Basic PS Question: Content Aware Fill

[uintaangler]

I do all of my image processing using Lightroom, I own CS5 but never use it, never learned 
I am working on an image from Grand Teton NP that I really like, but it would improve dramatically if I could clone out one very distracting element
Unfortunately, it is too large for me to use the Clone or Heal tool in Lightroom
I would like to give it a try with CONTENT AWARE FILL in Photoshop
I am pretty sure this is not too involved, but I am so unfamiliar with PS that I don't know what to do after I get the image exported into PS
Would anybody mind providing me with a step by step to give Content Aware Fill a try on this image?
Thanks.

[Rand47]

From Lightroom, edit in Photoshop, edit copy with Lightroom adjustments

In photoshop:
Use the lasso tool to select the area to replace.  I usually give it a little margin around the object itself.
Press shift+F5, which brings up a dialog box.  Make sure content aware is selected.
Hit OK.

That's it.  Some caveats.  Sometimes a few iterations on the same area work better.  Somtimes is misses big-time.  Undo is your friend in this case.  Somtimes I'll use the regular clone tool to divide the area into smaller chunks and then run CAF.  And often I'll use the spot healing brush afterward to do a little blending/touching up of the area to be fixed.

Bottom line, if the first attemp at CAF is ugly, don't give up.  There have been a few times when I've had to resort to other methods, but most of the time it can be used very effectively on its own, or in combination with other tools.

When you're finished, just do a "save" command in Photoshop and your modified image will appear in Lightroom as "filename-edit.tif"

Rand

[Paul2660]

BTW, Content aware fill has improved dramatically from CS5, if you are going to try it, I would recommend CC or CC 2015. 

Color adaptation was added I believe in CC 2014 and with solids i.e. sky it can make a big difference (at least to me) on getting a smooth blend.

Paul

[Redcrown]

You might be better off posting a full rez image and letting others do the work for you.

At this forum: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/1006

...there are many people who love to show off their skills. Post an image there and you will have a dozen versions in less than 2 hours. Most will be junk, but you only need one good one.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

You might be better off posting a full rez image and letting others do the work for you.

Yes, that might work if one doesn't want to do any work or, heaven forbid, learn something useful ...
Maybe it's even be possible to do it with Lightroom itself? May depend on the version how far one can get.

There may also be alternatives (search for 'inpainting'), but a lot depends on the image and the size of the part that needs to be replaced.

And there are tutorials (specific for CS5 or more  or for other versions).

Cheers,
Bart

[Jimbo57]

The content-aware tools in CS5 were relatively basic. You might find CS6 better if you can still find an upgrade.

[Rand47]

The content-aware tools in CS5 were relatively basic. You might find CS6 better if you can still find an upgrade.

Agreed, the newer incarnation of CAF is much "smarter."

Rand

[uintaangler]

The content-aware tools in CS5 were relatively basic. You might find CS6 better if you can still find an upgrade.

Yep, that's what I discovered.

Thanks guys for the responses.

Bob