Camera Raw now includes a Remove tool that can perform a full retouching workflow — blemish cleanup, spot detection, and clothing fixes — without forcing you into layer-based cloning or permanent pixel edits. The workflow shown uses Camera Raw as a Smart Filter inside Photoshop so every edit stays reversible.
One-click blemish removal plus control
The new blemish option appears in the removal panel with a single Apply button. Click Apply and Camera Raw scans and removes blemishes in seconds. The Fade slider is the central control: it lets you reduce the strength of the removal to preserve permanent features or dial it up for complete removal. This helps distinguish between temporary marks (like a pimple) and identifying features that a client may want to keep.
Refine, Restore, and Remove brushes
Refine mode highlights spots Camera Raw detected, including reflections or marks beyond obvious skin blemishes. Use the Restore brush to paint back features you want to keep, and the Remove brush to target acne, dirt, mascara, and other temporary marks. That split between automated detection and human judgment is the workflow point: automated tools find everything, you decide what stays.
Clothing retouching with generative options
Because every change lives inside a Camera Raw Filter on a Smart Object, you can toggle edits on and off, reduce an edit with the opacity slider, or cancel a change entirely. If a client later requests a spot restored, double-click the Camera Raw Filter, hit Refine, and use Restore to bring the mark back without rebuilding the edit.
Practical implications for portrait and commercial shooters
Portrait shooters gain a faster baseline blemish workflow and an easy way to preserve identity-defining marks using the Fade and Restore controls. Commercial and fashion shooters can clean garments in-camera-raw without destructively cloning, then adjust or revert clothing edits during client review.
The walkthrough demonstrates each slider and brush in action and stresses the decision-making role of the retoucher. Use the Smart Filter setup as a daily habit for any client work that may require revision.