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 issues 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.

[Lesme fotógrafo]

Esta increible, deja de ser necesario salir del LR e ir a PS para borrar cosas indeseadas en las fotografias! ( el famoso tripie de luz ) Gracias! 

[Tolg]

Love the feature, but the remove doesn't always remove.  It just replaces with some other object.

[tvandoren6]

I have not had luck with it actually removing anything either. It replaces a trash can with a slightly different trash can.

[johnrellis]

@chuckw19823004, @tvandoren6 , see this article for tips on removing objects instead of replacing them:

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

[tvandoren6]

Thanks John - that might be the issue. The things that didn't get removed were at the edge of the photo. Photoshop handled it with zero problem, so I would have expected Lightroom to do the same.

[Jeff A. Goulden]

I've had similar results.  The remove tool in Photoshop generaly does a better job than in Lightroom.  Neither tool is perfect.  I also think that the remove tool in Lightroom is way slower than the remove tool in Photoshop.  I hope Adobe keeps working on it.  If the Lightroom remove tool could be as good as in Photoshop or better, it wouldn't be necessary to use Photoshop for many of my images and would also save disk space.

[johnrellis]

@Jeff A. Goulden, can you post before/after screenshots of the entire image showing how LR does worse than Photoshop?  Most of the complaints that LR does worse than Photoshop are addressed by this article:

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

[Jeff A. Goulden]

Thanks John, I read the article and generally do as they suggest.  The image I had problems with was a bird that has a fairly thick branch behind its head which I wanted to remove.  I tried about 5 or 6 times using Lightroom and got different results each time.  In the 3 examples I show the original, one of the Lightroom attempts and the successful one using Photoshop.  Full disclosure:  I made several attempts with Photoshop before I could get the remove tool to work.

[johnrellis]

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@Jeff A. Goulden, can you attach a full-resolution JPEG exported from the unmodified original? Using the low-res version you posted, Remove quickly removed the stick:

[Jeff A. Goulden]

John, I'm not sure what's going on but I am unable to upload any files right now.  It starts uploading and then stalls half way through.  By the way, when you tried the low res jpg, did you do it in one swipe or more?

[johnrellis]

@Jeff A. Goulden, the forum platform is often overloaded and very slow. You could instead upload to Dropbox, Google Drive, Wetransfer, or similar and post the sharing link here.

"when you tried the low res jpg, did you do it in one swipe or more?"

I did the branch to the left of the bird's head first and then the branch to the right separately. I used Object Aware to select each half, then refined it with Subtract to make sure very little of the bird was selected.

[Jeff A. Goulden]

Thanks John, as always.  With Photoshop Remove Tool, I swiped the entire branch including the birds head.  It left a few artifacts which I was able to clean up using the remove tool on the same area.  I will continue to experiment but it's difficult to clean up after using the Lightroom remove tool.  It doesn't want to let you back into the same area using the same tool.  I wish that Adobe had designed the remove tool with exactly the same functionality as Photoshop.

[johnrellis]

@Jeff A. Goulden: "...Lightroom remove tool.  It doesn't want to let you back into the same area using the same tool."

If you set Tool Overlay to Never (keyboard shortcut H), then the Remove area's icons disappear and you can brush in previous areas.

[Jeff A. Goulden]

Thanks John, that's good to know.  I have switched back to using the remove tool in Photoshop for now.  I'm sure that the Lightroom remove tool will get better over time, especially if Adobe looks at all the feedback.  I just don't have time for experimenting.

[wendid98451923]

I agree.... LR is not nearly as good as PS yet.  I'm trying to remove a white square from the edge of an ocean scene.  Lots of water to choose from as a replacement but the Remove tool just keeps adding more white blobs.  

[johnrellis]

@wendid98451923: "I'm trying to remove a white square from the edge of an ocean scene.  ... the Remove tool just keeps adding more white blobs."

See this article for how to "remove" rather than "replace":

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, so we and Adobe can see the issue in detail. With nearly everyone who has posted a problem photo, we've been able to show how to quickly remove the desired objects.

[ievaai]

This is link does not lead to a descent solution for the problem described.

[Ian Lyons]

@ievaai 

Please, explain what 'your' specific isssue is and in what way does the information at the link not provide a solution. A screenshot demonstrating your issue would also be helpful.

[shawnr64710704]

Same here, I tried to remove a person and it just replaced the white person with a black person. 

[johnrellis]

@shawnr64710704: "I tried to remove a person and it just replaced the white person with a black person."

See this 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, so we and Adobe can see the issue in detail. With nearly everyone who has posted a problem photo, we've been able to show how to remove the desired objects.

[ina_4650]

Have you cropped the image before? If so, try removing the disturbing object BEFORE cropping the image.

[Vic-86]

Same here. When it works, it's great. But I'm trying to remove a car, and all I get are other cars to replace it. 😞

[Ian Lyons]

@Vic-86 

If the AI model is replacing instead of removing, then it's very likely that you've not fully selected/masked the item to be removed. Shadows, reflections and projections not included in your selection/mask will also cause the AI model to replace.

You can see how to avoid this in the below linked tutorial.

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

[wjmjr2022]

This is not a fix.