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

This thread is now closed. Please update to LrC 14.x or LrD 8.x. If you wish to provide feedback, please go to the new article.

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 (Dec 2024):  With the new release, it is no longer necessary to perform Generative Remove Operations prior to Cropping. 

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, including round-tripping to PS to use Gen-Expand)
4. Global Edits
5. AI Selective edits (Sky, Person, etc)
   
   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.

[S01AC]

Photoshop does a much better job of Generative AI. LC did not completely remove an object that was surrounded by water. Insterted green shrubs that were not even in the photo.

[ellens77958465]

This has rendered the old remove tool useless. I can't remove anything even when I don't have generative AI checked. When checked, It wants to subsitute something-another person's face, something completely irrelevant. Worse than the old plain old clone tool. Really not only not useful, counterproductive. Not ready for prime time as a tool. Truly a disappointment. I think that Adobe should have tested this more before releasing it. It certainly doesn't do what the example showed in the new features of LR. Maybe I'm not getting the best way to use this.

[Gordon3709859525px]

First attempt would qualify as a clear fail.   Only removed the buds from a branch, but left the branch.

[anthonyg80189877]

Fantasticos resultados para ser una primera implementación, cada vez está mucho más completa la herramienta.

[Ron Funderburk]

I am trying to remove the wires in and outlines of the netting but the generative AI doesn't seem to recognize it when I outline it.  

[Jovial_JourneyB831]

This is very bad. It's supposed to be a generative REMOVE tool and on rare occasions it does that, but most of the time it tries to replace it with something else. Photoshop seems to work well. Why not in Lightroom Classic? Also by coming out with this too soon, you've wasted a lot of people's time trying to use it.

[johnprose]

Great start and very useful. Just one comment... I used the remove tool, which worked very well but when I used the DeNoise tool on the same image it resampled and changed the area I had worked on with the remove tool.

On another note, can we have the option to edit the DeNoise tag on the file and not have DeNoise put in the keywords please

Thank you

[umlautnord]

Yeah, since it relies on the actual pixel data, enhance is going to require recalculation/regeneration.

Off topic/to your other note: I'm not 100% sure what you mean by the denoise tag on the file., but you can turn off the keywording under Preferences > File Handling.

The denoise information is actually added to the metadata of the file... LrC doesn't seem to allow you to surface that in the main metadata viewer, unfortunately. It's only in the history step and via the filename it generates, as far as I can tell, and I can't get a smart collection to work on it.

However, I know that the Metadata Viewer plugin that is powered by exiftool can surface the info for you, and there may be other exiftool-powered viewers that are a little more helpful in the interface. The AnyFilter plugin will let you search/filter based on DeNoise/Enhance/any of that hidden metadata, too.

[Ian Lyons]

@johnprose 

The behaviour you describe regarding an image that you susbsequently denoise is expected. The order edits should be  Denoise - Heal (Including Gen Remove) - Crop/Edit - AI Selective edits

[johnprose]

I will try that Ian.  My preference has always been to get everything right and denoise last 🤷‍:male_sign:

[Deborah23059745j5nm]

since switching on Ai remove tool it has moved my spot brush out of sync. 

On the screenshot I am removing a spot on the blonde girls chin but the tool is in the wrong place!!

It has disrupted my whole workflow for this job

[lexy1238]

The tool works mostly good - for me the white line when starting to mark the area which should be removed  is not very good (too bold) - would like to have the colored field of the pencil so the borders are much more better to see.

[Andreas32882698evst]

Tolle Erleichterung, ht bei mir überwiegend sehr gut funktioniert. Die Wartezeit ist akzeptabel!

Gruß

Andreas

[MD WASIM AKRA37760320agum]

Wonderful., It is not a remove tool, It replaces the object with something replicating the environment. This is a feature that I was really looking forward for. Very useful.

[Jason37761814af8c]

Rikk,

It's amazing. It's amazing. It's amazing.  So happy this is in lightroom classic now, saving me from going to PS. Does a great job for me.

[dbuckenmyer]

Tried removing a light pole 3 times. Regenerated 3 times. Reselected 3 times. Always gave me some form of the pole, with or without the base, even with the shadows removed. Otherwise, it has mostly been helpful.

[Ian Lyons]

You need to ensure that the connected shadows are removed otherwise the model will put something in to cause the shadow. I've attached a screenshot of your image with the selection/mask shown and pole gone.

[Natasha5C16]

Handy tool, I'm glad you've added this into Lightroom Classic instead of having to open photoshop for each of these edits. I would recommend "subtract" being the default option rather than add. 

[Natasha5C16]

please disregard my last post, I used your feature wrong lol whats there is working great 

[Virgilio Shaw]

Very usefull, but if the object in some big it doesn't remove just remplace. Waiting the final version looking foward for it. 

[Jesse34454291a9x6]

I love this but it crashes now 100% of the time I use "Remove" with Generative AI unchecked - so now I can ONLY use Generative AI.

[williams32565909]

Very disappointed.  I was hoping it would save me going into Photoshop to use the remove tool there which is excellent and gives me what I want 95% of the time on the first go.  I have tried to get rid of an overhanging branch using the new AI remove tool 17 times now and the branch or parts of it are still there.

[lunina84]

Marche tres bien pour remplacer, mais je n'arrive pas a supprimer une personne ou un objet d'une photo, j'ai pourtant utilise toutes les options ... 

[lexy1238]

After a little bit of practice time I used this tool very often (let´s say 80% !) directly in LRc instead of switching to PS. What I would like to have changed in the final version is to use only the "red colour" for designing the mask instead of the "white line" (it´s too bold for me - with the "red colour" like in PS or when using "improvement of the mask" it´s easier for me to get the exact mask!). Thx 4 incorporation of this tool into LRc.

Alex.

[martin-s]

In my use so far the tool mostly produces excellent results. Sometimes the generated patches don't blend quite as well as I would like. Especially in those cases I love the variations feature: one is usually almost perfect.

I have run into the issue others have mentioned, when the tool stubbornly keeps replacing one unwanted object with a different one. I would be perfectly happy with a removal-only tool that replaces an unwanted object with a patch that is intelligently synthesised from the surrounding areas.

All I want to be able to do in LR is removing stuff with as little traces as possible. If I wanted to put something else there, I would resort to Photoshop where you have control over what gets placed there instead.