Lightroom Generative AI Remove Feature Update – GAMECHANGER for Real Estate Photography??

Hey, what’s up? It’s Cole Connor here, and today I want to talk about Lightroom’s new game-changing update that I’m genuinely excited about. Now, you can remove anything from your photos with just one click, thanks to their new AI-powered “Generative Remove” tool. No more bouncing back and forth between Lightroom and Photoshop. As a real estate photographer and editor, this update is about to save me a ton of time—and I’m sure it will for you, too.

In this post, I’ll break down how this tool works, show you its pros and cons, and how AI is constantly changing the way we edit photos for the better. Let’s dive in!

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What’s New in Lightroom Version 8.0?

Version 8.0 of Lightroom brought a bunch of cool updates, but the one that immediately caught my attention was the Generative AI Remove feature. Here’s a quick rundown of some other notable updates:

• Content Credentials: Now you can attach a digital signature and editing information to your pictures. This could be handy for copyright purposes.
• Quick Actions: Handy for streamlining your workflow.
• Detect Objects: This feature is incorporated into Generative Remove, which you’ll see in action below.
• Blur: AI powered aesthetic lens blur.
• Archive to Local Storage: Backup made simple.
• Edit in Third-Party Apps: You can now edit your photos in third-party apps directly from Lightroom.
• Tethered Capture with Sony: Capture photos and change camera settings from Lightroom. I haven’t tested this yet, but I’m excited to try it out. Maybe I’ll make a separate video or blog post about that. Let me know if that would interest you!

But enough about the small stuff—let’s dive into the Generative Remove feature and see how it works!

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Removing Objects with Generative AI

Let’s start with a basic image where everything looks good—except the homeowner or agent doesn’t like the clock on the wall. They want it gone. Before this update, the only way to remove something like this in Lightroom was using the cloning tool, which often didn’t give perfect results. Now, let’s see what happens with Generative AI Remove.

1. Select the Tool: Open Lightroom and choose the “Remove” tool. You’ll see three modes: Remove, Heal, and Clone. We’re focusing on Remove today, so select that and make sure to click the checkbox for Detect Objects. This helps Lightroom identify what exactly we want to remove.
2. Apply the AI: Click on the object you want to remove (in this case, the clock). You can adjust the size of the selection if needed. Then hit “Analyze.” The AI will do its thing, and voila—the clock is gone!

I noticed it wasn’t perfect on the first try. It left a slight mark where the clock used to be, so I used the variation feature, which gives you three different AI-generated versions of the removal. On the third variation, it looked flawless. The process was super quick and easy, and for small objects like this, the AI remove tool is seriously a game-changer.

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Working with Larger or Trickier Objects

Okay, so let’s test it out on something a little more complex. I picked a shot with a car in the driveway. Removing cars is usually a job for Photoshop because Lightroom’s cloning tool would never cut it.

Here’s what happened:

1. I selected the car, made the mask slightly larger than the object (a helpful tip Lightroom gives you), and clicked “Remove.”
2. The result? It wasn’t perfect on the first go. The AI made the car smaller instead of removing it completely. So I hit the tool again, and after a couple of tries, it removed most of the car. Still, it wasn’t seamless, and there were some weird artifacts left behind.

For big objects like cars or more detailed backgrounds, Lightroom’s Generative Remove doesn’t always do the job perfectly. I’d recommend sticking with Photoshop for more complex tasks like this—where you can use its Generative Fill for more refined results. That said, if you keep trying the remove tool in Lightroom, you might get lucky, but it’ll take a bit more patience.

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Testing in Mirrors and Reflections

Now, let’s see how the AI handles something like a reflection. Real estate photographers know how annoying it can be when you catch yourself or your gear in mirrors or shiny surfaces. I took a shot where I was slightly visible in the mirror, hoping the AI would make me disappear.

1. I selected my reflection, but on the first try, the tool left a shadow where I used to be. So, I hit the “Remove” button again.
2. After refining the mask a bit and trying it a couple more times, the AI almost nailed it. There was still a faint shadow, but it was much better.

The key takeaway? For small reflections and blemishes, the Remove tool works great. But for more detailed objects in reflections, you might have to experiment a bit to get it right—or, again, hop over to Photoshop for a perfect finish.

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When to Use Generative Remove vs. Photoshop

I’m not a Photoshop expert, but this new tool in Lightroom is perfect for quick edits, especially when you’re working with smaller objects, blemishes, or minor distractions. For bigger jobs (like cars or large objects in the background), Photoshop Beta still takes the win, especially with the ability to type in prompts and generate custom results.

That said, it’s awesome that Lightroom is stepping up with AI-powered tools. I’ll definitely be using Generative Remove for things like cleaning up mirrors, removing unwanted spots, and even fixing up little distractions in my real estate shots.

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Final Thoughts

I hope this breakdown helped you understand how powerful this new feature in Lightroom really is. The Generative AI Remove tool is a massive time-saver for those of us who want to keep our editing workflow smooth and efficient without having to dive into Photoshop every time. It’s not perfect, especially with larger objects, but for small fixes, it’s a game-changer.

Have you tried it yet? Let me know in the comments what you think, and if you haven’t checked out my real estate photo presets, you can find them [here]—they’ll help speed up your workflow even more!

Thanks for reading, and as always, create, inspire, and love.

Catch you next time!