P: Generative Remove Feedback (Lr Classic & Lr Eco)

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

This post applies to Lightroom Classic and the Lightroom Ecosystem products.

Camera Raw feedback can be found here.

Generative Remove makes it easier to remove unwanted objects and distractions with a simple gesture, even on complex backgrounds. For more accurate results, be sure to include the object's shadow in your selection and/or expand its size. 

Detect Objects uses AI to find the objects underneath a brushed area. The masked areas will now appear larger than the Early Access version of this feature. You can also circle objects for quicker selection now. 

We have also updated the spot selection experience to make it easier to manage variations, switch the fill type, refine the selection area, or re-generate as needed. 

Batch updating is also now supported for Generative Remove spots. 

Try out the latest updates and share your feedback with us here. Please also include the following details in your post: 

• App version
• System details
• Example image(s) if you wish to share

Our team continually monitors this thread to track issues for future improvement. Thanks!

Lisa Ngo: Lightroom Product Manager

Posted by:

[johnrellis]

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@maguentert: "just made a mess of the attached photo.   LR classic."

Uncheck Detect Objects (on by default in LR 14) -- it doesn't work well, especially with skinny objects and along the edges of photos. Then, with Use Generative AI checked, select each entire wire or clump of touching wires, from the left end to the right end, with a generous boundary around each wire, and remove that selection before moving to the next wire. If you leave part of a wire unselected, Remove will try to match the unselected parts with more wire.

With this technique, it was straightforward to remove the wires and then some of the poles -- Remove does a good job:

[Emre.O]

The ''Remove'' tool sometimes just doesn't remove. It replaces the image with some other genarated creepy stuff.. But i only want to ''Remove'' the stuff, not to replace it with something weird!

[johnrellis]

@Emre.O: "It replaces the image with some other genarated creepy stuff."

See this short article for how to remove objects more reliably:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace/

Most complaints about Remove are addressed in the article. But if it doesn't help, please attach a full-resolution JPEG exported from the unmodified original photo (not a screenshot). With nearly every one of the many dozen problem photos posted here, we've been able to show how to quickly remove the desired objects.

[umlautnord]

I'm so frustrated that gen AI remove is still just terrible sometimes at even vaguely matching the surrounding background pattern. Things like, say, a sky?

I know there are workarounds—I've discussed them with folks previously in this thread. But it just seems like such a basic need/requirement for the feature. Local AI-based remove can do it. Please, please get generative AI on board. It's one of the biggest problems with the feature for me in LrC/D/etc.

[Newbie2025]

Hello, I was using the Remove Tool with no issues then it stopped working.  Could I have clicked a wrong button that disabled that feature?

 Thanks!

[johnrellis]

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@Newbie2025: "I was using the Remove Tool with no issues then it stopped working."

Change the Opacity slider to 100:

[CaroleSD]

Where are the three options?   Generative remove still has some flaws in removing.   The removed part leaves a 'shadow' sometimes.

[johnrellis]

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@CaroleSD: "Where are the three options?"

There are four flavors (modes) of Remove:

Clone:

Heal:

Content-Aware Remove:

Generative AI Remove:

[johnrellis]

@CaroleSD: "The removed part leaves a 'shadow' sometimes."

There are several possible causes of that:

1. After clicking Remove, check that the Opacity slider is 100 -- LR infrequently changes it to something else.

2. If you applied Remove on top of an AI mask (e.g. Sky or Subject mask), do the menu command Settings > Update AI Settings to recompute the mask.

There are other possible causes, but to help with those, please attach a full-resolution JPEG exported from the unmodified original photo (not a screenshot). 

[AlpineVideo]

Underwhelmed and underimpreseed with the AI removal in LrC. Can't even compare it to the same in PS. Total waste of time and crap. I keep trying to remove a mic stand all the piece of crap AI wants to do is replace it with another mic and stand. It's a total waste of time, crappy apps on my phone do a better job!

[johnrellis]

@AlpineVideo: "Can't even compare it to the same in PS. ... I keep trying to remove a mic stand all the piece of crap AI wants to do is replace it with another mic and stand. "

PS and LR use the same Adobe Firefly algorithm to remove selections, though they have different UIs for making selections.

Uncheck Detect Objects, on by default in LR 14, and leave it off -- it doesn't work well, especially with skinny objects and along the edges of photos. Make sure you've selected any shadows or reflections cast by the mic and stand.

If this doesn't help, please attach a full-resolution JPEG exported from the unmodified original photo (not a screenshot). With nearly every one of the many dozen problem photos posted here, we've been able to show how to quickly remove the desired objects.  And though others have claimed that PS Generative Remove is superior, no one to date has posted an example photo.

[AM34509514d7oj]

It would be very useful to be able to add a prompt eg. remove object 

because sometimes it tries to change it to another thing when actually you are wanting the selected objected to be removed. 

[johnrellis]

@AM34509514d7oj: "sometimes it tries to change it to another thing when actually you are wanting the selected objected to be removed."

See this short article for how to remove objects more reliably:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace/

Most complaints about Remove are addressed in the article. But if it doesn't help, please attach a full-resolution JPEG exported from the unmodified original photo (not a screenshot). With nearly every one of the many dozen problem photos posted here, we've been able to show how to quickly remove the desired objects.

[JHanig Photography]

Overall it's incredible. BUT, with the current version there isn't fade along the edges, so that when used there's a clear outline of the brush after the edit.

[johnrellis]

Many have observed here that the replacements made by Generative Remove sometimes don't match the photo's tone or noise. To get better matches, these techniques sometimes help:

1. Adobe recommends applying Denoise before Remove. This can reduce the noise, making it more likely the replacement will match.

2. The replacement patch supplied by Adobe Firefly has a maximum size of 2048 x 2048 pixels. If the selected area in the photo is larger than that, then the replacement patch gets upscaled (and blurry). Try removing smaller selections if possible.

3. Make a larger selection, even including the entire background. Upscaling of the replacement sometimes won't be noticeble then.

4. Sometimes there's a distinctly visible boundary where the tone or noise don't match. You can often use the heal tool around the boundary to get better feathering and make it less noticeable -- apply Heal in small brush strokes. Sometimes, making a very raggedy selection around the object makes the boundary less noticeable.

5. For grain/noise in particular, see this post for how to ameliorate the problem by adding the grain back or reducing the grain:
https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-generative-remove-feedback-lr-classic...

[Dale26355517xubj]

Yup that happens to me too about a third of the time. I’ve tried making the photo into a DNG from Sony raw and the problem is still there. Happens when I use the AI Denoise as well.  Hope the fix it because it seems random, but makes the tool useless.

[Ozzyyz]

The REMOVE TOOL is supposed to remove things and make the selected area visually blend to its surrounding. However, it creates variations to similar what is there, e.g., if there is a face it creates another face, if there is a ball it creates another ball. It simply does not remove ! A "Create Variations" tool could also be interesting, but it defeats the purpose of "REMOVE".

[johnrellis]

@Ozzyyz: "it creates variations to similar what is there, e.g., if there is a face it creates another face, if there is a ball it creates another ball. It simply does not remove!"

See this short article for how to remove objects more reliably:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace/

Most complaints about Remove are addressed in the article. But if it doesn't help, please attach a full-resolution JPEG exported from the unmodified original photo (not a screenshot). With nearly every one of the many dozen problem photos posted here, we've been able to show how to quickly remove the desired objects.

[Yvou73]

I cannot modify opacity in the remove menu any longer (IA or not). Cursor has disappeared. This functionality had been existing in previous versions. Very ennoying, for instance I want to lower (but not remove) spots on a face (the person knows he has spots, removing is not acceptable, so I just want to make it more acceptable...)

[johnrellis]

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@Yvou73: "I cannot modify opacity in the remove menu any longer (IA or not). Cursor has disappeared."

Do you see the Opacity slider after clicking Remove? In LR 14, the slider appears only after you click Remove:

If you're seeing the slider but you're unable to move it, 

try resetting LR's preferences:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/articles-page/how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences/

LR sometimes soils its preferences file, and resetting it can fix all sorts of wonky behavior. That article explains how to restore the old preferences if resetting doesn't help.

[Yvou73]

Good! Yes, now the slider appears only after clicking on the picture.  Strange new behaviour, but OK for the future. Thank you so much for your answer

[johnrellis]

@Yvou73: "Strange new behaviour, but OK for the future."

Yeah, lots of people have gotten confused by it.

[ZappaJul]

LrC v14.1.1 - Generative AI feedback

H/W: Mac M3 Max, 64GB, 1TB SSD

O/S: Sequoia v15.1.1

I find generative Ai helpful in instances where it interprets ‘Remove’ to mean ‘take away [outlined object] and replace with background’. However, it often doesn't do this, instead, adding unnecessary information that wasn’t requested, in both LrC and PS. Examples specific to LrC:

• Image (1), sorry can't share: a box with clearly defined edges, with a cable hanging out to one side (which I want to keep), and the leg of my tripod (which I want to remove) on an otherwise empty cork floor. After straightening the image and centering the subject, there's also a slice of white down one side with no data. Wish LrC’s generative AI could -
  • Fill white space by continuing the cork pattern so I don't have to edit in PS.
  • Remove the tripod leg, replacing it with the cork background that surrounds it - without adding a bit of random cable or a weird dark shadow of a different kind some distance from original tripod leg.
• Image (2) is a coat hanging on a wood door, with distracting patches of sunlight. Wish LrC Gen AI could remove selected patch of sunlight, taking account of surrounding materials and restoring the visible wood grain beneath it, but without -
  • Adding a new wood grain this of a totally different nature to the original.
  • Adding new sun spots; I'd like Remove to remove them, not provide new versions of the same thing. (The results did gradually improve with 3 attempts (ie 9 versions), but it always retained a sun spot of some sort).

A better result was obtained manually via radial masks intersected with colour and luminance masks.

[johnrellis]

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Without seeing full-resolution unmodified JPEGs exported from the originals, it's impossible to conclude whether Generative Remove is unable to do what you want it to.   With the cropped screenshot from your second original, Generative Remove did a good job of removing the bright spot (and all the lettering):

This suggests that you weren't selecting all the relevant parts of the image that Generative Remove was trying to match with its replacement. So before concluding that Remove can't handle this, please attach a full-resolution unmodified JPEG exported from the original.  With nearly every one of the many dozen problem photos posted here, we've been able to show how to quickly remove the desired objects.

[phfsly]

Hi Rikk,
When will we get an acceptable resolution for generative remove ?
This is only good today for small print or Instagram, but absolutely not for big size printing.
Best regards,
Sofil78