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Tip #18: Clone Stamp Tool
By: Tedric Garrison (Photoshop 7)Once again the background is not exactly what we wanted (the subject was too
close to the wall), but we can fix that. Open the image in question, then go to
the main tool bar (on the left).
Go down to the fifth tool on the left and click on the "Clone Stamp Tool". When
this tool first comes up your mouse pointer looks like a circle the same size as
your "brush" tool. Notice that as soon as you change the tool, that your options
across the menu bar change as well. Go to the second item in where it says brush
and click once, this will allow you to set the size of your brush.
I tend to use a smaller brush (25-40) in size, you may want to practice and see
what you are more comfortable with. In order to use this tool, you first have to
take a sample of the area you want to clone (or copy). In the example below,
I chose to copy the darker background because his shirt and the wall were
already very similar in color. To take a sample, you go to the area to be copied,
hold down the "Alt" key and click your left mouse button once. During this process,
the icon that looked like a simple circle will change briefly to something that
resembles the inside of a scope (namely a circle within a circle with a cross that goes
through both).
Once you have the sample, go back up the area you wish to fill in and hold in
the left mouse button while you paint with the circle. If you will look closely,
you will notice two things happening on the screen. First, the circle will fill in
the same surface that you took your sample from. Second, you will see a cross
moving around that shows you specifically where it is taking the sample from.
If the cross moves into a different type of surface, that's what will show up in
your brush. Always watch the cross to see you are getting the right type of
surface to paint with. As the cross moves out of range, you will have to take
a "new sample" to get the desired effect.
Notice that in the third image above, I got as close as I could without actually
going into the main subject. After that I will right click and change my brush
size even smaller (5-10) in size. Then I will go to the main tool bar (on the left
side), look for the icon that looks like a small magnifying glass and enlarge the
image 400-600% in size by clicking the left mouse button several times. I will
follow the same process as above and paint all the fine detail like shadows and
wall around the subject. Going this small does take more time, but the end result
is also much more realistic.
Once you have gone all the way around your subject (or where needed), you
can reverse the zoom effect by holding down the "Alt" key while you push your
left mouse button. This changes the little magnifying glass from the "+" mode, to
the "-" mode. Try saving your image using the "Save As" mode, and giving the
subject a different name. This way if you need to do it again, you still have the
original to work with.
Photoshop Tip #18: Tedric Garrison tedric@betterphototips.com
