How do I disable the Lift Subject from Background feature?

I am trying to clean up a photo on my 13-inch iPad Pro (M4) in photos. The problem is that the app has automatically lifted the content I want removed, so the AI cannot replace it with more background. Specifically, I have a photo of myself and I am trying to remove the edge of someone else’s face and their hair from the side of the photo. However, because the app has automatically included them as part of the subject, I can’t circle them and have them replaced with the blurry trees/grass from the rest of the background. It’s kind of annoying because it would be so much simpler than having to take this photo into another app, crop the person with a lasso tool, etc. The whole point of the cleanup option is precisely for situations like this.


I’ve tried using screenshots of the photo, but the app just identifies the same thing and lifts it from the background. I’ve tried saving it using other apps and then bringing it back into photos, but the same problem persists.

iPad Pro, iPadOS 18

Posted on Aug 28, 2025 08:04 AM

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5 replies

Aug 28, 2025 08:20 AM in response to TwoArmsC

Unfortunately no AI processing is perfect. This is seen frequently in AI responses to questions where many times it will be completely wrong across all platforms and AI models. For Photos, AI lifting works best when it can use Depth Data from the photo to lift the subject and it is more difficult to "guess" what you are trying to accomplish when the range of the subjects are exactly the same.

Aug 28, 2025 08:58 AM in response to TwoArmsC

Mac Jim ID talked about how AI uses its perception of depth to make its selections. But you don't have to go with that-- you can select across boundaries.


However, Clean Up is really about selecting objects, and when you circle something you want selected, Clean Up uses that as a suggestion, and it does its best to find an object in there.


It sounds like what you want is a Cloning Tool which copies pixels from one area to another. Photos on a Mac has a Retouch Tool which is sort of in-between Cloning and Object Selection. Unfortunately, those tools aren't available on an iPhone.


If you would like that on your iPad, then you should let Apple know, here:

Feedback - Photos - Apple

How do I disable the Lift Subject from Background feature?

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