P: New AI-powered Generative Remove (Early Access) available across all surfaces.

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

This post applies to Lightroom Classic and the Lightroom Ecosystem products.
Post Camera Raw feedback here

The Lightroom team is sharing an early look at Generative Remove, which makes it easier to remove unwanted objects and distractions, even on complex backgrounds, with a simple brush stroke. Generative Remove is powered by Firefly AI.

How to use Generative Remove on a desktop:

• You can find Generative Remove under the newly renamed Remove panel (aka “Heal”).
• Make sure the “generative AI” checkbox is enabled before you start brushing (note: when unchecked, Lightroom will use Content-Aware Remove to fill your brushed spots). 
• By default, you will be given a moment to refine your selection with an add or subtract brush. Remember to include shadows for a more accurate result! You can also skip this step by holding down ‘CTRL’ on windows or ‘CMD’ on mac as you finish your brush stroke. 
• Once you’re ready to apply and have accepted the terms, Generative Remove will use Firefly AI to remove your distractions and intelligently fill in the space that’s left by the removed objects. 
• Note: stable internet connection is required to use this feature.
• Generative Remove also lets you choose from multiple variations, so you can pick the one you like best, giving you full creative control. 
  
  Checkout the FAQ and Best Practices

Please give it a try and share feedback and/or report variations in this community forum. It would greatly help to include details like which app you are using (i.e., Lightroom Classic or Camera Raw) and other system details. Our team will continually monitor this thread to track issues to improve the future experience.

Lisa Ngo: Lightroom Product Manager
Posted by: Rikk Flohr 

Update:

Here are some tips if you are having issues with the feature replacing your object instead of removing it. 

• Enlarge your selection - if your brush stroke is too tight, you will have unexpected results.
• Remember that removing an object means painting over it, its shadow, its reflection, and any non-contiguous pieces. If you leave behind a shadow, a reflection, or a disconnected piece (e.g., a hand on a shoulder), the AI will attempt to create something to cast the shadow, reflect, or complete the unbrushed discontinuous item. You can avoid these issue by following the guidance provided in this linked tutorial. https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace

The recommended order for applying edits is:

1. Denoise 
2. Heal (includes Generative AI Remove)
3. Crop (includes traditional Cropping, Lens Correction, Transform, or any operation changing the geometry of the image)
4. Edit
5. AI Selective edits
   
   If you deviate from that, you may see the removed object remain as a ghost image. If this occurs, you will have to use Update AI Settings, which can be found under the Develop module 'Settings' menu.

[B B Photographer]

And photoshop removed the left over chair leg with the remove tool in 2 seconds flat. And the generative fill on photoshop also works wayyy better at removing stuff than the generative ai remove tool on lightroom. I hope this is not eating up my generate credits because i am going to be screwed soon at this rate.

[Ian Lyons]

@B B Photographer 

Generative AI is currently 'Early Access'. Adobe have already stated that while credits are counted in your allocation, there is no cost.

[johnrellis]

@B B Photographer: "I been trying to remove this chair from the corner of my image, but its just reduced the size of the chair leg ... And photoshop removed the left over chair leg with the remove tool in 2 seconds flat."

It sounds like parts of the chair were cropped out either by an explicit Crop or an implicit crop by enabled lens corrections or the Transform tool.  LR Remove works on the entire uncropped image, and if you don't select the entire object (because parts of it are cropped out), the Generative AI will try to match the uncropped-out portions (which is what it should do).   So the general rule is to apply Remove to uncropped images with lens corrections and Transform disabled, then apply Crop, Lens Corrections, and Transform.

When you send an image with cropped pixels to Photoshop, those pixels get rendered away and Photoshop Remove doesn't see them, so it doesn't try to match them.

If this doesn't help, attach the original photo (not an export or screenshot) here, or if the forum doesn't allow you, upload it to Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar and post the sharing link here.  You can see a number of posts from users who insisted Remove didn't work who then posted their images, and Remove immediately worked after following the instructions here:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace/

[Jordack]

At this point I have quit using it and just go into PS. I am not even having luck with small things. 

[Peregrine Clarke]

I am completely blown away with the new AI removal tool. It is so accurate! I've been editing a beach scene with some unwanted objects included in the shot. The new tool removed them perfectly, first time for each and every one including some larger objects on pebbles. Very impressed and a great addition to the LrC system.

[Joe1414]

Personally not a fan of this new update. Bring back the old brush please. 

[johnrellis]

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@Joe1414: "Personally not a fan of this new update. Bring back the old brush please."

The three older tools, which collectively used to be called "Healing", are still available. From left to right are Content-Aware (now called Remove, uncheck Generative AI and Object Aware to get the old Content-Aware functionality), Heal, and Clone:

[paul32219233m9g5]

works like a broken clock! removed nothing..

[johnrellis]

@paul32219233m9g5, see this article about how to use Remove:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace/

[sfoszcz]

I have actually had really good luck with the new lightroom remove tool.  This will save me so much time having to go into photoshop to remove things that bother me.

[Miyagi-78]

dommage qu'il faille laisser un message pour pouvoir utiliser une option alors qu'on paie déjà l'abonnement 

[Rafi37923174fqtp]

i tried to remove stuff but it really doest work anywhere as good as photoshop does. i really hope they just add the one from photoshop in here

[johnrellis]

@Rafi37923174fqtp, see this article about how to use Remove:

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace/

If that doesn't help, please attach an original photo (not an export) here and call out the object you can't remove.

[Bianca Des Jardins]

My Remove tool doesn't work at all since the update. Anyone else ?

[johnrellis]

@Bianca Des Jardins: "My Remove tool doesn't work at all since the update."

Which specific tools -- the Remove button (without Generative AI and Object Aware selected), Heal button, or Clone button, or all three?  Describe in detail what you're doing and what you observe.

[Bianca Des Jardins]

All three. I can use them and they even seem to process and search but once it's done, nothing happens. I am forced to go in Photoshop everytime. Even if it's just a small pimple.

[johnrellis]

[This post contains formatting and embedded images that don't appear in email. View the post in your Web browser.]

@Bianca Des Jardins, what's the setting of the Opacity slider?

[lupji]

Its not working for me. It cannot remove it. 

[johnrellis]

@lupji, see this article about how to use Remove:
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/generative-remove-replace/

If that doesn't help, please attach an original photo (not an export) here and call out the object you can't remove.

[pierre37931906gwbj]

Just wonderful, a game changer ! 
It was funny to see sometimes it replaces a dustbin by a flower pot !!!?

It would be great if it could comparer similar photos where i used it, to get similar results from one photo to the other,

Thanks!

[Juall]

A feature that requires users to look up on various blogs how to use it isn't a feature.

Do you really need AI to replace a black spot against the blue sky on the corner of a photo with a slightly smaller grey spot? One would think that should be pretty basic for a generative remove feature to do that...

[johnrellis]

@Juall: "Do you really need AI to replace a black spot against the blue sky"

No. Adobe recommends using the existing Remove tools for small spots (Clone, Heal, non-AI Remove, formerly called Content Aware). 

"replace a black spot against the blue sky on the corner of a photo with a slightly smaller grey spot?"

You may not have read the help article, but most likely this is caused by the photo being cropped or having lens corrections enabled (which also crops pixels).  In such cases, Remove is trying to generate a replacement that matches the surrounding (cropped-out) pixels.  Temporarily removing the crop and disabling lens corrections will let you select the entire object and surrounding boundary.

I think many people are getting tripped up by this aspect of the "Early Access" version of the tool, which fools them into thinking Photoshop's Remove works while LR's Remove doesn't.  It would be better if, when you selected Generative AI in the tool, it automatically temporarily disabled crops and lens corrections (analogous to how the crop tool shows you the entire photo).  Or if it worked on just the currently visible pixels.

[jonathanp41403920]

First use of the feature - consistently seems to remove the item I brush over but the replacement is more exposed than the areas around the removed item. Example - dark coloured stone on a sandy beach. Stone is removed and replaced by sand but the replacement sand where the stone was is more exposed than the sand is around the replaced stone

[jonathanp41403920]

[johnrellis]

@jonathanp41403920: "the replacement is more exposed than the areas around the removed item. "

I've found that increasing the selection to include more of the background I'd like to see used often improves the match with the surrounding background.   Attach the full photo here (not an export) so we and Adobe can see what you're working with.