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Which AI tool is right for you?
Imagen is a cloud-based AI editing service with AI culling. Narrative is a desktop AI-assisted culling app that ships your selects to Lightroom, with AI Presets for editing.
Imagen can cull automatically, including to an exact number of photos. Narrative ranks and explains, you make the final call, and it doesn’t cull to a set number.
Imagen’s culling add-on is $12 a month billed yearly, with editing priced per edit or on a flat Limitless plan. Narrative’s plans start at $10 a month billed yearly, and Standard at $20 a month includes AI assessments and unlimited editing with AI Presets (as of November 2026).
Imagen is a cloud-based AI editing service for photographers. It edits your photos in your style using an AI Profile, and the edits come back in Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Photoshop or Bridge.
It also offers AI culling in Culling Studio, which can keep the best photo from each group or cull to an exact number of photos.
AI editing: edits in your style with a Personal AI Profile, ready-made profiles from its library, or a Lite Personal AI Profile that needs no photos.
Two culling methods: keep the best of each group, or cull to an exact number or percentage of photos.
Edited previews: see photos with an AI Profile applied before you cull.
Flat-fee option: the Limitless plan covers unlimited editing, AI tools and AI culling for individual photographers.
Business plans: custom pricing for studios where several photographers shoot and edit under one account.
Internet required: the app transfers your photos to and from Imagen’s servers, so it needs a good internet connection.
Culling is an add-on on Pay-as-you-go: culling costs $12 a month billed yearly, and is included in Limitless.
Adobe software to review results: Imagen supports Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Photoshop and Bridge with Adobe Camera Raw. Capture One isn’t on its list.
File limits: HEIC, PSD, PNG and GIF aren’t supported, and one culling project can hold up to 20,000 photos.
Narrative is an AI-assisted photo culling and editing app for professional photographers who shoot people-focused, high-volume sessions. Its AI ranks your photos and explains each assessment, and you make the final call.
It runs on your computer. When you finish, ship your selects to Lightroom, with an AI Preset applied if you choose.
AI assessments: focus, eye and expression checks on each main face. They are warnings, not verdicts.
Scenes View and Close-ups: groups similar photos and ranks them, with enlarged faces beside the full photo.
Works on your computer: culling and assessments run locally, and you can work offline for up to 30 days between sign-ins.
Editing handoff: ship selects to Lightroom Classic or Lightroom CC with an AI Preset, or to Capture One and Photoshop on Mac.
Unlimited editing: Standard and above include unlimited editing with AI Presets.
No cull to a set number: Ruthless, Balanced and Cautious change how strict AI First Pass is, not how many photos it keeps.
Plan limits: Scenes, Close-ups, Face Assessments and AI First Pass are on Standard, Premium and Ultra. Lite is culling without AI assessments.
Needs Lightroom for editing: AI Presets apply in Lightroom, and Narrative doesn’t export finished JPEGs.
Mac-only features: the People Filter and key-element Close-ups need a Mac for now.
Both use AI to help you choose photos, and they work differently.
Imagen can cull automatically in the cloud, including to an exact number. Narrative ranks photos on your computer and shows the reasoning, and you review every image.
Keep the best of each group: groups similar photos and selects the best from each, and shows unique photos for you to review.
Cull to an exact number: reduces a project to a set number or percentage of photos. Imagen says it works best when you keep 15 to 30 percent.
Culling Studio: review the results and decide which photos to edit.
Cloud-based: photos are uploaded, and culling runs on Imagen’s servers.
Pricing: a $12 a month add-on billed yearly ($18 billed monthly), or included in Limitless.
AI First Pass: sorts each Scene into five tiers with color-coded reasons. Choose a Ruthless, Balanced or Cautious pass.
Scenes View: groups similar photos into Scenes and ranks them within each Scene.
Face Assessments and Close-ups: eye, expression and focus indicators on each main face, with enlarged faces beside the photo.
On your computer: culling and assessments run locally.
You decide: you review every image, and assessments never reject or delete a photo.
Narrative’s editing applies preset data to make your post-production more consistent and faster. There is no generative AI, and your original photos aren’t modified.
Imagen’s profile edits work in a similar way. It also offers optional AI tools, some of which retouch or remove things from the photo.
Preset data, not generative AI: an AI Preset applies editing settings, the same kind of adjustments you would make with sliders in Lightroom. It doesn’t generate, add or remove anything in the photo.
Original photos aren’t modified: you finish and export in Lightroom.
Consistent across a shoot: an AI Preset adapts its edit to each photo’s lighting and tone, keeping color, tone and exposure consistent.
Faster post-production: ship your selects with an AI Preset applied, so they open in Lightroom with a base edit.
Pre-Edit Panel (beta): preview and apply AI Presets while you cull, so you rate and choose edited photos. Ultra includes early access.
Your style: Core AI Presets are on Standard and above, and Personal AI Presets trained on your edits are on Premium and Ultra.
AI Profile edits: a Personal AI Profile or ready-made profile applies color and tone edits to your shoot. They reach Lightroom as XMP, and Imagen says it doesn’t change or overwrite your originals.
Optional AI tools: Straighten, Crop, Subject and Background Mask, and retouching tools such as Smooth Skin and Whiten Teeth.
Cleanup tools: Object Removal removes items such as exit signs and fire extinguishers, and Hair Removal removes stray hair. Imagen offers some of these in beta.
Studio editor: Imagen says its Intelligent Studio edits by moving the same sliders you would, and never adds or removes pixels.
Cloud-based: photos are uploaded to Imagen’s servers for editing.
Narrative
ImagenAI-assisted culling, with AI Presets applied in Lightroom
AI editing, with AI culling
On your computer. Works offline for up to 30 days between sign-ins
In the cloud. Photos are uploaded and an internet connection is required
AI ranks and explains. You review every image
AI selects the best of each group, or culls to an exact number. You review in Culling Studio
No
Yes
Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC, Capture One and Photoshop (Capture One and Photoshop on Mac)
Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Photoshop and Bridge (with Adobe Camera Raw)
AI assessments from $20 p/m billed yearly (Standard)
Add-on $12 p/m billed yearly, or included in Limitless
Unlimited editing with AI Presets from $20 p/m billed yearly (Standard)
Pay-as-you-go from $0.05 an edit plus a $7 p/m base fee, or a flat Limitless plan
Imagen and Narrative both use AI to speed up culling and editing, and they take different approaches.
Choose Imagen if you want AI to cull automatically, including to an exact number of photos, and to edit in your style as part of a cloud-based service.
Choose Narrative if you want to cull on your computer with AI assessments, Scenes and Close-ups, make every call yourself, and ship selects to Lightroom, Capture One or Photoshop.
Two practical differences: Imagen needs an internet connection and uploads your photos, and Narrative doesn’t cull to a set number of photos.
See which features each Narrative plan includes on the pricing page.
Yes for both, with no credit card. New Narrative accounts get 30 days of Ultra, its highest plan.
Imagen’s pricing page offers 1,000 free edits to start, and its trial includes two free culling projects.
Imagen’s Personal AI Profile needs at least 2,000 edited photos in the same style, made with the same camera profile. It also offers ready-made profiles and a Lite Personal AI Profile that needs no photos.
Narrative’s Personal AI Presets are on Premium and Ultra. Train one on at least 1,500 photos you’ve edited and exported from Lightroom Classic. Training uploads your edited images and needs an internet connection.