Photoshop 2026 just added automatic reflection removal, and it's the first time the tool has been available in the application. If you shoot through glass, windows, or any reflective surface, this is worth your attention.
Coming to you from Aaron Nace of Phlearn, this detailed video walks through how to use Photoshop's new reflection removal feature, what it gets right, and where it stumbles. Nace points out that similar technology has existed in Lightroom and Camera Raw for a couple of years, but the Photoshop version is more useful because it generates separate layers. That means you can mask the effect in or out with precision, rather than being stuck with a single slider that applies the adjustment globally. The feature uses AI and, notably, does not consume any generative credits.
The results Nace demonstrates are genuinely impressive in places. On a portrait shot through glass, the tool does a strong job removing the reflection obscuring the subject's face. But it isn't flawless. In one case, the AI misidentified a subject's arm as a reflection and removed it. Nace walks through exactly how to handle this using a black layer mask painted back selectively with a brush, so you keep the reflection removal only where it actually helps. This layer-based approach is what separates the Photoshop implementation from the older Lightroom version, and it gives you meaningful control over the output.
Where it gets interesting is in how Nace combines the reflection removal with Photoshop's generative fill to clean up areas the AI couldn't fully recover. After masking the reflection removal layer to cover just the subject's face, there are still some residual reflections along the hairline and cheek. Rather than trying to clone or heal those manually, Nace selects those areas and runs Firefly Fill and Expand, which generates new skin detail to replace what the reflection was covering. He's careful to avoid generating over the eyes, where results would look unrealistic, and limits the generation to the side of the face. The combination of the two tools produces a result that would be extremely difficult to replicate by hand. The video also covers how to check your generative credit usage by model, since what's included varies by account and plan. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Nace.
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