Rescue a photograph taken through glass with Lightroom’s AI

You photographed a view through a train window and discovered the carriage lights floating over the landscape. Lightroom’s Reflection Removal offers a way to separate those superimposed scenes. It can make a picture worth keeping, provided you examine what happened to the details you wanted to preserve.[1]

This is a documentation-based workflow for Lightroom on desktop, using an original suggested photo exercise. Adobe’s September 2026 release announcement identifies version 9.6 and improvements to reflection removal. No photograph was processed for this article, so the steps explain the documented controls rather than report a successful edit.[2]

Use a plan that includes desktop Lightroom, such as the Lightroom or Photography subscription. Adobe’s UK plans page lists desktop, mobile and web access for the Lightroom plan. Check the inclusion in your own account before starting: having a free mobile installation does not itself establish desktop entitlement.[3]

Understand the two scenes in one photograph

Glass allows light from the scene beyond it to reach the camera while also reflecting light from the photographer’s side. The photograph combines both. Adobe’s original technical explanation describes a model trained on millions of simulated combinations of ordinary photographs, with the separate originals available as the answers it should learn to recover.[4]

The associated CVPR 2025 research shows why the training material matters. The researchers simulated how light combines using linear RAW data, preserving the different lighting on each side before applying a final white balance. Simply blending two finished JPEGs would not reproduce those same physical relationships. The research system predicts the transmitted and reflected images separately.[5]

The paper also explored an optional photograph taken looking back towards the reflected scene. That extra view could reduce ambiguity. It is research context, not a step in the Lightroom interface described here; the authors distinguish the paper’s models from the production models. Your ordinary editing task begins with the photograph you already have.[6]

Choose a picture with something worth recovering

For an original exercise, choose one daytime travel photograph taken through a large window. Identify three things that matter before editing: perhaps a building’s roofline, a person’s outline and a sign. Also identify one recognisable reflection, such as a seat or an overhead light. These are your comparison points, not predictions of how well the tool will perform.

Use the best original file available. Adobe’s current tutorial says Reflection Removal supports raw and non-raw files, so the workflow is no longer restricted to the raw-only technology preview described in its 2024 announcement. The same tutorial demonstrates a result where small numbers remain fuzzy. Removing the broad reflection and preserving fine writing are separate practical achievements.[7]

A very bright reflected light may have clipped pixels to white. Adobe explains that those pixels no longer reveal the underlying scene, so the original tool could leave dark or noisy areas there. Start with a photograph in which you can still distinguish much of the subject through the reflection.[4]

Run a preview, then inspect both directions

Open the photo in Detail view and select Remove, then Distraction Removal and Reflections. Choose Preview and Apply for a first look. Adobe defines Preview as its fastest, lowest-resolution option, Standard as an intermediate result for ordinary screen viewing, and Best as full resolution with longer processing.[1]

Move between the original and the separated views. In the exercise, watch the roofline while the reflected seat disappears. Then inspect the reflected view: did part of the roof move there too? This is an original review method for spotting an unwanted separation, rather than a claim that either endpoint is an independently captured image.[5]

A partial Amount setting can be a better photograph than either extreme. For example, retaining some reflection may preserve a feature you value or the sense of looking through a window. Choose the version that serves the picture’s purpose. The largest removal value is not a quality score.[4]

Judge the final image at its intended size

Once a preview looks promising, choose Best and inspect the full-resolution result before making the final decision. Adobe’s tutorial recommends distraction removal early in the workflow, after any Denoise, Raw Details or Super Resolution processing. Leave final colour and tonal adjustments until you can judge the separated scene.[7]

Look at your three comparison points closely, then view the whole photograph at the size you expect to share or print. A faint remnant in an empty sky may be acceptable; a broken edge through the subject may change the picture. If the edit makes a sign newly readable, compare it with another original view before treating the letters as evidence.

Save alternatives using Versions at the bottom of the Edit panel. Choose Create Version and give the current edit a meaningful name. For the exercise, names such as Window original, Reduced reflection and Stronger removal describe the decisions better than successive numbers. Versions keep different editing choices available for comparison.[8]

You can create a version before adjusting the Amount again, then return to decide which interpretation you prefer. This is especially useful when one part of the frame improves while another loses detail. Keep the original photograph as the reference for that decision, rather than relying on memory of how the first image looked.[8]

Export the version you actually chose

Open the chosen version’s three-dot menu and select Export with these settings. This connects the saved edit to the output you intend to deliver. A memorable version name also gives you a route back if you later want a different crop or a gentler treatment of the reflection.[8]

For a shareable image file, use JPG in the export settings and choose suitable dimensions and quality. Lightroom’s export creates a new file incorporating the edits. More Options includes file naming and metadata choices. Save to a known folder, then open that exported file to check the picture and its dimensions before sending it.[9]

The result you are looking for is specific: a photograph of the scene you meant to keep, with fewer distractions and acceptable detail where it matters. Some pictures will still work better with the reflection present. Keeping that choice available is part of using the tool well.

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