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12 Tips For Mastering The Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop
12 Tips For Mastering The Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop
You will not often find the stairs of Opera Garnier in Paris free of
people, so you will need to put the Clone Stamp tool to work to
remove the people if you want a clean picture. This applies at many
other tourist destinations as well.
Getting started with the Clone Stamp tool is simple. You just have to
tell Photoshop two things: (1) where you want to replace the pixels
(target area), and (2) from where Photoshop should take the pixels to
use as replacements (source area). To use the Clone Stamp tool, just
follow these steps:
That is a simple process, but if you have used the Clone Stamp tool
you realize that there is a lot more involved if you want to master it.
This article will provide you with some tips to move you along the
road towards conquering this important tool in Photoshop.
First, always create a new layer before making changes with the
Clone Stamp tool. Any changes you make should be made on the
new layer. You can flatten the image when youʼre done.
Why should you do this? There are many reasons. First of all, it is
non-destructive – meaning you are not changing the underlying
pixels of your image. In addition, when you use a layer, you can
delete it if you donʼt like where the changes are going. You can also
create a mask if there are portions of the changes that you decide
later you do not want. Finally, you can target adjustments to just the
cloned areas if they are on a new layer (as will be shown below).
When working with the Clone Stamp tool, zoom in on the area you
are working on. In fact, zoom way in (to 100% even). That will help
isolate the area you are working on, and importantly, it will also allow
you to work at a much greater level of detail than you otherwise
would. Make your changes look as good as you can at this higher
level of detail, then when you zoom back out, the changes will be
indistinguishable (which is what you want).
A shortcut for zooming quickly is to hold the Alt key with your left
hand while using the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out
(or use Cntrl/Cmd and the + or – key on the keyboard). That will allow
you to move in and out quickly.
Using these keys will allow you to rapidly tailor your brush to the
specific circumstance.
In general, keep the hardness level at 0%. That will help you
seamlessly blend in the effect. There will be times, however, where
you are working near a defined edge, in which case you should
increase the hardness. Even then around 50% will usually do. Setting
Most of the time your pictures will have some easy items to clone
out, as well as some harder things. Clone out the easy ones first. In
addition to giving you confidence in the tool, this will also help you
when the time comes to make the hard changes.
How will that help you? Remember that you need clear space from
which to draw pixels when using the Clone Stamp tool. By making
the easy changes first, you are doing just that so you can
draw replacement pixels and will make your job easier when it comes
But many times you will not want there to be any discernible patterns
in your cloning. Usually a pattern is a dead giveaway to your having
cloned something out. In that case, the way to ensure that there will
be no patterns is to keep resetting your source point. Sample from
one area and clone one part, then sample from another area – repeat
frequently. Keep doing that to blend everything together without
repeating a pattern.
A key to successful use of the Clone Stamp tool is making all the
lines in your picture match. Even slight deviations look fake and
destroy the effect you are trying to achieve. For example, in a
landscape setting make the edges of tree branches match up. In an
urban context, follow lines in buildings such as roof lines, doorways,
and patterns on the ground.
When you are using the Clone Stamp tool, start with the lines and
then let the rest of the pixels fall where they may. After that, if you
need to go back over other areas, you can do so.
By now you have fixed all the easy areas in your picture and youʼre
ready to tackle a bigger problem. It might be a crowd of people or a
car that entered your frame, but it is a large area of your picture. This
is the scary part of using the Clone Stamp tool.
The key is to just dive in. Donʼt try to figure it all out beforehand (you
never will). You can do this in a couple of different ways:
1. Go big first: Set your brush a little larger than you might
otherwise use and just replace the entire area in one fell swoop
(and then clean up with a smaller brush), or
2. Go small and steady: Stick with the smaller brush and paint in
gradually, but the key is to keep going. Remember that you can
go over it again. Whatever you are doing, while it is probably not
perfect, will undoubtedly look better than what you started with.
You can affect a lot of settings involving the Clone Stamp tool in the
Clone Source panel (to see it, go to Window and then click on Clone
Source). For instance, you can change the shape of the brush or the
angle of the replacement pixels.
One of the most useful features in the Cone Source panel is the flip-
horizontal option in the middle of the panel. If you click on it, the
pixels will be replaced in the opposite horizontal direction as the
source. This can be extremely useful in many instances since often
you will be dealing with a symmetrical subject where you can now
draw from the other side.
A typical example where you might want to use the flip horizontal
option is where something covers one side of a doorway or window
that you want to remove. By clicking on flip-horizontal, you can use
the other side of the doorway or window as your source. Take
Sometimes your cloned areas just wonʼt look exactly like the
surrounding areas. Perhaps it is too bright or too dark, or perhaps
the colors are just off a little bit. You can fix it without affecting the
surrounding pixels.
One of the great benefits of working on layers is that you can create
adjustment layers that affect only the areas you just cloned. Simply
create a new adjustment layer (levels, curves, or hue/saturation),
which will appear above your cloning layer. Then hold down the Alt
key and click at the bottom of the adjustment layer (you will see your
cursor change). Doing so will apply the changes of the adjustment
layer only to the layer below it.
Conclusion
Remember that using the Clone Stamp tool can be a messy process.
Donʼt worry if you find yourself having to redo changes or make
The Clone Stamp tool will save more pictures than almost any other
tool in your post-processing. If you master it, you can remove almost
anything in your pictures that you do not want.