ChatGPT Images 2.0 Is a Cheat Code for Removing Reflections
On a recent family trip to Japan we came home with two photos that were completely ruined by window reflections — the kind of shot you only get one chance at. Photoshop and Topaz both failed me. ChatGPT Images 2.0 fixed both in one prompt, and I almost spit out my coffee when I saw the results.
TL;DR ⚡
Two family snapshots shot through glass — one from the top of Tokyo Skytree, one from the lobby of the Godzilla Hotel — were wrecked by interior reflections. I handed ChatGPT the JPEG and asked it, in plain English, to remove the reflections and show what was outside the window. It did exactly that, in short order, without repainting the scene into something I didn't shoot. Photoshop, Topaz, and the other tools I tried were a lot of work and failed miserably.
Table of Contents
✅ Pros
- ✅One plain-English prompt did the whole jobNo masks, no layers, no frequency separation — I described the problem and it fixed it.
- ✅It preserved the original contentThe Skytree frame kept the Sumida River, the elevated expressway, and the lit bridge exactly where they were; it just pulled the ghosted heads and window glare off the glass.
- ✅FastMinutes, not an evening of cloning. The tools I'd normally reach for cost me far more time for a worse result.
- ✅Anyone can do itNo retouching skill required. If you can upload a photo and type a sentence, you can do this.
⛔ Cons
- ⛔You can't run it on your RAWThis is a JPEG-in, JPEG-out rescue. Your original raw file stays untouched, which is good — but the fix doesn't live in your normal raw workflow.
- ⛔Resolution isn't guaranteedYou may get back a smaller file than you handed it. Upsizing tools can bail you out if you need to print big.
- ⛔It's generative, so you have to inspect itSignage, faces, and fine text are where AI usually invents. Zoom in before you trust it.
- ⛔It raises the "am I still the photographer?" questionAt some point editing stops and generating begins. For a ruined family snapshot I'm fine with it. For client or documentary work, that's a different conversation.
Who it’s for
- Travelers who shot through an observation-deck window, a hotel lobby, a train, or a plane and got the room reflected back at them.
- Anyone with a one-of-a-kind family photo that's otherwise unrecoverable — the trip is over, you're not going back.
- Photographers who've already lost an evening to the clone stamp and content-aware fill and still hate the result.
Who should skip
- Photojournalists, documentary shooters, and anyone under a contest or client rule that bans generative edits. This is generation, not dodging and burning.
- Anyone who needs the edit applied to the raw file inside a Lightroom/Capture One round trip — that's not what this is.
- Anyone who needs a huge native-resolution file and isn't willing to upsize.
How I Actually Did It
- Feed it the JPEG: I uploaded the straight camera JPEG — no prep, no selections, no masking.
- Ask in plain English: My exact prompt was "this photo is ruined by reflections from inside - can you remove the reflections to properly show what is outside of the window." That's it. No prompt engineering.
- Let it work: It came back in short order with the reflections gone and the actual scene intact.
- Then inspect it: Zoom to 100% and look at signage, text, faces, and any repeating architecture. That's where generative tools drift.
- Upsize if you need to print: You can't do this to your raw original, so if you need a bigger file, run the result through a photo upsizing tool.
Before & After
What to Look at in These Two Frames
- Tokyo Skytree: In the original, the reflected heads and the bright interior wash sit right over the widest part of the view. The corrected version keeps every landmark I actually shot — the river bend, the lit bridge, the expressway ribbon — and just drops the glass out of the equation.
- The Godzilla Hotel: This one's the harder fix, because the reflection overlaps the subject itself. The purple lighting, the red eye, the pink teeth, and the rockwork all survived; the ceiling line, window mullions, and reflected planter are gone.
- Where to be careful: Small background signage and distant building detail are the spots I'd check on any frame like this before I called it done.
Closing Thoughts
I'm generally the guy telling you to slow down and get it right in camera, and yes — a rubber lens hood pressed against the glass would have saved me all of this. But the trip's over, and I'm not flying back to Tokyo to reshoot a lobby. For a ruined family photo that would otherwise sit in the reject pile forever, this is the easiest save I've found, and it beat Photoshop and Topaz without a fight.
Next action: dig out the one travel shot you gave up on because of a window reflection, hand ChatGPT the JPEG, and use my exact prompt above. Then zoom to 100% and check the signage before you trust it. If it works, upsize it and print the thing.
Disclosure: These are my own family photos from my own trip. Nobody paid me for this post, there are no affiliate links in it, and no review sample was provided.
Sound off in the comments — where does editing stop and generating begin for you?
