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How to remove objects and people from a photo
In Plate, pick the Remove tool and paint over what should go. When you let go it is filled from the picture around it — free, on your computer, on its own “Removed” layer so the original stays underneath. For whole crowds and power lines, AI → Remove distractions finds them for you.
- Open the photo in Plate. Go to colurvist.com/photo and drop the photo on the page.
- Pick the Remove tool. It shares a button with the Clone stamp in the tool strip — hold that button, or right-click it, and pick Remove. Set the Size in the bar so the brush is a little wider than the object.
- Paint over what should go. Cover it completely, shadow included. When you let go, the area is filled from what is around it. It lands on a layer called Removed, so the original is untouched.
- Fix what the fill did not get right. Paint again over a bad patch — each stroke adds to the same layer. For straight lines (a wall edge, a horizon), the Clone stamp (S) copies from a spot you pick with Alt-click.
- Export. File → Export (Ctrl+E). Or save the project (Ctrl+S) to keep the layers.
Other tools for the job
- Edit → Content-aware fill — select a large area with any selection tool, then fill it from its surroundings. Free.
- AI → Remove distractions… — finds people away from the subject, wires and small spots on your computer and tints them; click a tint to keep that thing. Fill them free, or with AI erase (2 credits).
- Spot heal (J) — for dust, blemishes and small marks; one click.
- Patch — draw round a bigger area, drag it onto clean texture; the colours are blended to match.
- Content-aware move — select something and drag it somewhere else; the hole it leaves is filled.
- The Remove tool’s AI chip (2 credits) uses AI erase instead of the free fill, which helps with large or complex areas such as a person in front of a detailed building.
The free fill works best when there is plenty of similar texture nearby — sky, grass, sand, a plain wall. For a person standing in front of something unique, the AI option rebuilds what was behind them.
Try it: remove the television from a sample
Questions
Is removing objects free?
Yes. The Remove tool, Content-aware fill, Spot heal, Patch and Clone are free and run on your computer. Only the AI options cost credits (2 for AI erase).
Will it change my original photo?
By default the fill goes on its own “Removed” layer, so the original stays underneath. Hide or delete that layer to get it back.
How do I remove power lines?
AI → Remove distractions finds thin lines like wires automatically. Or paint along a wire with the Remove tool in one stroke, a little wider than the wire.
Can I remove a person from a group photo?
Yes. Paint over the person with the Remove tool. If the result looks smeared because the background behind them is detailed, switch the tool’s chip to AI and paint again.
Does it work on video?
Plate is for still pictures. For a clip, see the guide to removing an object from a video.
Read next: Plate, the photo editor · Remove a background · Replace a sky · Retouch a portrait · Color grade a video · All models
Last reviewed 1 October 2026. Prices are in Colurvist credits and show on each button before anything runs.