The question of how to remove people from photography in Photoshop worries many amateur photographers. It often happens that in the frame there are objects and characters who should not be there. This is especially true for places actively visited by tourists - it is almost impossible to find free space so that only sights and an object of photography appear in the frame. In this case, such graphic editors as Adobe Photoshop come to the rescue.
Basic retouching tools
Before you remove people from photos in Photoshop, you need to open the selected image in the program and create a new layer by placing it above the background. To compare the result, you can create another copy of the main layer and hide it by clicking on the eye icon in the Layers panel. Basically, we will work with two main tools for retouching in Adobe Photoshop - “Spot Repair Brush” and “Stamp”. For an alternative fill option in Photoshop with unnecessary details, we will use the Healing / Restoring Brush.
How to set up tools
First, go to the settings of the tool “Spot Repair Brush”. In the brush parameters we set the type “Based on the contents”, select the hardness - from 50% and higher, depending on the features of the image. If you select a brush that is too soft, the edges of the editable areas will be fuzzy and more noticeable. Be sure to check the box “Sample for all layers” so that the tool works on an empty layer. We leave the opacity at 100% and the pressure at 50%. The smaller the pressure, the more times you have to spend the tool in the same place. The accuracy of his work will be better, but you will have to spend more time, because 50% is the best option.
How to work with the “Spot Healing Brush” and “Stamp”
Now we’ll figure out how to remove the excess from the photo in Photoshop. We begin image processing on a new, empty layer. We select the tool "Spot Repairing Brush" - it will be convenient for her to use for retouching contrasting objects, for example, light shapes on a dark background. It’s quite simple to remove small parts - we draw them with a brush and they disappear. Then we remove the largest elements. To do this, we will use the Stamp tool. We adjust the stiffness of the brush: it should be medium, about 50-60%. Before removing a person from the photo, we find on the image a site similar in hue to the object we need, and click on it with the left mouse button while holding down the Alt key.
Retouching process
Now, instead of the cursor, a sight will appear, with the help of which it will be convenient to take a sample of the layer in a certain place. The brush size can be increased to capture more space. This can also be done using the hotkey with a square bracket. Now, if you draw a tool on the figure of a person, a copy of the sample will appear at this place. Next, we work according to the same scheme: click with the Alt key held down and transfer the copy to a new location, gradually painting over the excess objects. We work carefully so that the fill in Photoshop is not too noticeable. It is important not to forget to remove not only the objects themselves, but also the shadows from them. There is nothing new in the way how to remove the shadow from a photo in Photoshop - you can do this using the same tools.
Alternative way to remove redundant objects
Graphic editors allow different approaches to retouching the same image. You can use another option to edit the picture. Before removing people from photos in Photoshop, create a copy of the layer by pressing the key combination Ctrl + J. Now we’ll use the Healing / Restoring Brush tool. This is an automatic Photoshop tool similar in functionality to the Spot Repair Brush, which corrects background flaws using built-in algorithms. He copes well with his task if the object and background are quite contrasting. If the “Spot Healing Brush” removes minor imperfections in the background, then the “Healing / Restoring Brush” is used to remove large objects. Its only drawback is the change in the background texture. But the consequences of the incorrect operation of this tool can be corrected with the help of darkening or lightening of retouched places and additional correction with special filters.
Using the Healing / Healing Brush
To control the cursor, use the Alt key in the same way as in the case with the "Spot Repair Brush". We select a site for the sample, copy it and transfer it to a new place. If the outline of the foreground object and the elements to be removed are merged, use the Magnetic Lasso tool. Select with it the main shape and copy it to a new layer. Then we work on the background layer. We already know several ways how to remove people from photos in Photoshop, and we can use any of them to retouch unnecessary objects. For example, take the Stamp tool again and sketch out the extra elements.
Final image correction
It often happens that after automatic processing, artifacts appear on the retouching sites or the edges of the areas become fuzzy. You can add contrast and make the photo better if you add contrasts. To do this, create a new layer and select "Curves" on the toolbar and in the window that appears, slightly shift the center point down. Then add a layer mask and fill it with black. Working on the mask with a white brush, we finish the structure in the necessary areas, giving the elements additional volume. Now it remains just to combine the layers and save the image in the desired format.