includes his preferences for adjusting eyes, skin, clothing, and lighting. He selected Output options, instructing the program to create an online gallery. He also had the option of outputting the images to a new folder on the desktop. Then, with one mouse click, Evoto performed this long sequence of procedures.

“Once you launch your workflow, everything happens in the background, allowing you to focus on other things. This is fantastic for high-volume studios,” said Mark.

Headshot photographer Peter Hurley spoke of how Evoto has changed his workflow. “I can’t believe I can retouch my images myself. I have always had retouchers. Now with Evoto, I am moving sliders and doing everything myself.” He spoke of how responsive Jay and the Evoto crew have been to the needs of the photographers in his Headshot Crew, of which I am a member. “I asked for a Nasal Hair Deforestation Tool,” he said. The feature was added to the program, albeit under a more professional name.

For more on Hurley’s approach to headshot photography, see Perfecting the Headshot.

Below are additional details about new additions to Evoto summarized from the press release and information delivered at the event.

Story-Based Culling

As much as we all enjoy capturing thousands of photographs at an event, few photographers enjoy spending hours culling through those images to find the good shots. Story-Based Culling is designed to reduce time spent reviewing and categorizing these images. The previous version of Evoto could make basic determinations of which images were in focus and which showed the subject with their eyes open.

Evoto 8.0 introduces Storyline Mode, which organizes images into chapters chosen by the photographer. If you photographed a wedding, for example, you could create chapters for the bride getting ready, the couple traveling to the venue, the ceremony, and the reception. Images that don't clearly belong to a particular chapter aren't automatically forced into one, so you don’t spend time reclassifying incorrectly placed images. Evoto identifies what it determines to be the strongest images within each chapter, but you make the final selection of keepers.

You have the option of delivering a photo gallery of images from the shoot organized by the flow of the event rather than the standard chronological flow that most of us use.

Evoto Desktop Additions

Evoto Desktop 8.0 includes several new additions, including Precision Freckles & Acne Retouching, Face Shadow Removal, Clothing Moiré Removal, and Sweat Stain Removal. One addition that should be of interest to celebrities is Liquify Background Repair, which is designed to fix background elements that become warped when someone does a poor job of reshaping their body. Evoto Desktop 8.0 also introduces Generative Expand, designed to help you extend the edges of a horizontal photograph so that it can be posted vertically, or vice versa. Another tool for posting or delivering images in multiple aspect ratios is the Orientation-Aware AI Crop.

As you might expect, Evoto incorporates Evobot, an AI assistant that understands natural language inquiries and can direct you to the controls you need to make image adjustments.

For mobile users and location shooters, the Evoto App now supports tethered capture. While I don’t like having my phone mounted on my camera, I welcome any improvement to the process of tethering. Flagship cameras such as the Nikon Z9 and Sony a1 already support wireless tethering to computers through their manufacturers’ software. Like desktop tethering, Evoto’s mobile tethering allows you to apply presets to images in real time so that your client is essentially viewing the image just as it will be delivered to them after you have completed retouching.

In-Workflow Retouching for Video

Evoto 8.0 also introduces an In-Workflow Retouching plug-in for DaVinci Resolve Studio 19 that allows you to make adjustments to a subject’s face or skin without leaving Resolve. Evoto Video is designed to keep the subject’s look consistent as the person moves from one scene to another, even as the lighting changes over time. This is remarkable when you consider that a single second of video might be comprised of more than 25 individual frames.

Tools available in Evoto Video include Hair Shine, Teeth Whitening, and Facial Fullness. Evoto stresses that these tools are not designed to create a look that isn’t already present in the subject. Instead, the goal is to restore aspects of the subject that may have been compromised by lighting, subject-to-camera distance, or lens choice. Evoto Video is available as a plug-in for DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro. Of special note to photographers is that the Evoto Video interface is very similar to the Evoto photography interface, which means it should not be difficult for you to make the same adjustments to your videos that you are accustomed to making in your photographs.

Asset Hub Marketplace

Evoto 8.0 is also home to Asset Hub, where photographers can sell or purchase presets, AI Looks, backdrops, and skies. Currently, the hub offers over 400 assets, but this will surely grow as photographers begin to offer their own assets for sale on the platform. If you are curious about an asset, you can apply it to your image to see the effect before making a purchase. As is the case with other Evoto features, you are only charged upon export.

Evoto views the Asset Hub as a source of potential income for photographers who receive 60% of net sales. You retain ownership of anything you place on the platform, and you retain the right to sell that asset elsewhere. Interested photographers can use the Become a Creator link to submit their portfolio and creative background. Creator applications opened on September 22, 2026, and Evoto says reviews are typically completed within seven business days. Once approved, creators will be able to upload assets through the Creator Dashboard, add examples showing how the effects look, set their prices, and submit their assets for review. Creator submissions, asset review, and earnings details open September 29, 2026.

You can set your own price based on the following range permitted by Evoto:

• Presets: $8–$30
• AI Looks: $49–$199
• Backdrops and Skies: $2–$8

Evoto Desktop is available for macOS and Windows.

The Evoto App is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.