Use
Smart Fill to remove large objects from images with complex background details.
Smart Fill is unique; rather than directly cloning parts of an image, the
filter intelligently samples image chunks around the area to be removed,
automatically detects details such as color and lighting, then recombines
the sampled image details to create a contiguous background texture where
the original object once appeared.

This chapter contains
the following sections:
Using Smart Fill
1. Using a selection
tool, preferably the lasso, make a selection around the defect or object
that you want to remove.
2. Run the Smart Fill
filter.
3. Click the Arrow
button to view and adjust the Texture Source Box control. Most of the
time, placing a Texture Source Box directly around the area of the selection
will do the trick. Sometimes, however, you may wish to sample a texture
from another location in the filter preview. In this case, click and drag
the spot in the center of the texture source box to the desired location
in your image. For more information on using Texture Source Boxes, see
the Texture Source Boxes section in this chapter.
4. Adjust the Contract
or Expand Selection slider to make sure you have completely selected the
the object you wish to remove.
5. Adjust the Texture
Feature Size slider to sample appropriately sized image details. See Texture
Feature Size on page 30 for more information.
6. Adjust Texture
Regularity to taste. See Texture Regularity on page 30 for
more information.
7. Click Regenerate
Texture a few times to randomize the resulting fill pattern. In many cases,
you can simply run the Smart Fill filter, click Regenerate Texture
a few times, and get great results.
Slider Descriptions
and In-Preview Controls
Contract or Expand
Selection (pixels)
Use this slider to
contract or expand your original selection from within the Image Doctor
interface.
Range: -20 (20)
Why? If the
initial preview reveals remnants of your original selection, you can expand
your selection to knock out the leftovers. If you find that you are removing
some nearby desirable image detail, you can contract your selection a
couple of pixels to protect that area. Its best to make a good,
close selection before you run the filter, however.
Texture Feature Size
Use this slider to
specify the texture sample size that Smart Fill uses for texture replacement.
If, for example, the blades of grass that make up the sampled texture
are roughly 15 pixels tall, pump up the feature size to about 15 pixels.
Range: 3 100
Note: The Feature
Size slider works in conjunction with the hash marks in the Texture Source
Box in-preview control. When you increment the feature size slider, the
hash marks spread apart to reflect the increasing size of texture chunks
being sampled.
Texture Regularity
These radio buttons
control how closely Smart Fill matches the image details generated in
your selection. For more predictable textures, such as bricks, use higher
values. For irregular patterns, such as grass, sometimes lower values
will do just fine. Using lower Texture Regularity values helps the filter
render faster and randomizes the appearance of image details generated
in your selection.
Options: Low, Medium, High
Stitch into Background
Selecting this box
forces Smart Fill to attempt a seamless placement of fill textures in
your selected area.
Note: Checking this
box disables the Feather Radius slider.
Feather Radius
Feather Radius creates
an opacity drop off around the edge of the affected area of your imagehelping
blend the filtered area with the surrounding unaffected pixels. To use
stitching, clear the Stitch into Background check box. See
When to Use Stitching or Feathering for detailed information
on the subject.
Range: 0 - 4 pixels.
Feathering
can cause an unnatural loss of detail at the edge of your selection if
used in excess.
Regenerate Texture
Use this button to
randomly rearrange the fill details generated by Smart Fill. In many cases,
you can simply run the Smart Fill filter, click Regenerate Texture
a few times, and get great results.
When to Use Stitching
or Feathering
This section provides
detailed information on how to properly use the Stitch into Background
and Feather Radius controls.
Stitching and Feathering:
How they Differ
Stitch into
Background analyzes the appearance of image details that surround
your selection and attempts to match the edges of the composite fill image
to those details. Stitching almost always provides the best Smart Fill
results.
Feather Radius
specifies an opacity drop-off (1 to 4 pixels) around the outside of your
selected fill area and the surrounding image detail. Feathering disables
stitching, however, usually with results inferior to those produced by
stitching.
Always Try Stitch
into Background First
Stitch into Background
is the best option for seamlessly removing objects from a background.
If you are not getting the desired result, try the following steps, before
using feathering, to improve the quality of your fill results.
- Expand your texture
source box.
- Reduce the Feature
Size slider value.
- Use a precise selection
tool, such as the lasso.
- Use multiple selections
when the object you wish to remove traverses multiple different backgrounds.
- Rearrange the fill
details in your selection by clicking Rearrange Texture.
When to use Feather Radius
When a selection falls
on a sharply contrasting edge, such as a horizon behind a desert landscape,
stitching can introduce a rough edge. Feathering can help soften these
edges.
Stitching writes outside
of your selection. Sometimes, as a result, Smart Fill overwrites parts
of an image you wish to preserve. If you want to preserve the areas outside
of your selection, use feathering.
In-Preview Controls
Texture Source Boxes
Texture Source Boxes
specify the areas from which Smart Fill samples the small image details
used to remove an object.
Texture
Source Box
Hash Marks
The hash marks on
your texture source control box expand and contract as you adjust the
Texture Feature Size slider.
Arrow Button
Click the Arrow button
to control the placement, size, and inclination of Texture Source Boxes
in Smart Fill. Click and drag any corner of a Texture Source Box to resize
it. Click and drag the spot in the center of the box to move it. Click
and drag the triangle above the box to rotate the box.
Arrow Button
Note:
Rotating the Texture Source Box rotates the angle at which fill details
will appear in your image. Rotation is rarely needed, but can be useful
in cases where you are sampling image details far from the object that
you are removing. In far off locations, the perspective of sampled image
details may differ.
Using Multiple Texture
Source Boxes
If you are trying
to fill an area with image details that exist in various parts of an image,
use more than one Texture Source Box. To initialize a new Texture Source
Box, click any part of your preview image using the Arrow tool.
Deleting Texture
Source Boxes
To delete a Texture
Source Box, click and drag it out of the preview area.
Tutorials
Simple Object Removal
Use this tutorial
to learn how to remove an object from an uninterrupted, homogenous background
texture.
We begin with a bottle
lying in a background texture of grass.
1. Using virtually
any selection tool, preferably the lasso, make a rough selection around
the object that you wish to remove.
2. Run Smart Fill.
3. Click on the in-preview
Arrow control to adjust your Texture Source Box.
Note: Clicking and dragging any corner resizes the frame. Clicking
and dragging the dot in the center of the frame moves the frame around
the interface. The bottle will not be sampled. Smart Fill ignores any
selected pixels inside of the Texture Source Box.
4. Center the frame around the bottle and resize to sample a generous
amount of the surrounding background texture.
5. Adjust the
Texture Feature Size slider to match the physical characteristics of the
background texture. In this example, blades of grass are about 50 pixels
long.
Note: The hash
marks on your texture source control box expand and contract as you change
Texture Feature Size.
6. Try the Texture Regularity radio buttons to and see which one works
best.
Note: For less complex background textures, such as concrete, sand,
or asphalt, a low Texture Regularity would work just fine.
7. Select the Stitch Into Background check box to seamlessly
place the sampled grass swatches into the selected area. If the stitching
effect leaves a rough edge, click the Regenerate Texture button
a few times. If you still cant get the desired effect, clear Stitch
into Background and try using feathering to soften the effect edge.
Note:
Stitch into Background is the best way to generate a seamless
fill texture in your selection. For the most invisible result,
stitching is nearly always preferable to feathering.
8. Preview your
results. If they are close but not quite perfect, click the Randomize
Texture button a few times until you get the best result.
9. When you are satisfied
with the preview, click OK.
The final
result
Using Multiple Selections
to Remove Objects from Complex Backgrounds
Sometimes an object
or defect you wish to remove will overlie several different background
textures such as in the fire hydrant example below.

The fire hydrant stands
in front of two distinct background textures: bushes and mulch.
To get the best results
when removing the fire hydrant, use two selections, with the selection
boundary between the two located roughly between the bushes and mulch.

1. Select the upper
part of the fire hydrant using the lasso tool.

2. Run Smart Fill.

3. Click on the in-preview
Arrow control to adjust your Texture Source Box.
4. Make sure the frame
is positioned to sample a generous amount of the bush texture.
5. Adjust the Texture
Feature Size slider to match the physical characteristics of the background
texture.
Note: The hash
marks on your texture source control box expand and contract as you change
Texture Feature Size.
6. Try the Texture
Regularity radio buttons to and see which one works best.
Note: For less
complex background textures, such as concrete, sand, or asphalt, a low
Texture Regularity would work just fine.
7. Select the Stitch
Into Background check box to seamlessly place the sampled bush swatches
into the selected area. If the stitching effect leaves a rough edge, click
the Regenerate Texture button a few times. If you still cant
get the desired effect, clear Stitch into Background and try
using feathering to soften the effect edge.
Note: Stitch
into Background is the best way to generate a seamless fill texture
in your selection. For the most invisible result, stitching
is almost always preferable to feathering.
8. Preview
your results. If they are close but not quite perfect, click the Randomize
Texture button a few times until you get the best result.
9. Click OK.
10. Select the lower
part of the fire hydrant using the lasso tool.

11. Run Smart Fill.

12. Repeat Steps 3-9.
Heres your result!

Tips and Tricks
The following tips
will help you get the best results when using Smart Fill.
Use
Multiple Selections to Remove Objects from Complex Backgrounds
When you wish to remove
an object that traverses several different background textures, you should
you use multiple selections and applications of Smart Fill to get the
best effect. The fire hydrant example at the beginning of this chapter
required two separate selections and applications of Smart Fill to get
the best result.
Using
Smart Fill on Long or Narrow Selections
With long or narrow
objects (like a car or phone booth), dividing your work into small selections
gives you more control and better results when using Smart Fillespecially
if the object you are removing lies on a background of multiple texturesgrass,
asphalt, and dirt, for example.
When applying Smart
Fill to long objects, its best to start by selecting the left most
part of the object and then work toward the right. With tall objects,
start at the top left and work your way down. Because of the way Smart
Fill analyzes a selection, this method will result in the best fill quality.
Making
Good Selections
Great image corrections
start with good selections. Try to get a selection that includes only
the defect you wish to remove. Specifically, we recommend that you do
not use a geometric selection tool, such as Photoshop's Marquee tool to
make your selections. Instead, Photoshop users should use the Lasso tool.
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