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Rikk Flohr_Photography
Community Manager
November 5, 2024
Answered

P: Reflection Removal feedback (CR & LrClassic)

  • November 5, 2024
  • 585 replies
  • 572044 views

This post applies to Adobe Camera Raw plug-in.  

 

Adobe Camera Raw team is sharing an early look of our new Reflection Removal feature, which removes reflections caused by plate glass surfaces from photos. 

 

Note: 

  • The feature currently only works on raw photos. Support for JPEGs & HEICs is added in the April 24 Update.
  • There is a known issue on some Windows machines where the feature may produce a corrupt image. We are working on a fix for the upcoming release. 

 

Check out HelpX for more detailed usage information. For more technical information on the underlying technology, please refer to this Blog post. 

 

Getting started with the Reflection Removal feature: 

  • Make sure you have the “New AI Features and Settings Panel” Technology Preview enabled in the Camera Raw plug-in Preferences dialog (requires restarting the host application to activate). 
  • Go to the Remove panel [B] , and in the “Distraction Removal” section, click on the “Reflections” checkbox. 
  • Optionally adjust the slider after the ML model is done computing. 
  • Use the rest of the Camera Raw tools just like you would otherwise. 

When using the slider, the key values to note are: 

  • 0 – the input photo
  • 100 – de-reflected (window reflections removed) photo 
  • -100 – reflection photo (what the window was reflecting towards the camera) 

 

Please try the feature and share feedback in this community forum. It would help to include details like how you access Camera Raw (via Adobe Bridge or Photoshop), your computer system details, and as much information about what you like or do not like about the resulting photo quality. Our team will continually monitor this thread to track issues to improve the future experience. 

 

When to use Reflection Removal

The feature is designed to deal with large-area reflections when shooting through windows. Many other types of reflections occur in nature and are captured in photographs, but this feature may not recognize and handle those. We plan to work on expanding the supported reflection types in the future. 

 

Example use-cases for the feature include: 

  • Looking through windows inside-out (e.g., from the car, airplane, room windows, etc.) 
  • Looking through windows outside-in (e.g., shop windows) 
  • Museums (e.g., paintings behind glass, glass case exhibits, etc.) 

 

How best to use Reflection Removal

For best results, try the new feature following these suggestions: 

  • Apply Reflection Removal before applying any other edits to the photo, except for Enhance features such as Denoise
    • The changes made to the photo may be quite profound and render any changes you already made inappropriate.
    • If you plan to use both Enhance (Denoise, Super Resolution, or Raw Details) and Reflection Removal on a photo, it is better to apply Enhance first.
  • Play with the feature slider and adjust the removal strength as appropriate.
  • If you applied Adobe Adaptive (beta) profile prior to running the Reflection Removal feature, please update it or you may see traces of removed reflections still present in the photo (Adobe Camera Raw will remind you to do this).

 

Boris Ajdin: Product Manager, Emerging Products Group 


Update (01-16-2025)

 

To improve the performance and results of this feature, it is important that examples of images that are failing to properly remove the reflections are forwarded to the team via your report.  A large variety of file formats are allowed as attachments in these forum posts. The best option is to attach your image's raw file directly to your feedback post. Note that there is a 50 MB limit on an attachment's file size. If your raw file is too large to attach, the best option is to share the file via a file-sharing service (Dropbox or similar) and then share the link in your feedback post. Thank you for continuing to provide feedback on this Tech Preview!

If you have already shared your raw file with us - thank you!

 

~Rikk

Posted by:

Correct answer Conrad_C

This reply, earlier in this thread, explains why:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/camera-raw-discussions/p-reflection-removal-feedback-cr-amp-lrclassic/m-p/15405349#M28971

 

Also, it isn’t called “glare reduction.”

585 replies

Participant
June 23, 2025

I saw how this reflection removal works and I tried it out on a hazy fence you can still see, when you photograph animals through fences at the zoo. It actually turns out well. If Adobe can take this algorithm and refine it a bit, I think you could make a fence removal tool, which would be incredible for zoo photographers who are constantly always trying to blur the fence out completely. Check out the results.

Adobe Employee
June 23, 2025

Thank you so much for sharing.

Known Participant
June 22, 2025

Different problem.  This image isn't red or underexposed, but it still doesn't recognize the reflections.  Again, reflections are circled.

Adobe Employee
June 23, 2025

Have you tried capturing RAW photos?

Participant
June 22, 2025

 bonjour,

la suppression des reflets ne fonctionne pas, l' image est toute blanche, et c'est très, très long + de 10 minutes !!  que se soit avec lightroom ou photoshop . c'est pareil pour débruiter, rien ne fonctionne chez moi.

jerryt21340754
Known Participant
June 22, 2025

Remove refection not working at all. I've tried different raw, tiff and jpg images with no results on preview, standard or best. After processing, no visual change but overall luminence may be down slightly. Feature Slider moved to -100 shows totally black screen. Photoshop 26.8, Camera Raw 17.4, New AI features checked, Windows 11 Pro. ACR accessed directly with CR2 file, ACR filter through Photoshop for tiff and jpg. 

Adobe Employee
June 22, 2025

Reflection removal does not remove reflections from distant panes of glass in the scene. Please read the blog to learn more about what this tool does. The result you posted is the intended one. This tool will remove reflections from panes of glass that cover your view, and block you from  your subject. In the photo you posted, the reflections are part of the subject (the barber shop), and there is nothing under them to see.

Known Participant
June 22, 2025

I was testing what might make the Reflections work better.  It appears that if the light and contrast are raised prior to trying reflection removal, it works better.  The images have been downsized and flattened for sending.  You can see the stepwise trials 1 to 4

Adobe Employee
June 23, 2025

Are you applying remove reflections to RAW images? If so, the light and contrast will not matter.

Known Participant
June 22, 2025

I am continuing to find images which fail on the Reflections removal.  The image just prior to this one worked well, but this was a total fail.  Both images were taken with Canon R5M2.  Both had this yellow coloration, but the one that worked was less yellow.  Both were taken with compressed raw and worked both as jpgs and as original.  Both had the reflections inside the museum case, so I don't know what made the difference.  The reflections are circled.

Adobe Employee
June 23, 2025

Have you tried capturing RAW?

Participant
June 22, 2025

So far in about 3 attempts to use the reflection removal tool in Lightroom, it does nothing or makes the image worse.  All of these attempts have been shooting at objects behind a window (outside looking in). Attached is one example that I thought would have been a good case for removal..

Adobe Employee
June 23, 2025

I don't see an example attached. 

Participant
June 22, 2025

Didn't work on my image.  I waited ~15 minutes and it didn't really look any differently.  Mine was a pastry booth in Norway.  It had glass in the front that obscured the lady working in the booth.  

Participant
June 22, 2025

I have an image where a quarter of it is a shop window. When using the reflection removal tool it makes no difference to window reflection, If I slide the percentage bar from the 100% to 0% the whole image gradually turns to a solid black

Adobe Employee
June 23, 2025

This tool might not remove reflections on windows that are only 1/4 of the view because such windows are usually part of the subject, rather than blocking you from viewing your subject. Please consider posting an example if you have further questions.

Rene Andritsch
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 22, 2025

@Rikk Flohr: Photography I tried the new feature with several images of mine and got mixed results. This one surprised me though, as I would compare it to the Swiss village in the blog post. But the relfection removal did not work in this example. Just to give you more feedback. From top to bottom: the original image, after reflection removal (area marked in yellow with removed reflection), the reflection. Photo taken from inside a gondola at the Centennial Wheel in Chicago. Done in Camera Raw 17.4.0.2272 and PS 28.6.0






Adobe Employee
June 23, 2025

Are these RAW photos?

Participant
June 23, 2025

No, this is a JPEG from a client's iPhone.