P: Expanding and enhancing generative remove, with generative fill

When Generative Remove was introduced to Lightroom Classic, it immediately became a game changer for me. Tasks that previously would have required importing an image into Photoshop and spending a significant amount of time removing background distractions, unwanted objects, or unexpected issues can now be handled directly within Lightroom Classic, from a workflow and time management perspective, it has been incredibly useful

I have also found that Generative Remove can go beyond simply cleaning up a background. It has become surprisingly effective for refining subjects while still producing natural looking results. A few examples that come to mind are removing visible bobby pins from someone’s hair or correcting a distracting wrinkle in clothing while maintaining the natural shape of both the outfit and the person wearing it

I have even experimented with using it for more detailed retouching. For example, I had a client who wanted some visible stomach lines reduced. Normally, that would be something I would handle in Photoshop, but purely as an experiment, I tried using Generative Remove instead. It produced almost exactly the result I had envisioned while still looking natural

That made me start thinking about how the concept behind Generative Remove could potentially be expanded. I’m not sure how realistic this would be from a technical standpoint or how well it would fit within Adobe’s overall vision for Lightroom Classic, but I think an interesting addition would be a more limited version of Generative Fill

I would not necessarily want Lightroom to become a full Firefly or Photoshop replacement. Instead, I imagine something focused specifically on photography, the ability to selectively add small elements, extend practical effects, enhance foreground or background details, or introduce minor environmental additions without having to leave Lightroom Classic

There have been several situations where I have needed to move into Photoshop simply because I wanted to add a little more to an image. This could mean introducing an additional prop, enhancing an effect that was already created practically during the shoot, or adding another visual element to strengthen the final composition

One recent example involved a photoshoot where I was working with water effects. We achieved most of what I wanted practically while shooting, but I went into Photoshop afterward to give the effect a little more impact. The process was manageable, but it made me wonder how useful it would be if I could simply mask the area in Lightroom Classic and use a restrained Generative Fill tool to enhance the existing water effect directly within my normal editing workflow

For example, a photographer could potentially use it to add a few additional water droplets, extend smoke or fog, introduce a subtle practical light effect, add or replace a small background object, enhance environmental particles, or make minor additions to props and scener