P: (Technology Preview) Reflection Removal (CR)

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

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 non-raw photos (e.g., JPEGs or HEICs) will be added in a future 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 the 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:

[Eric29489323q7t4]

Please share the images and read the blog, which explains the cases that the tool is intended to solve for you. 

[Avilev]

Before and after. 

At less than 100

[Eric29489323q7t4]

Please share your system information: machine type, operating system version, and graphics card.

[KasiaD]

Reposting a previous post as I see you have asked others for more system details.

"On my Windows 10 computer I tested this tool on over a dozen NEF files dating from 2006 to 2025. As I reported below, the results were good to very good. I didn't have technical difficulties. My workflow was exporting NEF to PS which opened a nef-file copy in CR. I also successfully used the workflow recommended in this thread i.e. from LR - edit in - open as Smart Object in PS

I since upgraded to a completely new computer with Windows 11 and I reinstalled my Adobe LR, PS and CR with the same preferences and settings in all 3 tools as previously. I now get corrupt files every time.

I have tried my old workflow and the one recommended in this thread, but in both cases I get a corrupt image.  I've tested the same NEF images on both computers and have no issues on the old Windows 10 PC but always get a corrupt image in the new PC setup."

AMD Ryzen 5 7500 F 6 core processor

AMD Radeon /600

ASUS Motherboard 4.05.06

Windows 11

Adobe LR Classic 14.11

Adobe Photoshop 2025 26.3.0.156

[Stephane Drillon]

I just tried this on a Fujifilm Raw file (X100VI). The result was unusable, no matter the amount of removal used.

This is the link to the 86Mb file: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p8gpmz6uoark7gr4acxm0/DSCF2328.RAF?rlkey=4dz22b0zloxn4xiy6kpgw88k7&dl...

[Eric29489323q7t4]

We note in the blog that remove reflections will not hallucinate content to fill in saturated light sources (etc). Instead you will get noisy content, like you see in this result. You can use generative fill if you'd like to fill those holes. I would suggest  that you open the original and cleaned images as layers in a 16-bit PS file to blend them into a composite that gives you a nice result with fewer reflections and artifacts.

[L_Hankins]

This feature is completely amazing! I removed the reflection from a NEF (Nikon RAW) photo of a wedding dress though a store window. It had the reflection of a drainpipe running through it. The tool COMPLETELY removed the drainpipe and street reflections. I also was able to dial back the distraction the other way (to -100) and saw a complete image of a doorway, drainpipe and cobblestone street that had been behind me, reflected in the window. I couldn't believe the detail it isolated, and the fact that it could tell that an electrical conduit was a reflection in the store mirror and not an outside artifact. Crazy good! Look forward to this being included in LR which is my primary editing platform!

Attachments (please ignore the unedited color balance...) Original image with reflection, ACR version with reflection removed, ACR just the outside reflection. Very impressed!!

[Eric29489323q7t4]

Thanks! So glad you're happy with the result.

[JPMphoto]

Have 2020 Imac 64GB ram.  Reflections check box greyed out.  Using canon Canon converted to DNG file by Lightroom Classic.

Any suggestions?

[Conrad_C]

The box should be enabled for Canon raw files, so the first thing to check is that you’re sending images to Camera Raw with a workflow that is 100% raw from end to end. Common mistakes include using the Photo > Edit In > Photoshop command in Lightroom Classic (which converts it out of raw to a Photoshop document), and using the Camera Raw Filter (the filter version is not the full raw processor).

I listed three ways that do work in a number of earlier posts in this thread, here’s one:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/camera-raw-discussions/p-technology-preview-reflection-removal-cr/m-p...

[colmanc45976152]

Ce matin une mise à jour de Camera RAW 17.2.0.

Maheureusement pour moi, l'outil "supprimer les reflets" ne fonctionne toujours pas, je veux dire le résultat est totalement pixelisé. Et c'est pire que l'ancienne version, car c'est beaucoup plus lent.
Que peut faire Adobe pour moi???

[Eric29489323q7t4]

There is a known problem with Raedon graphics cards. The manufacturer is working on a fix.

[colmanc45976152]

Merci Eric

J'attends avec impatience que Adobe trouve une solution avec la carte Raedon, car j'ai beaucoup de photographies avec des reflets sur des vitrines.
Merci de votre réponse

[KasiaD]

Hi Eric and Team,
I just updated to Camera Raw 17.2, LR Classic 14.2 and PS 26.3 and the tool is now working very well.

Thank you for your hard work getting this fixed!

FYI:
NEF files dating from 2007 to 2025
AMD Ryzen 5 7500 F 6 core processor

AMD Radeon /600

ASUS Motherboard 4.05.06

Windows 11 Home 23H2 Build 22631.4890

[Miden5357]

Hi,

I tried today with Camera raw 17.2 and the result is not accurate yet. See the joined files...

[Michael241586546hf7]

Still not working for me at all, despite latest update to Camera Raw v17.2. Before and after files attached, along with current Mac 'spec'.

[colmanc45976152]

Michael bonjour

Nous n'avons pas de chance, nous qui avant d'un iMac avec une carte graphique Radeon.

J'espère qu'à la prochaine mise à jour de Camera RAW, Adobe corrigera cette insupportable erreur.

[Eric29489323q7t4]

This is a known issue with Radeon graphics cards. They are working on a fix.

[dougabel]

Reflection removal only made a tiny change in this image of dogs greeting me with heavy reflections: Doggos 

[Eric29489323q7t4]

Thank you for sharing. This tool will not always succeed and we are working to expand the cases that it can handle.

[davids75404240]

This utility does not work on CR3 files.  I tried to run a CR3 and it said that this file type was not supported. 

[Avilev]

I czn see no differnce on the reflection on his glasses:

[Avilev]

No effect.

[Eric29489323q7t4]

Please refer to the blog, which explains the types of reflections that the tool currently removes. Small reflections like glasses will not be removed. Ideally the reflection should fill most of the view, and thus be blocking you from viewing your subject.

[Pseudoryx]

Worked for me (.NEF). There might be overlaps with some other's reports but hopefully it increases the sample size.

I do most of my photo processing in Lightroom Classic and it is still tricky to use the feature alongside Lightroom. I can use it only if I open the .NEF file directly in Photoshop, not through Lightroom. Someone suggested somewhere that the feature is enabled if I choose the "Edit as Smart Object in Photoshop" option but that did not work either. The feature will be exponentially more useful once there is a way to transition seamlessly to it from LrC. 

It still struggles in an *inconsistent* fashion in removing reflection from direct light sources (and just very bright white reflections in general). For the examle below, it removed the lights on the upper left and left corner but kept the light clusters near the center, which are the more important ones since they overlap with the subject. In other instances I have tested, it failed to remove 1 out of 2 reflections from illuminated white boards and a bright white foot sign on the floor.