Adobe Photoshop CS5's Content Aware Tool lets me down

Like many, I was totally wowed by the previews for Adobe Photoshop CS5's content aware tool. It looked simply amazing for removing distracting elements and filling in the area perfectly.

And then I completely forgot about this functionality until tonight when I decided to test it out on this image:


The exit sign isn't the end of the world but it doesn't exactly add to the décor.

I used the lasso tool to select the sign.


Then edit > fill > content aware and got this:


Um, no. Ctrl+z and tried again:


Argh!

No dice. Back to the manual clone stamp route. Bummer.


Then a little bit of gaussian blur.


Here's the before/after*:



For some fantastic uses of the content aware tool, check this out. It's hilarious!


* This kind of intensive editing is not standard. I will usually remove under-eye circles, stray hairs, and easier exit signs or other distracting elements. This editing took over 30 minutes.