The Insane Power of Photoshop's Remove Tool for Street Photography
Introduction
The Remove Tool was released in Photoshop’s May 2023 update. I my opinion, it i is kind of like magic and it blends my love for technology and my keen eye for detail.
Why it is a game changer…
It's not just a simple tool such as the Healing brush, or the Clone Stamp. It Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence to effortlessly and easily remove unwanted objects from images. You now simply have the ability to brush over any distracting element in your photo, and like a skilled magician, Photoshop will make it completely disappear, whilst it blends any empty space with the surrounding area.
A Technological Marvel for the Artistic Eye
In the very latest version - Photoshop 2024. It has become even easier to use and more intuitive. I didn't use this for my video, but you can now simply draw an outline around an object and the AI intelligence in Photoshop will understand what needs to be removed.
The benefit of this is that it saves time in complex scenes where precision is key.
Using the Remove Tool for Street Photography
I decided to test it out on this photo that I shot in Truro in Cornwall.
I wanted to see how effective it is at removing people from the background who are literally standing in front of the shop. In the video, you can see how amazed I am at its ability to reconstruct the front of the shop. Even if it is not exact, it does a fantastic job of making you believe this is exactly what the shopfront looks like. Not only does it do a great job at this - the shop is showing from the side, which I can imagine is more tricky to re-create, than having the shop face on. I then used the Remove Tool on the cathedral in the background - once again it does another stellar job. the final tricky edit was when I used it on a man standing on the left of the image, which turned out to be another success!
As I said in the video, I wouldn't normally be erasing loads of people from my street photography images. For me, street photography is like a sport (it's probably the only sport I really enjoy), and you can only harness your skills by being patient and waiting for the right person to enter or leave the frame. Deleting distractions such as people is pretty much cheating in my opinion. However, the Remove Tool does have its uses for street photography. Dirt, dust, specs on your sensor, rubbish, accidental highlights from reflections in a window, and reasonable distractions such as broken windows or paving, etc. This AI tool can do a better job of removing these elements than traditional tools such as the Healing brush or the Clone Stamp, in my opinion; so I will use it very sparingly going ahead.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Photoshop's new Remove Tool is not just another feature; it's a testament to the power of using new technology to enhance and simplify artistic expression. For someone who has always lived at the intersection of technology and art, this tool is a significant step into the future, making photography and photo editing more accessible and more intuitive.
Go forth and create.