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Dan Rodney/2 min read

Removing Dust Spots from Photos

Lightroom Editing Essentials

Library Module

Import, rate, keyword, and organize photos across the catalog.

Develop Module

Global and local adjustments — exposure, contrast, color, sharpening.

Presets

One-click looks — save your own or use the built-in presets.

Export

Output to JPG, TIFF, or PSD with size, sharpening, and metadata control.

Master Adobe Tools at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Graphic Design Certificate covers Photoshop alongside the broader Adobe toolkit that complements Lightroom in any photography workflow.

Master the Spot Removal tool in Lightroom with this comprehensive tutorial, featuring step-by-step instructions to enhance your photo editing skills.

Topics Covered in This Lightroom Tutorial:

The Spot Removal Tool

Exercise Preview

lightroom preview2F

Exercise Overview

In this exercise, you will learn how to remove dust spots from an image using the Spot Removal tool.

Spot Removal

  1. If you have not imported the photos that were imported in Exercise 2E:
    • Go into the Library module.
    • At the bottom left of the screen, click Import.
    • In the dialog box that appears, on the left under Source, navigate to Desktop > Class Files > Lightroom Class and select the Develop folder.
    • At the top, above the photos, make sure Add is selected (highlighted).
    • On the bottom right, click Import.

  2. In the Library module, select the photo of the U.S. Capitol dome (_CAS2423).

  3. Press D to go into the Develop module.

  4. Notice all the dust spots? Dust occasionally falls onto the glass filter of cameras’ sensors; it’s a common photography problem. Let’s fix it.

  5. In the side panel on the right, click the Spot Removal tool spot removal tool.

  6. In the Toolbar below the photo, check on Visualize Spots. This mode creates an overlay that makes it very easy to see all the imperfections in a photograph!

  7. To the right of the Visualize Spots option, notice the slider. Try dragging this slider left and right and notice that it vastly changes the number of spots that are visible. Leave the slider around this position:

    spot removal visualize spots slider

  8. Hover over one dust spot.

  9. Press the left bracket [ to make the Spot Removal tool smaller, and the right bracket ] to make it bigger.

    NOTE: If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also use it to resize the Spot Removal tool.

  10. Resize the Spot Removal target so that it matches the size of the dust spot.

  11. Click on the dust spot to remove it.

  12. Repeat the previous steps for the rest of the dust spots, adjusting the size of the Spot Removal tool spot removal tool and zooming in/out as necessary.

    NOTE: If you make a mistake, select the circle and hit Delete on your keyboard.

  13. When you’re done, click the Spot Removal tool spot removal tool again. Whoa, so much better!

  14. Press G to return to the Library module.