# Photoshop: removing spot in a smart object



## brucehughw (Jan 1, 2018)

Hi. I recently took a number of symphony photos, from the side of the stage. Several have an annoying red  "EXIT" sign in the background. When I open my LR image as a smart object in PS, I can't remove the sign. Is that because PS is preventing pixel-level changes to my image? What are some options for eliminating the EXIT sign? Thanks! Bruce


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## Johan Elzenga (Jan 1, 2018)

You can't make pixel-edits in a smart object. Add a new layer above the object, set your tool to sample all layers, and retouch in the new layer.


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## brucehughw (Jan 1, 2018)

Johan, Thanks so much for answering my query. With the new layer, do I make a copy the original layer or will even a clear layer work?


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## Johan Elzenga (Jan 1, 2018)

Depending on which tool you use, an empty layer will do. I think the Spot Healing brush may need a copy of the image. Make sure you render it, because a copy of a smart object is still a smart object. 

You can also reconsider the use of a smart object to begin with. What is the point of letting Photoshop open the image as a smart object rather than an normal layer, if the edits you are going to do aren't supported on a smart object?


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## brucehughw (Jan 1, 2018)

JohanElzenga said:


> Depending on which tool you use, an empty layer will do. I think the Spot Healing brush may need a copy of the image. Make sure you render it, because a copy of a smart object is still a smart object.
> 
> You can also reconsider the use of a smart object to begin with. What is the point of letting Photoshop open the image as a smart object rather than an normal layer, if the edits you are going to do aren't supported on a smart object?


Thanks for the additional reply, Johan! Very helpful. I use smart objects because they (according to the recommendations) "protect" the original file. However, since I'm always working with a copy from LR, that protection isn't so important. Thanks again, Bruce


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## Johan Elzenga (Jan 1, 2018)

You are correct that smart objects aren't really needed for protection. You still have the original. The idea of using a smart object is that you can still change the Lightroom-edits at a later stage, because double-clicking the smart object brings up Camera Raw with these edits. That is only useful however if the Photoshop edits aren't 'destructive' themselves. You can for example use the Adaptive Wide Angle filter in Photoshop, and still retain all the basic edits via the smart object. 

Cloning and healing is destructive however, so for those kind of edits it doesn't really make sense to use a smart object. In most cases a change to the basic edits in the smart object would cause your clone or heal work to no longer seamlessly match the rest of the image, so you'd have to redo that anyway.


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## brucehughw (Jan 1, 2018)

Thanks again, Johan. I appreciate you taking the time to explain these informative details. PS has marvelous capabilities, and many nuances!


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