The geophysically regularized least-squares inversion described in this paper is designed to minimize large, sudden changes in amplitudes along the offset ray parameter axis (or equivalent reflection angle axis). This behavior is based on the assumption that such changes are due to poor illumination, and true AVA trends should be relatively smooth in comparison. I have demonstrated that the derivative-type operator used for the regularization in the experiments in this paper do leave the true AVA trends intact, with some error due to edge effects. This result is encouraging as it indicates that with some further work to reduce the edge effects, I can still extract reliable AVA information from images produced by my geophysically regularized inversion.