Today’s quick tutorial from the Focus Photo School provides a quick-and-easy Lightroom solution to a common dilemma faced by street shooters and other photographers devoted to capturing compelling images of the urban landscape; namely, those image-killing reflections that occur when shooting through plate glass windows.

This method can also be useful when other types of reflection compromise image quality. In either case, this task is accomplished with Lightroom’s new AI-based tool that gets the job done quickly and effectively. While the technique may not be one that that you’ll use every day, instructor David Marx says, “this powerful new feature can transform photos you might have otherwise deleted into share-worth masterpieces!”

Lightroom’s new Distraction Removal panel is located inside the Remove Tool grouping alongside the Generative Remove and the Healing Brush. As Marx explains, “this powerful feature utilizes machine learning to identify and remove reflected areas, revealing the true scene you intended to capture.”

This new tool revolves around the fact that a photograph with a reflection is actually two images combined—one with the scene you want, and the another with the weaker, hazier reflection of what’s behind you. In essence, Lightroom relies upon AI to “detangle” these two images.

Marx demonstrates how the Amount slider enables you to blend between the original image, the reflection-free image, or just the reflection, and he says, “it’s a mind-blowing way to visualize what AI is doing behind the scenes to salvage your photos.” The tool is primarily designed for reflections from plate glass on storefronts and museum exhibits, but it can also be helpful when photographing tide pools and other subjects with calm water.

It’s important to understand the limitations of this initial version of Lightroom’s Reflection Removal tool, because it typically works well but it’s not always perfect. So if you’re not completely satisfied with your first attempt, feel free to experiment until you achieve a better result.

The Focus Photo School is a great resource for all Photoshop and Lightroom users regardless of their skills, so be sure to pay a visit and explore what’s available.

And don’t miss the earlier tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to quickly rehabilitate photographs with blotchy, uneven, polarized skies in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Are you confused by the difference between Angle of View and Field of View, and how these important considerations affect your photography? And what about the synergy between these terms and focal length?

The quick explainer below from the folks at Photography PX clears up the confusion in barely eight minutes by demonstrating why the concepts of Field of View and Angle of View are definitely NOT interchangeable. Today’s instructor Devaun Lennox co-founded the YouTube channel “with the sole mission of providing techniques and tools for beginner and developing photographers alike.”

Lennox begins with a quick overview of focal length because that’s the first thing most photographers consider when pulling a lens out of their bag or making a purchase. Most shooters understand how wide, normal, and telephoto lenses affect the perspective and magnification of their photos. In theoretical terms “focal length (expressed in millimeters) describes the point of convergence of light rays on the sensor to form a sharp and focused image.”

Angle of View, on the other hand, describes how much of the scene a specific lens is able to capture, measured in degrees. Lennox explains that most manufacturers express Angle of View by measuring the diagonal of an image—calculated by using a combination of focal length and sensor size.” Lennox includes a formula for doing the simple math yourself.

So what’s the deal with Field of View? Lennox defines the term like this: “It represents the calculated field size, meaning how large the subject appears in the frame of your photo.” According to Lennox this calculation is based upon three variables instead of two—namely, focal length, sensor size AND the dimensional variable he explains.

The lesson continues with practical applications of the foregoing, including important implications for image quality. There’s a link to a blog in the description beneath the video with additional visuals if you’re so inclined. And be sure to check out the instructional PhotographyPX YouTube channel.

Speaking of perspective, don’t miss our earlier tutorial featuring a British pro who explains how to get started in panorama photography with gear recommendations, shooting techniques, and straightforward post-processing advice

It was just before five in the morning. The páramo, and the sky above, were still lit only by thousands of stars. High in the Ecuadorian Andes, the nights are cold. And the fact that the equator lies just 50 kilometers away changes nothing about that. Here, on the Earth’s longest line of latitude, life follows a strict routine: The sun rises at six o’clock in the morning and sets twelve hours later, every single day of the year. For those twelve hours, the sun reigns supreme in the sky. The only creature capable of eclipsing its brilliance is the Andean Condor.