Lightroom is a great software for photo editing. However, there is at least one thing that Photoshop does better. And it is the removal of unwanted objects from a picture. The tool that makes Photoshop better in this area is Content-Aware Fill. Although, there are many other tools as well which do the same thing, however, it is easier and more efficient to use this tool.
Read along if you want to learn more about Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop.
What is Content-Aware Fill?
As shown above, Content-Aware Fill is primarily used to remove unwanted objects. But now, let us discuss it, in detail. The most important thing that you should know about it is that it works on a pixel level which makes it significantly better.
As we said, Photoshop has an arsenal of tools but the algorithm behind this tool makes it better. You simply select the object to be removed or even moved and guess what, Photoshop takes care of the process. It is due to the reason that Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop is backed by a strong AI.
How to Use Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop?
Now that you have a basic understanding of the tool, let us move on and see how to use it. Firstly, we will be discussing how to use the Content-Aware Fill Workspace and then, move on to Patch Tool.
Before we see how to use the tool, an important thing to remember is that you should use Duplicate Layers while editing. This will save the original image in case any mishap happens during the editing process.
Content-Aware Fill Workspace
If you want full control over the process, this is the tool that you want to use.Â
Step 1:
As discussed above, the first step of Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop is always the selection of the object. You can use any selection tool for this, but Lasso Tool is the best. After selection, select Edit and then Content-Aware Fill to open the workspace. You will see that this workspace is divided into three parts.
On the left part, Photoshop displays the original image with a green overlay applied to it. Moreover, it highlights your selection.
In the middle, you will see that Photoshop has applied a preview of the tool on the image. Also, if you think that the preview looks good, you do not need to refine it. However, in most cases, it is not that great, so refining is a better option.
The right part gives you options for further refinement.
Step 2:
Now that you understand the layout of Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop, let us see how to use the workspace.
Photoshop automatically places the green overlay over the replaced pixels. It means that the objects that you selected will be replaced by the pixels from the overlay. By default, Photoshop places a rectangle sampling area overlay on the image. If you want to convert it to custom, you can do so in the right panel.Â
Moreover, if you want to remove any part of that overlay, you can find the sampling brush tool in the Options bar and set it to minus. Set it to plus if you want to add some part.Â
You even get some options such as low, medium, high, and full to make a selection if it is on an angle.Â
Finally, if you are done with the refinement, you can click on OK and the results will be saved.
Content-Aware Patch Tool
The workspace gives you detailed control over the removal aspects. If you want to use a simple tool but still want to use Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop, the Patch Tool is the best choice for you.
Step 1:
As you might have guessed, the first step is to select the objects that you want to remove. But before you do that, enable the Patch Tool by pressing J. Then, you can select the objects using the Lasso Tool.
In the Options Bar, select the Content-Aware option.
Step 2:
In the second step, we have to drag a sampling area into the selected objects. The best thing about this tool is that when you drag and release, Photoshop automatically analyzes the parts and uses the pixels to replace the objects.
Furthermore, you can use the Structure and Color settings present in the Options bar.
The Structure tells Photoshop how much structure of sampling area it can use. Whereas, Color tells how much color blending it can do with the sampled pixels.
Conclusion - Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop
To sum it all up, We can use Content-Aware Fill in Photoshop in a few different ways. If you have a busy background, then you would want to have more control over the sampling area. In this case, workspace works best. On the other hand, if the background is simple, you can use the Patch Tool for making the process quicker and easier.
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