# What is the best method to make a license plate illegible or make a face unrecognizable without to impair the image?



## foyer (Dec 15, 2020)

What is the best method to make a license plate illegible or make a face unrecognizable without to impair the image?


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## clee01l (Dec 15, 2020)

Lightroom is a non destructive editor.  Any change that you make in Lightroom will need to be applied to the images data and saved as a new file  in the export process.   Tools like the Clone tool can cover the license plate or face with another part of the image.  The Brush tool can be used to paint the area with a strong negative exposure or to de-sharpen a portion that you paint with the brush.
As with every image imported into Lightroom the original remains intact.


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## johnrellis (Dec 15, 2020)

I use the Adjustment Brush with Sharpness at -100, Flow at 50, and size of the inner circle of the brush just a little smaller than the license plate. Then I brush over the numbers repeatedly to get just the right amount of soft blurring without hard edges:


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## mcasan (Dec 15, 2020)

negative clarity and negative texture applied via brush


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## foyer (Dec 15, 2020)

Sorry for my bad expression, I didn't mean there might be done anything that could impair the original, real, physical image on the drive but impair the image to be produced by editing it in the non destructive method.

So if one would use the brush with any or more of the options it would make the license plate or face unrecognizable (may be like a authority would make it) but it might not or it wouldn't look natural (that I meant by impair the image to make). So is there a method to do it without the viewer noticing it (immediately)?


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## clee01l (Dec 15, 2020)

foyer said:


> Sorry for my bad expression, I didn't mean there might be done anything that could impair the original, real, physical image on the drive but impair the image to be produced by editing it in the non destructive method.
> 
> So if one would use the brush with any or more of the options it would make the license plate or face unrecognizable (may be like a authority would make it) but it might not or it wouldn't look natural (that I meant by impair the image to make). So is there a method to do it without the viewer noticing it (immediately)?


You can try any of the methods suggested to see if the results you get are to your liking .  John Ellis method of painting the negative sharpness brush can be used with a lesser degree of negative sharpness  or a smaller size brush to vary the results.


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## foyer (Dec 15, 2020)

Yes, but whatever I do it does not look good. Is there an option to somehow just twist, distort an area and keeps the "character", nature of a face or license plate?


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## Replytoken (Dec 15, 2020)

You could clone out the numbers if you were able to get a clear spot on the license plate to use for cloning.  I am not sure it would look that much better than a blur, but it is worth a try.  And FWIW, it is quite common to see blurred license plates in images, so I am not sure how distracting it would be unless it was a large, fine art print.

--Ken


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## foyer (Dec 15, 2020)

Ah yes, for license plates cloning seems to come closest to that what I want. It even seems to be doable very good and fast. I will do some more tries. One even do not need a clear spot, just cloning the entire part with signs offset over each other or so might be enoug. 

The difference between blurring and what I want / cloning is that blurring generates a surface, area being very good visible, being not natural and cloning / what I want gets "visible" only when you directely look at the license unrecognizable area. So it does not distract/ impair the image.


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## Rob_Cullen (Dec 15, 2020)

If you are going to Export a derivative file, you could just as easy edit in Photoshop [Ctrl+E]. 
Then use any of the selection methods (Marquee, Lasso, Polygonal lasso, etc) to select only the number-plate, and apply a filter (Blur, Gaussian Blur, Radial Blur, etc, etc). Or even load another photo into a layer and mask to the number-plate.


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## foyer (Dec 15, 2020)

Yes, good idea, using another photo, respectively a self made not existing license plate or such. Unfortunataly I do not have any idea of Photoshop and I do not have it.


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## clee01l (Dec 16, 2020)

foyer said:


> Yes, good idea, using another photo, respectively a self made not existing license plate or such. Unfortunataly I do not have any idea of Photoshop and I do not have it.



Photoshop is included in your Subscription plan with Lightroom Classic


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## foyer (Dec 16, 2020)

I didn't know that, thank you.


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