Which tool for which job
- Content-Aware Fill (Edit menu): larger objects with a selection around them, such as a sign, a parked car or a person in the background.
- Spot Healing Brush: dust, skin blemishes and small marks. Paint over the spot and release.
- Remove tool: brush over wires, cracks and other thin distractions.
- Patch tool: drag a selected area onto clean texture that you choose yourself.
- Clone Stamp: exact copying, for edges and patterns where automatic tools smear.
- Content-Aware Move: shift an object and have the hole filled in behind it.
Removing an object, step by step
- Open your photo and duplicate the layer with Ctrl/⌘ J so the original stays untouched.
- Draw a selection around the object with the Lasso. Leave a small margin, and include the object's shadow.
- Choose Edit › Content-Aware Fill.
- Zoom in and tidy any repeated patterns with the Spot Healing Brush or Clone Stamp.
Getting cleaner results
- Loose selections beat tight ones. The fill needs a little of the surrounding area to blend into.
- When an object crosses different textures, such as sky and grass, work in several small passes instead of one large one.
- Straight lines are the hard case: horizons, railings, tiles. Rebuild those with the Clone Stamp.
- Every step is in the History panel, so trying a different selection costs nothing.
How it works, briefly
The fill is patch-based. It searches the rest of the image for small regions that match the edges of the hole and stitches them together. It doesn't invent content the way generative AI does, so it can't add something that isn't already in the photo. In exchange, it runs on your own computer and your picture is never uploaded.