Tutorial - "To Heal or To Clone. That Is The Question"
Modifying or repairing your images in Photoshop.
For cable and dsl users (all text and image are on one page).
I placed some oak leaves in a scanner and this is the result. The values
are a little dull.
Get the .hqx file of the image. Open it
with Stuffit Expander. The Photoshop file is 1.07 MB. I reduced the image
by 50 percent to save on the file size. You will need to open OakBunch50.psd
in Photoshop. In the menu, go to "Image -> Image Size..." In the Image Size
dialog box, change Width: pixels to Width: percent. Type 200 in the width
box. The image will now be the correct size.
Brighten the image by choosing Command + L to open the Levels dialog box.
You may also choose "Image -> Adjustments -> Levels..." As you can see,
there is a large gap on the right. Click and hold the mouse on the right
"highlights" triangle on the right side. Slide it over to the left. The
gray "mid-tones" triangle in the center will slide over at the same.
There is a large hole in the lower left where a bug chewed on the leaf.
Large repairs are the perfect place to use the Patch Tool. Zoom in on the
hole.
Click and hold down the mouse button as you draw around the hole. If you
make a mistake, press Command + D to deselect and start over. As with the
Marquee Tool, you may add to the patch selection by pressing the shift key
and drawing, or subtract from the selection by pressing the option key and
drawing.
Click and drag the selection to another part of the image. Wherever you
drag the selection, the Patch Tool will copy what is under the selection
and snap a copy back into the hole. If you do not like how it looks, Command
+ D to deselect and step back in the History panel. When you are happy,
choose Command + D to deselect.
It is a pretty amazing tool. We can make the patch blend in a little better.
Choose the Clone Stamp Tool (S).
Click and hold the mouse on the down pointing arrow next to "Brush: "
in the top left Photoshop menu. Drag your mouse down and select a brush.
The size brush you choose will depend on the pixel resolution of your image.
I have chosen a 5 pixel brush.
I will repair some of the dark edges around the patch. Hold down the option
key and click the Clone Stamp Tool next to the area to be repaired. The
clone 5 pixel circle will change into two circles with a cross hairs. This
shows the area of pixels you are sampling. Release the option key and move
the cursor over the area to be repaired. Click the mouse to place the cloned
pixels.
Try this technique. Sample an area with the Clone Stamp Tool. Click the
mouse button down and hold it down. Then drag the mouse to create a kind
of blur.
When cloning something like a leaf vein or a phone wire against a sky,
I will clone and click back and forth on either side of the line. It seems
to work the best. This is the order I would use to erase the telephone pole.
Look ma, no telephone pole.
The clone tool is also good for removing little black or white specks
of dust on the image.
Now you see it. Now you don't.
Now I will use the Healing Brush to lessen the reflected glare on the
yellow leaf.
At the top, I have chosen a soft edged brush and changed the brush settings
to make the brush Diameter: 20 pixels, the Hardness: 50%, and the Spacing
25%. Size: Off because I am using a mouse. Also note I switched the Mode
from Normal to "Mode: Multiple" to blend the pixels in a different way.
The Source: Sampled radio button is selected.
Option-Click to sample pixels just like the Clone Stamp Tool and click
the mouse on the glare.
Here is the repaired leaf picture.
Get the .hqx file of the image. Open
it with Stuffit Expander. The Photoshop file is 1.33 MB. I reduced the image
by 50 percent to save on the file size. You will need to open OakBunchDone50.psd
in Photoshop. In the menu, go to "Image -> Image Size..." In the Image Size
dialog box, change Width: pixels to Width: percent. Type 200 in the width
box. The image will now be the correct size.
I will show you two tool for image repairing that I do not use much, but
you might find them helpful. Here is a really scratched photo.
Under the "Filter" menu, choose "Noise -> Dust & Scratches..."
In the Dust & Scratches dialog box I have set the Radius: 2 pixels and
Threshold: 0 levels. Zoom in and out with the minus and plus signs. I would
check "Preview" so you can see the changes. The Dust & Scratches filter
works better on dust.
Many scratches are gone, but the image is pretty blurry. Running a sharpen
filter helps a little. (Filter -> Sharpen -> Sharpen)
Try the Smudge Tool to blend the pixels. It works similar to smearing
chalk with your finger. Choose a brush size and a brush type in the top
menu.
Some alert readers may have noticed the leaf image is the shape of a business
card. I will show you how to use the leaf image as the background for a
business card created in Adobe Illustrator 10.
