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  • Writer's picturePGW
    • May 8
    • 6 min read

Mastering Content-Aware Fill: A Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Objects from Photos in Photoshop



Learn to use the Content-Aware Fill workspace to seamlessly fill selected portions of an image with content sampled from other parts of the image

Try it in the appFollow along with a sample file to learn how to use Content-Aware Fill.

Open Photoshop

Topics in the article:

The Content-Aware Fill workspace provides an interactive editing experience for ultimate image control. Use the live full-resolution preview as you refine the sampling area Content-Aware Fill uses and adjust the settings to achieve amazing results.

Content-Aware Fill workspace


Watch the short video below to learn how to use Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop.

Read the full article to understand the step details. 

Quickly remove objects with Content-Aware Fill

Learn how to remove objects with the Content-Aware Fill workspace in four simple steps

  1. Select the object Make a quick selection of an object you want to remove using Select Subject, the Object Selection Tool, the Quick Selection Tool, or the Magic Wand Tool Select an object to remove

  2. Open Content-Aware Fill Right-click and choose Content-Aware Fill...

  • Right-click within the selection and choose Content-Aware Fill…

  • Choose Edit > Content-Aware Fill...


  1. Refine the selection Easily expand the selection edges around your object by selecting a Lasso tool from the left Toolbar and clicking the Expand button one or more times in the Options bar at the top. If you've expanded the selection too much, use the Contract button or Undo to reduce the selection edges.

  2. Click OK when you're happy with the fill results Click OK when done!





Use tools to fine-tune sampling and fill areas

Sampling Brush Tool


Paint with the Sampling Brush Tool in the document window to add or remove sampled image areas used to fill the selection.

Modify the sampling area using the Sampling Brush Tool.


  • To add to the default sampling area, choose the Add mode in the Tool Options bar and brush over the areas in the image you want to include in the sampling area overlay. 

  • To remove from the default sampling area, choose the Subtract mode in the Tool Options bar and brush over the areas in the image you want to exclude from the sampling area overlay. 

  • To toggle between Add and Subtract modes, hold down Alt (Windows) / Option (macOS) key while brushing with the Sampling Brush Tool.

  • To increase or decrease the Sampling Brush size, use the Size option in the Tool Options bar or use the left/right bracket keys.   


Selection refinement tools

Use either the Lasso Tool or Polygonal Lasso Tool to change or modify your original selection (fill area) in the document window.

To learn more, see Select with the lasso tools

Modify your selection using the Lasso or Polygonal Lasso Tool.


  • Press 'E' to cycle through the Lasso Tool selection modes - New Selection, Add To Selection, Subtract From Selection, and Intersect With Selection. 

  • With the either Lasso Tool selected, use the Expand button to and Contract buttons to expand You can click these options in the Tool Options bar to expand or contract the selection by a specified number of pixels.     

  • To reset all changes made in this workspace to the original selection, click the reset () icon in the Tool Options bar. 


Note:

When you change the selection, the sampling area gets reset but the previous brush strokes are preserved. The selection also gets updated in the document when you exit the Content-Aware Fill workspace after committing the fill.


Navigation tools

Hand Tool: Pan over different parts of the image in the document window and the Preview panel. You can quickly toggle to the Hand Tool by holding the 'Spacebar' key while using any other tool.


Zoom Tool: Magnify or reduce the view of the image in the document window or the Preview panel. To learn more, see Zoom in or out

To change magnification level in the Preview panel, drag the zoom slider at the bottom of the panel or manually type a zoom percentage value in the text box.


Adjust Content-Aware Fill settings

You can adjust the following settings in the Content-Aware Fill panel.


Sampling Area Overlay

Show Sampling Area

Select this option to show the sampling area or the excluded area as an overlay on the image in the document window.

  • To reset to default sampling area, click the reset () icon next to the Show Sampling Area option.

Opacity

Sets the opacity of the overlay displayed in the document window. To adjust the opacity, drag the slider or type a percentage value in the text box. 

Color

Assigns color to the overlay displayed in the document window. Click the color selection box and then choose a color from Adobe Color Picker. 

Indicates

Shows the overlay in the sampling or the excluded area. Choose an option from the drop-down list - Sampling Area or Excluded Area.




Sampling Area Options

Determine the sampling area in your image where you want Photoshop to look for source pixels to fill content.

Auto

Select this option to use content similar to surrounding fill area.

Rectangular

Select this option to use rectangular region around fill area. 

Custom

Select this option to manually define a sampling area. Use the Sampling Brush Tool to add to the sampling area.

Sample All Layers

Select this option to sample source pixels from all the visible layers in your document.

Fill Settings

Color Adaptation

Allows contrast and brightness to adapt for a better match. This setting is useful for filling content with gradual color or texture changes. Choose an appropriate option from the drop-down list - None, Default, High, or Very High.

Use the Color Adaptation setting to fill content with gradual color or texture changes.


Rotation Adaptation

Allows content rotation for a better match. This setting is useful for filling content with rotated or curved patterns. Choose an appropriate option from the drop-down list - None, Low, Medium, High, or Full.

Use the Rotation Adaptation setting to fill content with rotated or curved patterns.


Scale

Select this option to allow content resizing for a better match. It works well for filling content with repeating patterns of different sizes or under perspective.

Use the Scale option for filling content with repeating patterns of different sizes or under perspective.


Mirror

Select this option to allow content to be flipped horizontally for a better match. This is useful for images with horizontal symmetry.

Use the Mirror option to fill images with horizontal symmetry.


To reset to default fill settings, click the reset () icon in the Fill Settings menu.

Output settings

Output To

Apply Content-Aware Fill to Current Layer, New Layer, or Duplicate Layer.


View full-resolution preview in the Preview panel

As you fine-tune sampling and fill areas and adjust fill settings, the Preview panel renders a full-resolution preview of the changes. 


Note:

Photoshop first renders an initial low-resolution preview of the changes in the Preview panel. Immediately after, it generates a full-resolution preview. While this full-resolution preview is being generated, you may notice that a warning icon appears next to the spinner in the lower-right corner of the Preview panel.

  • To change the magnification of the preview image, you can drag the zoom slider or type a value in the text box at the bottom of the panel. You can also select Zoom Tool in the Tools panel.

  • To pan over different parts of the preview image, you can switch to Hand Tool quickly by pressing 'H' while using any other tool.


Apply multiple fill changes

Introduced in Photoshop 21.1 (February 2020 release)

You can fill multiple portions of the image without leaving the Content-Aware Fill workspace. After you get the desired fill result for a selection in your image, do the following: 

  1. Click Apply at the bottom of the Content-Aware Fill panel to commit fill and keep the workspace open.

  2. Now, use Lasso Tool or Polygonal Lasso Tool within the Content-Aware Fill workspace to make a new selection to fill.


Commit or cancel fill changes

  • To commit fill and close the Content-Aware Fill workspace, click OK at the bottom of the Content-Aware Fill panel or press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you get the desired fill result in the image.

  • To cancel fill and close the Content-Aware Fill workspace, click Cancel at the bottom of the Content-Aware Fill panel or press Esc.   

Reset all fill settings

To reset all Content-Aware Fill settings, click the reset () icon in the lower-left corner of the Content-Aware Fill panel.      


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