Here’s a dilemma that many of us have experienced when shooting in the field or on the street: You capture a what you think is  great shot, only to realize later that you failed to notice a person walking into the frame or emerging from behind a tree or building.

While it’s too late for a reshoot, there’s a quick-and-easy method for eliminating these unwanted distractions by following the instructions in this tutorial with photographer, educator, and Adobe wizard Julieanne Kost. Best yet, this process takes barely five minutes to learn. It all about understanding how to use the Distracting People removal tool in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).

The first step, if you haven’t already done so, is activating Technical Previews in ACR—otherwise you won’t be able to access this feature. The easiest way to do this in Photoshop is by selecting Settings, Camera Raw, choosing Technology Previews, and enabling the new AI features in the settings panel. You’ll then need to quit and restart Photoshop.

Kost also explains a similar process for starting in Bridge which is where this quick lesson begins. You’ll select the image(s) you want to work on before clicking the Open In Camera Raw icon. Next bring up the Remove tool tapping the “B” key. Now go to the Distraction Removal section and choose the People option and click on Remove.

As you’ll see, ACR uses generative AI technology to remove the people and fill in the targeted areas, like with Kost’s landscape shot of an imposing arch with two bystanders in the lower right corner of the frame. If ACR locates and removes more people than you intend, there’s a quick way to keep them in the shot.

Kost demonstrates a few quick tricks for refining the process which is just about as simple as is gets. One you’re done watching head over to her super helpful YouTube channel where you’ll find Lightroom and Photoshop tricks on just about any editing technique you can imagine.

We also recommend checking out a tutorial we featured earlier that reveals how a world-renouwed German landscape photographer uses Lightroom to create “atmospheric” outdoor photographs that are full of mood and emotion.

There are a number of masking tools for enhancing images in Lightroom and Photoshop, and some are more complicated than others while delivering similar results. The video below demonstrates a unique hidden trick for getting the job done to perfection.  

In fact, instructor Brendan Williams insists that this transformational Photoshop masking tool “will change how you edit photos forever more.” And he walks you through the step-by-step process in less than 12 minutes, using two examples to illustrate the simple technique.

The benefit of this oft-ignored tool is that it enables you to create a “depth map” of an image for more refined adjustments. Williams reveals how this unique technique utilizes a neural filter, rather that selections or brush adjustments, with two simple check boxes.

Williams explains the tool like this: “The neural filter automatically scans the depth of an image and turns it into contrast that we can output into a new layer. We can then use channels to turn this information into a reusable selection that blends the adjustment seamlessly throughout the entire image for way more control over effects based upon distance from the camera.”

The process begins by clicking the Filter tab atop the workspace and choosing the Neural Filters option from a dropdown menu that appears. Then you want to enable Depth Blur from the list off available filters. There are only two settings that are important; namely, Focus Subject and the Output Depth Map.

Once both boxes are checked Photoshop presents a large preview that’s essentially a layer mask that will have different intensities based upon the depth of an image. Then we can select the contrast of the image by using our channels panel.”

There are a few more aspects to this process, and Williams explains everything you need to know. He makes this depth-map technique simple and fast by providing helpful keyboard shortcuts.

Be sure to add this hidden tool to your everyday workflow, and then visit Williams’ instructional YouTube channel for more tips and tricks with Lightroom and Photoshop.

And don’t miss the tutorial we featured earlier with another post-processing expert who demonstrates the difference between Flow and Density settings when using brushes to edit your photographs.