Updated content-aware

Adobe added a new capability to their content-aware technology, and it’s exactly what has been missing.

Content-aware is an amazing tool, but if you’ve used it in the past, you know that sometimes it works very well and sometimes it doesn’t. The problem is that in looking for nearby pixels to replace the unwanted element, such as the window, below, the software may borrow pixels from other objects that don’t match the color and texture needed. For example, in the costumed model image, content-aware may copy pixels from the edge of the mirror and the white vertical line and blend those areas with the pink wall in trying to eliminate the window.

With the new capability in Photoshop CC version 21.2.0, you can paint around the unwanted element a green col-

The updated contentaware is much more precise in choosing neighboring pixels to be used to eliminate unwanted elements.

or, and this tells Photoshop what colors and what textures to use. This is a giant leap forward in being able to accurately get rid of many types of visually offending elements.

Photoshop still has the old way of using contentaware. You can go to Edit > fill, and then in the submenu choose content-aware.

The new feature is accessed here: Edit > Content-aware fill. First you have to have a selection, though. Otherwise, this option will be grayed out.

Here are the steps:

1. Make a selection with one of the selection tools around the area to be replaced. For the window, I used the lasso tool and the rectangular marque tool. 2. Choose the pulldown menu command, Edit > Content-aware fill.

3. In the dialog box shown on the previous page, click the tab ‘custom’. This is shown by the green arrow in the screen capture.

4. Paint the green color around the area to be eliminated (he brush and the green color are

automatically selected for you). In the image on page 4, you can see I’ve applied the green color around the window, and I’ve kept it away from areas that shouldn’t be copied -- like the edge of the mirror and the thick white line.

In applying this color, again, you’re telling Photoshop what colors and textures to use to replace the window. The size of the brush that applies the color can be adjusted just like other tools in Photoshop: The left bracket key makes it smaller while the right bracket key makes it larger.

5. In the lower part of the dialog box (page 4), there is a tab labeled “Output to.” Choose the option New layer (orange arrow). This puts the change to the photograph, i.e. the replacement of the unwanted element, on a new layer as shown by the magenta arrow in the screen capture of the layers palette on page 5. Having this layer means you can trash the contentaware effect, blend it with the background, and turn it off and on by clicking the small ‘eye’ icon next to it.

This new pathway to content-aware is much more accurate than in previous versions of Photoshop. In the shot of the clouds, you can see the original included tops of trees. Using this new tool, they were eliminated perfectly. §