Remove power lines from street photography with Adobe Photoshop.

Remove power lines from street photography with Adobe Photoshop.

Discover how to make street scenes look clean and uncluttered by making unsightly power lines a thing of the past.

  1. Load your photo

    Open up your photo in Photoshop, then go to Windows > Layers. 

    Remember to set up your file for non-destructive editing by clicking the (+) icon in the Layers panel to add a new layer you can mess with. Your original layer will remain completely intact.

    A new layer called

  2. Select the Spot Healing tool

    Head to the Tools menu (Window > Tools) and select the Spot Healing tool. Set the mode to Normal and the type to Content-Aware, then click the box for Sample All Layers

     

    Choose a brush size that matches the size of the power line, with a Hardness setting of 100% and Spacing setting of 1%. Fatter power lines need bigger brushes. 

     

    Tip: Use the bracket keys to adjust the size of your brush.

    The Spot Healing Tool icon, which is a bandaid, is shown and the Content Aware and Sample All Layers options are highlighted in the Options bar.

  3. Brush along the power line.

    Using one clean sweep, drag the brush along the power line from left to right and watch it vanish. Hold down the Shift key to constrain your brush to a perfectly straight line.

     

    Tip: You can use the Eraser tool to undo your Spot Healing Brush strokes on your working layer.

    Four power lines are painted out with the Spot Healing Brush.

  4. Tidy up your photo

    Drag the Spot Healing tool along any power lines in your shot, even ones that go across tricky backgrounds, like trees. The brush will take care of it easily, leaving you with a clean image.

    A power lines obstructs the view of a clear blue-green sky, and cuts across a tree. The slider introduces an 'after' image in which the power line is removed.

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