Front deformation of initially planar excitation waves can be observed in nonplanar media or in spatially heterogeneously illuminated systems. The deformation of propagating reaction–diffusion waves in either of these systems has been investigated earlier separately. Here we present a combination of both heterogeneous systems, which can lead to a compensation of wave deformations. Our theoretical analysis of the evolution of propagating excitation waves, based on the framework of a kinematical theory, shows that the curvature effect can be compensated by illumination. Supporting experiments were performed with the light-sensitive Belousov–Zhabotinsky system.