How to Remove Reflections and Glare from Photos

Shooting through a train window, a museum display case or a shop front almost always adds unwanted reflections: your phone, your face, the room behind you. Glossy products and glasses add bright glare spots. Here's what you can fix after the fact, and how to avoid the problem next time.

Small reflections vs. full-frame reflections

An AI eraser is great at local reflections — a bright lamp on a window, your phone's outline, a glare spot on a bottle. It's much less effective when a faint reflection covers the entire image like a veil, because then there's no clean area to learn from. For those, prevention beats editing.

Removing a reflection with Erase Spark

1. Choose Remove Object

Open Erase Spark and pick the photo.

2. Brush the reflection

Paint over the reflected shape — the lamp, the face, the bright streak. Cover its soft edges too.

3. Erase and check

Tap Erase and compare before and after. Reflections often have faint "tails"; brush those in a second pass.

Glare on glasses

Glare on someone's lenses is a common portrait problem. Brush only the bright spot, not the frame, and erase. If the eye behind the glare was fully hidden, the AI has to invent it — results vary, so try a small brush and compare carefully. When it looks unnatural, keep the original.

Glare on products

Bright hotspots on bottles, phones and jewelry can look harsh in listing photos. Erase small hotspots, but leave soft highlights — they show the material is glossy. Then remove the background for a clean catalog look.

Prevent reflections when shooting

• Press the lens against the glass. No gap means no reflection of the room.
• Shade with your hand or a dark jacket around the phone.
• Change the angle. Shooting slightly off-axis moves the reflection out of frame.
• Turn off lights behind you at night.
• Wear dark clothes when shooting through shop windows.

Related guides

• Remove a shadow from a photo
• Remove objects from photos on iPhone
• Clean up photos for marketplace listings

Try it on your own photos

Erase Spark removes reflections, glare spots and other distractions with a quick brush. Free to download on iPhone and iPad.

Frequently asked questions

Can you remove a reflection from a photo taken through a window?

Distinct reflections like lamps, faces or a phone outline can be erased with an AI eraser. A faint veil over the whole image is much harder to fix.

How do I remove glare from glasses in a photo?

Brush only the bright glare spot on the lens and erase it. If the eye was completely hidden, the result may need a second try.

How do I avoid reflections when photographing through glass?

Put the lens directly against the glass, shade around it, and turn off lights behind you.

Will removing glare make products look flat?

Only if you remove every highlight. Erase harsh hotspots and keep soft highlights so the material still looks shiny.