There’s often something in a holiday snap that prevents it from getting you thousands of likes on social media, like a photo bombing or an ugly lamppost.
Or maybe something you personally can’t stand, for example an ex-partner.
But google offers a solution. To be Pixel 6 Pro has a ‘Magic Eraser’ tool that promises to remove ‘photobombers and unwanted objects’ in ‘just a few taps’.
Ailbhe MacMahon (pictured with the Eden Project) tests the ‘Magic Eraser’ tool on the Google Pixel 6 Pro during a trip to Cornwall. The tool promises to remove ‘photobombers and unwanted objects’ in ‘just a few taps’. In the image to the right, two figures have been removed from the background of the shot
Going… Gone: A view of Porthmeor Beach in St Ives crowded with people and a lamppost (left). A few seconds of magic clearing clears the scene (right)
To the left, a silhouetted person walks along the beach at Carbis Bay as the sun sets. On the right, the same image with the rogue passerby has been removed, thanks to Google’s wizardry
The photos above show a path leading from the train station to the beach at Carbis Bay, with the signs removed from the image on the right using the Magic Eraser feature
The view of Porthminster Beach from the path leading from Carbis Bay to St Ives. On the right, the passerby of the original image (left) has been erased with the Google editing tool
We tested this feature while on holiday in Cornwall to see if the tool can give our photos a premium travel influencer shine.
The result? Almost.
It’s not a new concept, but unlike specialized editing apps or Photoshop software, the ‘Magic Eraser’ is built right into the phone’s photo album, alongside the usual editing tools like filters and cropping.
We try it out before boarding our train at London’s Paddington Station – when people walk into the frame of a photo we took outside the train carriage, Magic Eraser suggests wiping them out. One click and poof, they’re gone, leaving their luggage behind.
Ailbhe boards a Great Western Railway train to Cornwall at London Paddington station. The Magic Eraser has removed the other train passengers from the photo on the right
Both images above show the scene outside the train window on the route between Exeter and Dawlish in Devon. On the right the can of Coca-Cola has disappeared
The view from Ailbhe’s room at the Carbis Bay Hotel. On the right, the coffee table has been removed from the recording, leaving a ‘shadow’ behind
Ailbhe’s guest bedroom at the Carbis Bay Hotel, with her handbag erased from the image on the right
A serving of pan-roasted scallops at Walters On The Beach, one of the Carbis Bay Hotel restaurants. Ailbhe’s lip gloss has disappeared thanks to the photo editing tool on the right
A train ride later and we arrive at the Carbis Bay Hotel, where last year’s G7 summit took place and lies along the coast of St Ives. Our Beach Suite’s floor-to-ceiling windows offer a too-good-to-be-true view of the sea. While capturing the view with the phone, we try to take the suite coffee table out of the shot – it works but leaves a ghostly shadow.
While the beach looks inviting, we spend the afternoon by the hotel’s heated pool, which overlooks Carbis Bay. The scene is top material for holiday albums – especially when we remove the other swimmers from view with the eraser, making it seem like we have the navy blue lagoon to ourselves.
The next morning we follow the coastal path to St Ives, rubbing errant lampposts and traffic cones from our photos. A local tells us that the G7 summit has drawn more holidaymakers than ever to this pocket of Cornwall, and the conditions are ripe for photobombing as we meander past the crowds to pretty Porthmeor Beach.
Upstairs is Carbis Bay Hotel’s heated pool, which overlooks the bay. The swimmers have been removed from the frame on the right
Pictured is the route through Carbis Bay Hotel to reach the path to St Ives, with walkers on the route obliterated in the picture to the right
The image on the left shows traffic cones on Porthmeor Beach in St Ives, while the photo on the right shows the beach after the cones have been cleared
An exhibition of work by the Argentine artist Ad Minoliti at the Tate St Ives – with a visitor removed from the photo on the right
The view of Carbis Bay – with a lamppost removed from the shot on the right – from the path up to the train station
The next stop on our holiday snap tour is the Eden projectan eco-attraction where we see the largest indoor rainforest in the world, plus a few soon-to-be-erased visitors.
While our photos may pale in comparison to a bona fide travel influencer’s — in part because I’m not great at photography in the first place — the Magic Eraser tool has greatly enhanced them. The tool is at its best in sunlight, when objects are placed against a bright background, such as a blue sky. Anything with a pattern or a three-dimensional surface behind it can be trickier to erase and creates a slight blur in the shot, but overall it makes for a much nicer memento of an outing.
The next day we make our way to the train station with a backward look at the beautiful Cornish coastline. Luckily, we have plenty of picture-perfect photos to remember.