Web Development: How to Remove a Person From a Photo in Photoshop Using Content Aware Fill

How to Remove a Person From a Photo in Photoshop Using Content Aware Fill

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to remove unwanted objects in Photoshop using the Content Aware Fill tool. This feature allows you to quickly fill in a selection with surrounding content, making it look like a part of the original image.

In this case, we will choose to remove a person from a photo. This can be done in less than five minutes. With the additional image enhancements, this tutorial will take you less than ten minutes to complete.

You'll learn how to remove something from a picture in Photoshop pretty easily. But what if you need a faster or more professional solution? In that case, your best bet is to use premium Photoshop actions. Scroll down after this tutorial to find out how to remove something in Photoshop using Photoshop actions found on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Removing unwanted objects in Photoshop is easier with this premium action.

Would you rather watch this tutorial in action? Follow us along over at the Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel! Learn how to remove something in Photoshop by watching this video:

What You'll Learn in This Photoshop Tutorial

How to remove a person from a photo in Photoshop
How to use Content Aware in Photoshop
How to remove unwanted objects in Photoshop
How to use Curves in Photoshop

What You'll Need

Hiker Photo

Find more resources on Envato Elements!

1. Open the Picture in Photoshop

Using the Content Aware tool on different images produces different results. An image with a gradient background or a lot of detail such as the land in this image is quite tricky to work with. Let's begin by opening your selected image in Photoshop.

2. How to Mark the Object With the Pen Tool

We are extracting the person from this photo. Using the Pen Tool, begin by making a path around the subject.

The nice thing about using Content Aware is that you do not have to be exact when making a selection. In fact, do your best not to cut too close to the subject.

Notice how far I am drawing the path from the subject. Try to keep this distance all the way around. If you go too close, Content Aware will take pixels from the subject.

3. How to Turn a Path Into a Selection

Once you complete the path around the subject, turn it into a selection. This can be done by right-clicking on the path and selecting Make Selection.

A dialog box will pop up. Make sure the Feather is set to 0 px, and leave all other options as they are. Click OK.

4. How to Remove People in Photoshop With Content Aware Fill

Now we have an active selection around our subject. In this step, we will learn how to remove something from a picture in Photoshop using Content Aware Fill. To do this, go to Edit > Fill.

A dialog box will pop up. Make sure the Content Aware option is selected, the blending mode is set to Normal, and the Opacity is at 100%. Hit OK.

You can cancel the selection at any time by making another selection or just clicking anywhere else on the page with any selection tool.

Remove a Person From a Photo in Photoshop Using Content Aware Fill

5. How to Remove Something in Photoshop

In this step, we will remove some of the other artifacts in the image using the same process. The Content Aware tool did miss a spot where the subject’s foot originally was. To fix this, draw a rectangle around the area using the Rectangle Selection tool. And use the Content Aware Fill as we have done in the previous steps.

6. How to Enhance a Picture in Photoshop (Optional)

In this step, we will enhance the photo by giving it a more vibrant look. The colors currently appear somewhat dull. There are many ways to accomplish this, but we will use color Curves.

To do this, go to Image > Adjustments > Curves. A dialog box will pop up, and we will select each of the channels (R, G, B) and work on them separately.

Select the Red channel from the dropdown menu. We are going to make two points on the graph: one at the bottom of the top right square, and one at the top of the bottom left square.

Once you have made these points, make sure you enter the values for each. For the top right point, the Output value is 199, and the Input value is 185. For the bottom point, the values are 56 and 68 respectively. You can play around with these settings and adjust them to whatever you feel is appropriate. Repeat this for the other colors, Green and Blue.

Well Done! You've Learned How to Remove a Person From a Photo in Photoshop

Your image should now look something like the one below. As you can see, we have removed the woman on the left with very little effort using Photoshop's Content Aware feature. Removing a person from a picture in Photoshop is easy when you follow these steps. Keep practicing and experimenting with more pictures now that you know how to use Content Aware in Photoshop!

How To Remove a Person From a Photo in Photoshop Using Content Aware Fill

3 Top Photoshop Remove Object Actions to Use in 2022

Now you know how to remove unwanted objects in Photoshop from scratch. The Content Aware Fill tool can be really cool, but if you're looking for a faster, one-click solution for how to remove people in Photoshop, we've got some cool Photoshop actions for you!

If you're an avid Photoshop user and have a growing collection of add-ons, Envato Elements is a great option for you. You can download unlimited professional Photoshop actions for a low monthly fee. You'll also have access to thousands of add-ons, fonts, graphic templates, and more.

On the other hand, if you don't like subscriptions, go to GraphicRiver. This single-purchase marketplace offers you the same premium Photoshop actions without having to subscribe. If you want to remove objects from a photo in Photoshop in one click, check out these actions!

1. Automated Content Aware Fill Action (ATN)

This Photoshop action offers a one-click solution for removing objects or text from a large stack of files, with two methods of input.

The layer stacks input allows you to place up to 500 layers that share the same subject or watermark (in the same position). It's very useful when you need to work with a lot of pictures.

The video input is useful for getting rid of small objects that don’t move throughout the footage. As you can see, this Photoshop action is a great addition to your toolbox.

2. Subtract Background Adaptive Action (ATN)

Wondering how to remove background objects in Photoshop? Do you need to quickly remove the background from your picture? You need an action to remove the background from an object in Photoshop.

This action is designed for quickly masking out a subject by mimicking the background coloring and subtracting it. It works in solid colors and two-color linear gradients.

3. Extreme Remove Background Photoshop Actions (ATN)

This action to remove a background from an object in Photoshop is from GraphicRiver. The action uses the smart masking technique: the objects you place will blend seamlessly with the new background, with no jagged edges and no residual colors. Learning how to remove background objects in Photoshop is easy with this action.

Discover More Amazing Photoshop Tutorials and Resources

In this tutorial, you've learned to remove a person from a photo in Photoshop. As you saw, the Content Aware feature can be super useful.

We also showed you some actions to remove a person from a picture in Photoshop. These actions provide a faster and more professional result. If you enjoyed learning how to remove a person from a photo in Photoshop, we've got more resources for you: