Those who use Photoshop’s Generative Fill to remove objects from an image know that it often fails to do an acceptable job. In this tutorial from the Photoshop Café YouTube channel you’ll learn why may occur, and when and how to employ the Remove tool instead.

Instructor Colin Smith is a post-processing expert, and he explains everything you need to know about object-removal done right. He breaks down several myths about Generative Fill, explains when it works and when it doesn’t, and the advantages of using the Remove tool for certain types of images. He also reveals a common misconception about resolution with regard to Generative Fill.

So when should you employ Generative Fill as opposed to other tools? The answer according to Smith boils down to this: “If you need to generate something you should be using Generative Fill.” This may seem like a facile explanation, but it makes much more sense when viewing his image of a women and her bicycle in front of a brick wall.

In practical terms it works like this: Non-generative tools will work fine if your goal is to remove both the woman and her bike, because “the image has everything needed.” On the other hand, if your goal is to only remove the woman, “now were going to have problems because part of the bike will have to be generated.”

Smith then walks you through a step-by-step process of employing both methods as appropriate. Here are a few key benefits of Photoshop’s Remove tool: There are no resolution limitations, it works faster, and an Internet connection isn’t required for local AI.

After employing the Remove tool to eliminate the woman and her bike, Smith then turn his attention to leaving the bike in the shot, while just removing the model. This is where Generative Fill comes into play and you’ll learn the right way to proceed while avoiding common mistakes that degrade the quality of the results you achieve.

So here’s the takeaway: Both techniques will get the job done when correctly applied. It’s simply a matter of understanding when to take one approach versus the other. Once you’ve finished watching this lesson, head over to the Photoshop Cafe YouTube channel where you’ll find solutions to just about any post-processing problems you confront.

And don’t miss the tutorial we featured recently with another image-editing specialist who demonstrates three alternatives to Lightroom’s Hue/Saturation/Luminance sliders for  enhancing photographs with perfect color.

Lightroom’s ever-evolving array of features and tools can be difficult to keep track of by intermediate users, let alone those new to the game. Today’s quick tutorial cuts through the grease by revealing five powerful “secrets” that anyone can start using today.

Photographer Nickolas Warner is a NY-based pro specializing in landscape, travel, and nature imagery. He’s also a very popular instructor, and in this six-episode he reveals a handful of hidden of “hidden” Lightroom methods that may even be unfamiliar to experienced users.

At the top of Warner’s list is a technique he calls “Subtracting the sky from the sky.” This process begins by opening Lightroom’s Masking panel, creating a new mask, and selecting the sky. This is the conventional approach and the results are often far from perfect, as you’ll see by zooming in on the image when you’ll notice ugly bleed-through to the adjacent mountains in the background.

This problem may also occur in reverse when inverting the mask to target everything in the scene but the sky. Fixing this may seem like a daunting task until you watch Warner clean up the selections by putting Lightroom’s oft-ignored Subtract feature to work.

Another cool trick involves the use of Lightroom’s Midtone Exposure slider that’s particularly useful for processing high-contrast photos. In these cases increasing the overall exposure quickly pushes the highlights and blows out the sky in Warner’s sample image. This is where the Midtone slider improves the image in a hurry by following the steps Warner provides.

Warner refers to the third secret as a “background color switch” that enables you to more accurately assess the tones an image when view against the white background on your computer screen. All that’s required is to switch the background to black or one of the many shades of gray. And you can always toggle back and forth to evaluate the image in different ways.

Keep watching because there are two more helpful tricks to learn that are just as effectice and easy as the trio summarized above. Warner refers to these as “before-and-after tools,” and color-masking additions.” Once the video concludes head over to Warner’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find a wide variety of post-processing advice.

We also recommend the Lightroom tutorial we featured with another editing expert who demonstrates how to rehabilitate underexposed photographs for perfectly balanced tones throughout complicated outdoor scenes.