DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

How to quickly remove unwanted moving objects from your photos

Dec 15, 2016 by Dunja Djudjic 1 Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

There are places where it’s difficult to take a photo without people or cars in the frame. Sometimes, you can tell people to move so you can take a photo. But in some overcrowded locations it’s simply impossible. And not to mention that you can’t do it if it’s cars messing with your composition. Thanks to some Photoshop magic, it’s possible to remove all the unwanted moving objects from a photo in a few seconds. This easy tutorial will show you how.

There are two ways of removing objects from a photo – manual and automatic, and they both use stacking. But first, make sure to remember how to take the photos before you start editing.

First of all, remember that you need to take several photos. In the tutorial there are seven, and I assume you need even more if the crowd is bigger. Second, make sure to use a tripod and not to move it. The photos need to be perfectly aligned if you want the stacking to work and make a good photo.

Manual method

Let us start with the manual method. It’s a bit slower than the automatic one, but you can still achieve great results pretty fast. Go to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack. Click “Browse” and choose the images you want to stack. You will get the layers from the images you chose. This is when you can add layer masks and add or remove the elements manually. This works when there are not too many objects to remove, but if there are plenty of them, you can try with the automatic method.

Automatic method

The automatic method can do wonders for removing moving objects quickly. Note that it applies to Photoshop CC and Photoshop CS6, so if you use an older version you will not have this option.

This time, you should go to File > Scripts > Statistics. Then, you will get the “Choose Stack Mode” option, and you should pick “Median”. Then, click “Browse”, choose the images, and also check “Automatically Align Source Images”. This will make sure all the photos are really aligned. After this, sit back and watch Photoshop do its magic.

You will get a single multilayered image created as smart object. When you double-click it, you can see all the files used to create the final image. This type of stacking works by choosing all the areas which are different in each of the photos and removing them. Because of this, also keep in mind that some of the objects which are only partially moving may not be properly removed, such as flags or people who are standing. So, pay attention to these too when composing and taking the shots. And remember this tutorial next time you take shots at a crowded place.

[How to Automatically Remove Objects from Photos in Photoshop via Phlearn]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Google will soon automatically remove unwanted objects from photos Quick Photoshop tip: how to remove unwanted color cast in only a few clicks The secret to filming fast moving objects at 25 million frames per second is mirrors How to quickly remove people from your photos? Just scream at them

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Adobe Photoshop, Photo Editing, Photoshop, remove moving objects from photos

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« 8 creative camera hacks in under 90 seconds that you can try yourself
PureNight Premium filter helps astrophotographers beat light pollution »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Sony’s ZV-E1 is a cut-down FX3 in a vlogging form factor
  • Watch: How good (or bad) is an $8.50 tripod?
  • How to light and photograph Lego building interiors
  • Lighting Setup: How to light your portraits with £50 LED tubes
  • Review: Insta360 announces its first gimbal – The AI-tracking Insta360 Flow

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy