Removing unwanted objects, people, or even blemishes from photographs is one of the most common uses of Photoshop. It can be a lifesaver when touching up professional headshots or vacation pictures you want to post. Adobe Photoshop offers several ways to clean up images, including the traditional Content-Aware Fill, Clone Stamp tool, and Spot Healing brush, as well as AI-based generative fill. In this guide, we will explore all the options available for removing objects in Photoshop.

Removing objects using Content-Aware Fill

The Content-Aware Fill tool has traditionally been the go-to option for Photoshop object removal - for good reason. The tool samples the rest of the picture to understand the content and uses that information to fill the gap. The tool works best for small to medium-sized regions. Since the tool does not use AI and relies only on context gained from the rest of the picture, you might have to try a few times to get the best result.

1. Launch Photoshop and open the image which contains the object you want to remove.
2. On the toolbar on the left-hand side of the screen, select the Lasso tool. You can also activate this tool by pressing the L key.
3. Use the Lasso tool to circle the object.
4. Press right-click and select the Content-Aware Fill option.
5. Content-Aware Fill analyzes the pixels surrounding the selected object and fills in the selection based on them.

Selecting the Content-Aware Fill option will present a slide-over option that lets you fine-tune which parts of the image Photoshop samples from. In most cases, the automatically selected option performs well enough. However, you can also use the custom option to brush over alternate areas you want to use as a reference when replacing the object you're removing. Once you are satisfied with the preview, press the okay button to apply the fill and cover up the object.

Removing objects using the Clone Stamp tool

The Clone Stamp tool is yet another option to remove objects from an image. Compared to the Content-Aware Fill tool, the Clone Stamp option offers more control as it allows you to copy pixels from one part of the image and paste them over the object you want to replace. Here’s how it works.

1. Select the Clone Stamp tool by pressing the S key or selecting it from the toolbar.
2. Press down the option key or the alt key on Mac or Windows, respectively, to select the area of the image you want to use as a sample to clone. This section of the image will be used as a source.
3. Next, release the alt or option key and paint over the object. The Clone Stamp tool will use the selected source area to replace the object.

It’s worth remembering that the Clone Stamp tool works best for smaller areas or for refining object removal. When using the Clone Stamp tool for object removal, there can be noticeable differences in parameters like white balance or exposure level, since it doesn't take context into account for you, so you might prefer to start with Content-Aware Fill.

Removing objects using the Spot Healing Brush

The Spot Healing Brush is yet another excellent tool for removing blemishes or smaller objects from a photograph. Like the Content-Aware Fill tool, it uses pixels from around the selected spot to fill in an object.

1. Select the Spot Healing Brush from the toolbar, or press the J key to select it.
2. Depending on the size of the object, you might want to adjust the size of the brush. You can do this by right-clicking and dragging the slider.
3. Brush over the object, and Photoshop will automatically replace the object.
4. Depending on the results, you might want to stroke over the object multiple times to get better results.

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You may also consider trying out the Content-Aware or Create Texture brush options to get better results. The Proximity Match tool blends the healed area by sampling pixels from the surrounding region. Meanwhile, instead of blending, the Create Texture mode generates a new texture based on nearby patterns, making it useful for more complex, non-uniform areas like stone or fabric. However, in most cases, Content-Aware spot healing delivers the best results.

Removing objects using Generative Fill

A relatively new feature in Adobe Photoshop is the ability to use AI to remove objects. If you are an Adobe Creative Cloud customer, your subscription likely includes 100 generative credits every month. Using AI to remove objects uses one credit per attempt, but it can be a nifty tool to rework images where the standard tools can’t achieve the best results. Here’s how it works.

1. Select the object using the Lasso tool.
2. A generative fill tool tip should pop up below the selection.
3. Tap the Generative Fill button, but leave the text box empty.
4. Tap the generate button, and Photoshop will replace the object.
5. Photoshop presents three variations of AI-generated images you could use to replace the original selection; you can cycle through them to find the best fit for your image.
6. You can also use the text box to generate fresh imagery to replace the original object, if you'd like to insert a totally new object in its place.

Picking the right tool for the job

Photoshop’s object removal tools make it easy to remove unwanted objects from an image. Your goal may be to remove a crowd from around an interesting monument, distracting elements from a group photograph, or even blemishes. Whatever it is that you want to make disappear, these four tools can make it easy to do in a flash. For most, the Generative Fill and Content-Aware Fill tools will deliver the best results. These tools use adjacent pixels and gauge the overall scene to determine the best way to mask the object.

If you need to cover smaller blemishes or need fine-grained control, you might want to take a look at the Clone Stamp tool and Spot Healing Brush instead. These tools operate best when making smaller and more precise adjustments to the image.

All it takes is a little practice and experimentation!