How To Remove Unwanted Objects In Photos In Photoshop

One of the most irritating things for a photographer is taking a beautiful picture only to realize later on in post-processing that there is an unwanted object in the shot that effectively ruins the image. Sometimes we are so focused on the overall image when the photo is taken that we just don't notice that something small is distracting attention away from the main subject of the photograph.

In any case, how do we handle this situation in post-processing? Actually, it's fairly easy in Photoshop. Here is an example:

In this image the blades of green grass are an unnecessary distraction from the beauty of the sleeping ducklings. So they just simply have to go!

First, I opened the JPG file in Photoshop and then selected the "Brush" tool from the toolbar on the left of the main editing screen. Then I clicked on the "Foreground/Background Color" tool farther down the list and set the foreground color to the area that surrounds the blade of grass. In this case it's the light yellow of the fuzz on each duckling.

With the color selected, I just brushed over the grass and made it disappear by applying the surrounding color. I did this with both ducklings. But just brushing on a matching color does not necessarily match the texture or pattern of the fuzz, so to blend in the texture I selected the "Spot Healing Brush" from the left side toolbar and made the brush large enough to more than cover the width of the grass blade that I brushed out. Then by working my way down the area where the grass was removed, this tool automatically brings in the texture and color of the surrounding area.

In some cases, I can just use the "Spot Healing Brush" all by itself on smaller unwanted objects and achieve very good results, but when there is a larger object that needs to disappear I find it best to brush it away first using a surrounding color and then use the "Spot Healing Brush" afterward as a finishing touch.

Here is the finished image after retouching:

Voila! No grass blades in the wrong places anymore. This technique is very simple and yet can help remove major unwanted objects from your photos. It takes a little practice but it can save some images that otherwise just wouldn't be good enough to show.

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