How to Remove People from Photos (Photobombers, Crowds & Exes)

Almost every great photo has someone in it who shouldn't be there: a stranger walking through the frame, a photobomber pulling a face, a crowd behind your friends, or someone you'd simply rather not see anymore.

Removing a person is a little harder than removing a small object, because people are big, cast shadows and often overlap with the people you want to keep. Here's how to do it well.

Before you start: is this photo a good candidate?

Removing a person works best when:

• The person is not overlapping your main subject (or only slightly).
• The background behind them is predictable — a wall, grass, beach, street, sky.
• They take up less than about a third of the photo.

If someone is standing directly in front of your subject, the AI has to invent part of your subject's body. It may work, but expect to try a couple of times.

Step-by-step: remove a person with Erase Spark

1. Open Remove Object

In Erase Spark, choose Remove Object and pick your photo.

2. Paint over the whole person

Cover head to feet, including hair, bags and anything they're holding. Use a large brush for the body and a smaller one near edges.

3. Don't forget the shadow

Look at the ground near their feet. If there's a shadow or a reflection in water or glass, paint over that too.

4. Erase and compare

Tap Erase, then use the before/after view to check the result. Look closely at where the person met the ground — that's where traces usually show up.

5. Clean up leftovers

If you see a faint outline or an odd patch, brush just that area and erase again.

Removing groups and crowds

Removing ten people in one go asks the AI to invent a large part of the scene. You'll get better results if you:

1. Start with the people closest to the edges of the frame.
2. Erase one or two at a time.
3. Leave very distant, tiny figures — they rarely matter, and removing them can add noise.

For landmark shots full of visitors, read our dedicated guide on removing tourists from travel photos.

Removing someone standing next to you

This is the hardest case, because arms, shoulders and hair overlap. Tips:

• Paint carefully along your own outline so the brush doesn't touch you.
• If their arm is around your shoulder, erase the arm in a separate pass after removing the rest of them.
• If the result looks off, try replacing them with something neutral like "a green bush" or "an empty bench" instead.

A note on ethics

Removing a stranger from your holiday photo is harmless. Editing people out of photos to mislead others — in news, evidence, real estate listings or official documents — is not. Keep edits honest when the photo is used as a record of what happened.

Try it on your own photos

Erase Spark is designed for exactly this: brush over the person, tap erase, and the AI rebuilds what was behind them. You can also remove objects and backgrounds in the same app. Free to download on iPhone and iPad.

Frequently asked questions

Can AI remove a person from a photo without a trace?

Often, yes — especially when the background behind them is simple. Busy backgrounds or people overlapping your subject may need a second pass.

How do I remove a person's shadow?

Paint over the shadow along with the person. If you already erased the person, brush over the remaining shadow and erase it separately.

Can I remove someone from a group photo?

Yes, but results depend on how much they overlap others. Erase people at the edge of a group first and paint carefully near the people you keep.

Will the person I removed still be in my original photo?

Yes. Your edit is saved as a new image, and the original stays in your photo library.