Adobe Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra Is its Most Realistic AI Image Generator

Apr 24, 2025

Kate Garibaldi

A woman with large, colorful flowers in her hair and around her, wearing pearls, poses against a scenic outdoor backdrop; “Adobe Firefly” logo appears in the upper left corner.

Fresh from its MAX London event, Adobe showcased its brand new Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra. The new generative AI model promises more realistic results.

Adobe Firefly is the all-in-one app for artificial intelligence (AI) assisted content ideation, creation, and production for generating images, video, audio, and vector projects.

Adobe users may be most familiar with Firefly through its integration in Photoshop, providing generative AI features like Generative Fill and Generative Expand, which allow users to fill in selections, extend images, and more. Features powered by Firefly can currently be found in Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express, Substance 3D, InDesign, Lightroom, and Adobe Stock.

“Originally launched as an image generation tool, Firefly has evolved into the ultimate creative AI solution, designed to be commercially safe from the ground up. Leading brands, including Deloitte, Tapestry, Paramount+, and Pepsi, have harnessed Firefly to streamline workflows and scale content production, resulting in faster time-to-market, better performing campaigns, and innovative, personalized experiences. Integration with professional tools like Photoshop web and Premiere Pro, along with persistent access to your history of generated content, allows you to efficiently transform concepts into finished assets across your favorite Creative Cloud applications,” Adobe writes.

With the new Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, Adobe says lifelike images with impeccable detail and complexity can be generated from text prompts and pictures.

Engineered to create the most photo-realistic AI results yet, Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, tackles complex prompts such as human portraits and even groups for natural results with precision and clarity. The complete Image Model 4 collection also gives creative professionals more flexibility with customization to suit their needs, whether rapid ideation or more complex renders to final projects. Via advanced text-to-image controls, creators can apply filters, select specific styles, and match compositions for creative control and a homogeneous aesthetic.

Users interested in a lightweight, more pared-down version of the latest Firefly can access Image Model 4, a standard version that is more nimble and ideal for rapid ideation and everyday creative needs. Image Model 4 can generate high-quality images more quickly and efficiently, as well as simple illustrations, icons, and basic photo objects.

Firefly Image Model 4 and Image Model 4 Ultra offer significant improvements over Image Model 3, most notably enhanced prompt fidelity and exceptional precision, clarity, and realism for rendering imagery of people, animals, and architectural elements.

“With Firefly, we set out to transform creators’ experience by bringing image, video, audio and vector generation together in a one-stop-shop for AI-assisted creativity,” says David Wadhwani, president of digital media. “The new Firefly models and the integration of partner models give our users the ultimate choice as they bring their visions to life.”

Close-up portrait of a young girl with red hair, bright blue eyes, and freckles, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression. The background is softly blurred with greenery.

On the left, three older adults smile outdoors, one man in focus. On the right, three young girls laugh closely together in a sunny, green park. Both images capture joyful moments outside. — Left: Prompt: A group of elderly friends enjoying nature, hiking and sharing laughter over a comic joke while trekking through the forest. Right: Prompt: A portrait of children enjoying their summer holiday while playing games outside with big smiles on their faces, surrounded by nature.

Side-by-side portraits: an older man with gray hair and a striped shirt, looking serious; a younger man in an orange jacket and purple beanie, standing on a city street and smiling slightly. — Left: Prompt: Portrait of older man with hope in his eyes. Right: Prompt: An African American man wearing a magenta beanie, standing at a crosswalk wearing a bright jacket, city in background.

Side-by-side images: left, a modern white house with sharp lines and large windows, reflected in a rectangular pool; right, a cozy wooden cabin with warm lights, surrounded by trees and rocks at dusk. — Left: Prompt: Architectural magazine image of a very modern building beside a pond. Right: Prompt: A luxury, modern two-story cabin deep in a secluded forest, glowing warmly against a dark sky.

A polar bear walks on floating ice at sunset, while a herd of elephants stands in a sunlit forest clearing in the early morning mist. — Left: Prompt: A polar bear on ice in the early morning light with warm sunlight from the side. Right: Prompt: A herd of elephants gathered at a watering hole in a dense African forest. Soft, diffused light filters through the canopy, casting gentle shadows. Wide shot from a slightly elevated angle, capturing the elephants interacting and the lush surroundings. The mood is peaceful and familial, emphasizing the bond and social nature of elephants.

Choice of Partner Models

In another interesting step, Adobe will start allowing creative professionals to use third-party models built by partners starting with OpenAI’s image generation capabilities, Google’s Imagen 3 and Veo 2 and Flux 1.1 Pro. Adobe also “plans to integrate additional models from partners including fal.ai, Ideogram, Luma, Pika and Runway in the coming months.”

Creators will be able to switch between models during generation, with full transparency as to which is being used during each step. Additionally, content credentials will be automatically attached to all AI-generated content with notes on whether generation was done with an Adobe Firefly model or one of the alternative partner models.

“We’re pleased to work with Adobe to bring OpenAI’s image generation capabilities to its creators,” said Kevin Weil, chief product officer at OpenAI. “Now, even more people will be able to create consistent, context-aware images using the Adobe creative suite they already know and use, opening up more ways to share ideas visually.”

Pricing and Availability

Firefly Image Model 4, Firefly Image Model 4 Ultra, and the new Firefly Video Model are all available now through Firefly on the web. There are multiple plans starting at a free level with limited generative credits for both standard and premium features up to Firefly Premium with 50,000 generative credits to create video and audio content at scale for $199.99 per month.

Image credits: Adobe