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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:
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:
When using the slider, the key values to note are:
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:
How best to use Reflection Removal
For best results, try the new feature following these suggestions:
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
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I think I figured it out - it was a reflection in a window in the background that couldn't be removed. When I did a test shot through a window, it worked well.
Are you sure you're using the 'best' setting and not 'preview'? Preview will certainly show you a blurry pic. But on certain images, reflection removal removes too much, and you get a muddle. Adjusting the intensity slider can help.
Removing eyeglass reflections is a goal Adobe mentioned in their blog post from last December (Removing window reflections in Adobe Camera Raw), so at least we know they’re interested in working on it.
Those results are consistent with a lot of the reports in this thread…it works fine on recent computers (for Macs, that means Apple Silicon M1 through M4 work great), but there seems to be a problem with the graphics drivers for the GPU in some Intel Macs, and this feature relies heavily on the GPU. Because Mac graphics drivers are supplied by Apple, it might need a macOS update to get fixed. But we never know exactly what Apple will fix in the next macOS update, so no guarantees.
Did you by any chance just use the 'preview' mode instead of the best mode? A lot of people have been making that error, and the preview mode is intentionally low res.
Seems Quality is on "preview". Try setting it on "best".
Eric,
do I understand it well the reflections will only be removed when the glass plate fills the whole frame of the picture. As it won't remove reflections from a windows that's part of a larger picture.
I tried to cut part of the picture, so only a small part of the window remains. Feed only the small part to the reflection removal and paste it back into the original picture, using Photoshop. It's not perfect, but ..
I noticed doing this, the reflection feature reacts differently than using the entire picture. With the entire picture I can't get any reflection off either.
well Eric, since I tempory used the jpg picture kastalia67_s provided, I had to work in jpeg. I only shoot RAW and I only use Ps. Just wanted to see what it would do if I narrowed the view to just a part of that car window like it was one whole picture. And it did work.
If I can use that technique with a RAW, the result can only be better.
Looking forward to see support for small panes of glass in RAW.
FitzFoto, that suggestion will not work. That crop will not change the RAW result. To remove reflections from a cropped region you must convert the RAW image to a PNG/TIFF/JPEG.
Here is one workflow:
1. Open the image in Lightroom.
2. Make a virtual copy, and crop the virtual copy
3. Export the original and cropped image as TIFF files
4. Open the original and cropped TIFF in Photoshop
5. Use the Camera RAW filter to remove reflections from the cropped image
6. Copy the clean, cropped image int
...Kastalia, please precisely follow the steps I enumerated. It will work. There are other variants that will work, but not what you did.
FitzFhoto, as you probably know, when you crop a RAW photo in Lr or ACR, the underlying image is not modified. Specifying a crop simply tells Lr/ACR how to render that RAW image onto your screen. The remove reflections tool operates before the crop is applied by Lr/ACR when your RAW is rendered onto your screen. Why? There is a long list of usability issues th
...Hi Eric,
I just tested your steps, precisely.
Screen capture shows you a little reflection suppress in part of the girls face.
Well it is the best I could achieve up to now.
Here are the steps :
1. Open the image in Lightroom.
2. Make a virtual copy, and crop the virtual copy
3. Export the original and cropped image as TIFF files
4. Open the original and cropped TIFF in Photoshop
5. Use the Camera RAW filter to remove reflections from the cropped image
6. Copy the clean, cropped image into the original
7.
...That explains, why it removed some of the reflections in my workflow. I didn't actually crop the picture. I marked the area, copied, created a new image and paste only that part. So, it had no other information of a larger picture when I applied the reflection removal.
Then I copied the result back to the original picture and aligned it.
That’s expected…the feature is currently designed to remove reflections in a window filling the entire image frame between camera and subject. Eyeglasses only cover a small area of the frame so they aren’t handled yet. But in the original Adobe blog post announcing reflection removal, they did say they’d like to handle eyeglasses in a future update.
Since the blog post was published last December they did add support for some non-raw formats, extended the feature to Lightroom, and just introdu
...We can all see the reflections in the floor, but from what Adobe has said throughout this thread and in their blog post, the feature is currently designed to more clearly reveal what’s showing behind the reflections in a large transparent glass window covering the entire frame. Although they might cover more use cases later.
Removing the reflections from the floor with the current version of this feature wouldn’t be expected to reveal anything behind the floor, because the floor isn’t supposed
...Not always, but it's better on RAW pictures as they contain more detail information.
But if the glass plate with the reflection doesn't cover the whole image, it doesn't work on RAW either.
This reply, earlier in this thread, explains why:
Also, it isn’t called “glare reduction.”
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Noel;
Send you the Adobe System Info as requested - does that offer any clues as to why I'm stil getting pixelated results form remove reflections?
Santillo
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Noel;
At this juncture, I am reluctant to reset PS or ACR preferences, until AFTER you review the requested system info - copied below. Also, I do know that hi-res RAW image files are best, but this pixelatied color results has been happeing with all image files - even RAW files over 40Megs.
Please let me know if any clues come from System Infi:
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I've now had several complete fails using the reflection removal tool, which is usually quite reliable for these types of reflections. Did something change in the code recently? Below is an example - the reflections aren't very bright, and those would usually be eliminated by the removal tool. The tool *did* work to reduce the glare from the lighting in the display case (third pic below shows what it removed), but completely omitted removing the actual reflections. The last eight or so photos that I took at this museum turned out in this same way. Unfortunately, this means I have to go back to the old fashioned methods for reflection removal. In this case, I eventually opted to clean the reflections and then darken the background. so that any evidence of the removal was impossible to see. Wouldn't you consider these reflections to be relatively easy to remove?
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Would you be willing to share the RAW? We are working to improve the reliability of the model. The model can sometimes be confused in this way where it focuses on removing a soft glare rather than the actual detailed content that is the reflection.
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Absolutely - sorry, I meant to do that. I have another example, very similar ignoring of clear reflections, that I'll post separately (it's dinner time). Exceeds the file size, though - 84 MB CR3 file. I can post a link later to a cloud folder.
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Here's the RAW CR3 file. Have at it! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fazLSutwLhe7fz5oExA97G922sfhmg_Y/view?usp=drive_link
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Here's how I worked around the admittedly soft reflections and the boring background and foreground. I just decided to darken everything that wasn't the subject. Not something I often do, but it works for this pic. https://flic.kr/p/2r5Vvjm
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The result looks terrific. Thanks for sharing. By the way, the CR2 is not a public link...
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Thanks! But the non-public link is very odd, as I ensured it would be. Try this instead, direct to file, sharing turned on for anyone with the link ... https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fazLSutwLhe7fz5oExA97G922sfhmg_Y/view?usp=sharing
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Thanks so much, I was able to test it. Make sure to checkout our upcoming release...
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FYI, here's another image. I had certainly expected the remove reflections tool to easily handle the reflections on the case of this mummy mask, but in fact it really didn't do more than remove some of the glare from the base (which is a good thing, in *addition* to removing reflections). I think it had a difficult time recognizing the reflections, and may have thought they were background images? Here's the link to the CR3 file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BbAxyYnC3gLZXwTeMC9GmyLBs-JUHPGo/view?usp=sharing
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Oh, and in the examples above, 2W9A6557.JPG is the export before using the reflection removal tool, _1 is afterwords (not much difference, other than the usual darkening), and _2 is the image of what the tool 'removed' (maybe a tiny bit of haze, but difficult to see).
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For the beta? Either way, I'm ready to test away! I've got a lot of pics that have insane and gentle reflections (since I mostly photograph items in museums).
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FYI, it looks like I'll have to roll back to 26.7, because this new release, 26.8, throws an error saying that it can't save my files due to a 'program error'. I looked in the other board about the beta, and it seems to be a common problem. I did test out the remove reflections tool, and it seems to be better at removing those 'soft reflections' but misses some very distinct reflections, which I think it's mistaking for content in the background. I'll post those before reverting to the earlier beta.
They were requesting people post which version of the new beta they had, and this is mine (you probably won't need this, and I've passed it on to those requesting it in the beta board):
Adobe Photoshop Version: 26.8.0 20250521.m.3082 b535130 arm64
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What type of RAW file were you using? They'll probably ask for the specs on your Mac and ask for you to post the unprocessed RAW file as well.
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Ok, I will update my info and add this. ,thank you
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I hope we don't have to wait too long before they can help improve this.
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The tool did not work at all in trying to remove the reflection of a softbox from a pane of glass. Literally did nothing. I can't post the image here for client privacy reasons, but would be happy to send it to an adobe email.
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I've been working with the new beta, 26.8, and it does seem to have improved some of the issues around reflection removal. The example below is interesting, because the object - an ancient glass Roman cinerary urn - it itself made of a reflective material, and it's contained in a display that's reflecting the windows behind me. It did a super job at removing both 'soft' and harsh reflections, with one area of confusion at the top of the right handle (which I can easily correct manually).
It's kind of wild to see the export of just the removed reflections - pretty dramatic. One note: if I use the 'denoise' tool on this image, it doesn't play well with the reflection removal tool. I get odd patches of noise and color (note the bokeh in the lower left), and it completely removed the blurred text on the wall behind the urn (which I wouldn't mind, actually, but it's not evenly applied).
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Wow, this is a terrific photo. It's impressive because the result is so flawless (sans denoise). Thanks for noting your gut feeling that denoise somehow degrades reflection removal. I suspect this will be difficult to prove, but your point is noted and I will keep it in mind.
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Thanks! Yes, I've done several tests where I use denoise before reflection removal, comparing it to the same image without denoise, and it's a case by case basis. Sometimes the difference is very noticeable, other times, it seems to make no difference at all. When in doubt, I try the reflection removal first, then let it re-run if I subsequently use denoise. I really do need to get a lens that works better in low light, so that my pics aren't so noisy. Unfortunately, the one I want is the equivalent of a down payment on a car!
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Hallo
Ich kriege damit Spiegelungen auf Brillen nicht weg.
Was kann ich tun?
Danke für die Hilfe
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Débarrassez vous des lunettes en attendant qua Adobe fasse correctement son travail.
Je suis en colère car j'attends toujours une solution à l'utilisation correct du logiciel Adobe "Suppression des reflets".
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