How can I remove brushed aluminum texture from product photos efficiently?
Asked 4/29/2021
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I’m retouching product photos of painted aluminum water bottles. Some finishes are flat, but others are semi-transparent and show the brushed aluminum texture underneath. The client wants that texture minimized or removed while keeping the bottle edges clean and the overall finish looking smooth. Frequency separation works, but it’s too slow for 10–12 images. What’s a faster workflow in Photoshop or Lightroom/ACR for reducing this kind of metal texture?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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I couldn't decide whether you need to remove the turning marks where the bottles have been lathed, or just the light brush marks from the polishing stage, so all the examples below kind of aim 'half way'.
A few ideas:-
All these require Select & Mask at the start, to keep the edges sharp.
Photoshop's Median filter will average out the texture, but it's a bit coarse…
Frequency separation with a mask, vary the opacity of the Hi Freq layer to balance…
I have this as an action, but with a variable Gaussian Blur, so a couple of tests & you could almost production line it, typing in the same numbers or set up a 'fixed' action.
Texture & Clarity, again with a mask…
Texture, Clarity & Dehaze can all play with your colours a bit [or really exposure curves], so be careful.
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
5y ago
0
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A faster approach than full frequency separation is to isolate the bottle first, then use a texture-smoothing tool on the selected area.
Good options mentioned:
- Photoshop Surface Blur: specifically suited to reducing fine surface texture while preserving edges. Lower settings applied multiple times can smooth detail without destroying contrast as much as one heavy pass.
- Photoshop Median filter: can average out the texture, though it may look coarser.
- Lightroom/ACR: reducing Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze can soften the brushed look quickly, but watch for shifts in color, contrast, or exposure.
- Frequency separation can still work if you automate it as an action and control the high-frequency layer opacity.
Practical workflow:
- Make a clean mask/selection of the bottle so edges stay sharp.
- Start with Surface Blur in Photoshop; fine-tune radius/threshold, or use lower values in several passes.
- If needed, add small negative Texture/Clarity adjustments locally.
- Check color and tonal changes carefully.
Also consider whether removing a visible product characteristic could be misleading in sales imagery.
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