Masking out the Light: How to Remove Light Glare from Photos

When you catch a light glare in one of your shots, a tricky decision always follows:

⦿ Should I leave it in?
⦿ Should I tone it down?
⦿ Maybe I should try to remove it?

If you’re here for the latter, you’re in luck, as my aim in this article is to show you how to remove light glares from your photos.

But even if you leave the light leak in for dramatic effect – maybe the sun rays were particularly stunning, and the glare was worth it – clients might look at it as an error and ask you to remove it. It can be frustrating, but we’ve got some tips for you to do the work in no time. Just don’t forget to value your time and put a price on any extra revisions 😉

How to Prevent Light Glare in the First Place

To prepare for the next photo shoot, consider the following tips when you encounter light glares during your session:

Use a Lens Hood.
Use a Polarizing Filter.
Reposition Your Camera.
Underexpose Highlights.

How to Remove Light Glare from Photos in Lightroom

Method 1: Add a Masking Brush

Apartment Real Estate Photography Example — Before editing.
Image by ***Kari Shea on Unsplash***. All images used in this article are free for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Feel free to test out your editing skills on the same photoset as we go through this tutorial together.

Here are the steps to removing light glares from photos using Lightroom’s Masking Brush:

For professional accuracy, calibrate your monitor using a calibrator, such as TruHu.
Apply lens correction for your particular camera / lens combination.
Load your images into Adobe Lightroom or your preferred editing software.
Open the Masking menu from your software (on the right panel in Lightroom, or by pressing M).
Create a new Mask and Add a Brush Mask. Do this sequentially for each distinct area of the image where there are light glares (such as floors, tables, walls, etc).

Add Mask Brush Lightroom Remove Light Glare — ***Example:*** *I added three masks for the image above due to the prominence of the glare and the difficulty in removing it.*

Set up your brush by increasing Dehaze (under Effects), then bumping Feather and Flow to max. Use your mouse’s scroll wheel to adjust the brush size as needed.
Carefully brush over the areas that have glare, making sure to include the surrounding surface so as not to create color discrepancies. To ease your work, show the Overlay while you’re working (press O in Lightroom) and use the Eraser brush to refine the edges of the selected area.
Turn off the Overlay and start to remove the light glare by adjusting brush light, color, and effects:
- Increase Dehaze slightly.
- Increase Clarity and Whites.
- Adjust Exposure accordingly. Pro Advice: it’s recommended to reduce Exposure, but if the glare is particularly strong, doing that will make it even more evident. Use your best judgment, take a step back, and remember to move the slider around if you’re unsure which look fits better.
- Decrease Blacks and Shadows.
- Increase Whites if your photo’s details need highlighting.
- If necessary, reduce Texture depending on the background of your light glare.
- Compare the image to your starting point and make any necessary adjustments, including to the light, color, and effects of the entire photo.

Reduce Light Glare Method 1 Example — ***Before and after editing to reduce Glare with the Masking Brush.***
Notice how the glare is only reduced, not entirely removed, as that would’ve ruined the image due to the high contrast between the glare and its surroundings. Removing light leaks from your photos will always be a balancing act between removing the glare and ruining the image. As a rule of thumb, the lower the contrast, the easier the glare will be to remove.

Method 2: Add Radial Filter Mask

Landscape Photography Example — Before editing.
Image by ***Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash**. Disclaimer:*** I selected these images due to their prominent glares that have been left in, likely as a creative choice. Editing them out doesn’t imply there was anything wrong with the original image, and in fact, in many cases, a bit of glare can be a welcome addition.

Here are the steps to removing light glares from photos using a Radial Filter mask:

For professional accuracy, calibrate your monitor using a calibrator, such as TruHu.
Apply lens correction for your particular camera / lens combination.
Load your images into Adobe Lightroom or your preferred editing software.
Open the Masking menu from your software (on the right panel in Lightroom, or by pressing M).
Create a new Mask and Add a Radial Filter.
Show the Overlay and adjust the filter as necessary around the area where sunlight is interfering with your image.

Radial Filter in Lightroom — *Sometimes the filter might fill almost the entire image.*

Increase the Dehaze and Clarity to your preferred levels.
Compare the image to your starting point and make any necessary adjustments, including to the light, color, and effects of the entire photo.

Remove Light Glare Method 2 - Landscape Photography Example — ***Before and after editing.***

Method 3: The Healing Tool

Apartment Real Estate Photography Example 2 — Before editing.
Image by ***Naomi Hébert on Unsplash***.

Here are the steps to removing light glares from photos using the Healing tool:

For professional accuracy, color correct your monitor using a calibrator, such as TruHu.
Apply lens correction for your particular camera / lens combination.
Load your images into Adobe Lightroom or your preferred editing software.
Zoom into your image on the area where you need to remove the light glare.
Select the Healing tool (on the right hand side in Lightroom, or press H)
Set the opacity to 90 and adjust the Brush size and feather according to your preference.
After Healing the area, remove any remaining noise and distortion using the Content Aware Removal brush.

Remove Light Glare Method 3 - Heal Tool — ***Before and after editing.*** *This method works particularly well for refractive surfaces such as countertops or eyeglasses.*

Note: if you’re facing color issues when using Adobe Creative Cloud, the problem might stem from a mismatched or missing color profile. Fortunately, you can edit your Adobe CC color profiles – here’s how!

Why Pro Photographers Need Pro Color Calibration

For photographers and graphics professionals, your work should always begin with color calibration:

Clean your monitor thoroughly and make sure there’s no remaining haze.
Set your ambient lighting to the way you usually work, making sure there’s no glare on the screen.
Using a color calibration tool, such as the TruHu app, and go through color correction.
Repeat the process at least once a month as monitors age (losing brightness and color accuracy).

Having a calibrated screen means:

You can trust the colors you see
You know your photos will look great on most screens
Your photos will be professional and consistent with color standards.

Read more about how TruHu works in our featured PetaPixel review.

Try TruHu today!

Summing Up

Did you remove all the light glare? I’d love to know which method worked best for you, so leave a comment and let’s discuss!

For me, I tend to use the Radial filter method most often as it yields the best results in the shortest amount of time. However, if someone wants more in-depth light glare removal, I generally opt for the Healing tool, sometimes on top of a Radial filter.

It all comes down to two factors: your creative photography style and your clients’ demands. It’s up to you how much time and effort you put into it!