In the video below, I try 3 methods to make people disappear from photos. Or if you don’t like watching videos just skip below to the detailed information.
Method #1: Use an ND Filter for a Long Exposure
The first method to remove crowds is to use an ND filter so that you can create a long exposure whereby people blur out of the photo.
Equipment needed:
- Tripod or stable surface
- ND filter
So what’s a ND filter?
An ND filter, short for Neutral Density filter, is used to control the amount of light entering the camera’s lens. It evenly reduces the intensity of all wavelengths of light.
ND filters come in various levels of density, usually measured in stops. Each stop of density corresponds to a halving of the amount of light that passes through the filter. So, a 1-stop ND filter reduces the light by half, a 2-stop ND filter reduces it by a quarter, and so on. Some ND filters are adjustable, allowing you to dial in the desired density by rotating the filter.
The goal of using an ND filter is so that we can capture a long exposure.
So one tip if you’re going to use an ND filter to remove crowds is to shoot during overcast weather or during dawn or dusk when the light is less intense. If you can’t avoid shooting in bright daylight then get a higher ND filter, like an ND 16.
Method 2: Median Stacking in Photoshop
Method 2 requires a little bit of preplanning and Photoshop. Of course you already know that you can use Photoshop to do fine photo manipulation to edit out people. But you know what? I am not skilled at Photoshop, and I’m just looking for a quick and easy method. So stick with me.
Now the trick with this method is that you’ll need to take 15-20 photos with 20-30 seconds between each shot, depending on how fast people are moving throughout your scene. If people linger in the same spot then you may want to take more photos or at longer intervals between shots.
Once you’ve taken all your shots, import the photos and place them into a single folder.
Then go to Photoshop and select Photoshop: File > Scripts > Statistics
Select Use Folder and Browse to the folder containing your photos.
Select Median Stack mode.
Make sure that “Attempt to Automatically Align source images” is checked. Then click the OK button.
Now what this does is removes things that are not constant throughout all images.
And wa-lah, there’s our final image without people! Pretty cool!
Method 3: Photoshop AI – Remove Tool
Our third and final method to remove crowds, also uses Phototshop. But again. It’s super simple. I just recently learned of the Remove Tool in Photoshop which uses Artificial Intelligence which of course is all the rage now.
The Remove Tool can be found grouped in the Spot Healing Brush toolset. If you don’t see it, then you’ll probably need to update your Photoshop to at least version 24.5.
First, you’ll want to find the photo with the least amount of people in it. Select the Remove Tool. Now just paint over what you want to get rid of. Well you can see it’s not perfect. . .
But in some cases the Remove Tool does a pretty good job.
The first 2 methods won’t work to remove people who stayed still throughout the time you were shooting. So you could use one of the prior crowd removal methods and just use the Remove Tool to touch up any unwanted subjects that remain.
And there you have it 3 pretty simple ways to eliminate crowds from photos.
