Quick and Easy Photoshop How-To On Cloning Techniques
Up your Photoshop game in under 5 minutes
The majority of this segment in the Easy Photoshop Tips series will be dedicated to the clone tool; how to use it effectively and what you can use it for.
What you can do with it
The clone tool allows you to copy elements of your photo to another area. There are a wide variety of alterations, but all you really need to know is how to adjust size and the opacity. First, you need to select a source for the tool to start copying from. Generally, holding alt while clocking will to that. Your next click will start copying exactly what’s at the source to your desired destination.
Anywhere you click/drag, your image will be painted, until the entire photo is added.
Evidently this is not a desired outcome, the idea is to copy elements of the image to enhance or create something new. One option is to change the background.
With this picture I wanted to remove the islands on either side, to make it seem as I was looking out into an endless ocean. But, this was no easy accomplishment, cloning takes time and patience. Most projects will start off like this…
Refinement
Obviously, this is not an end product and requires significant refinement. The best way to get rid of the lines by lowering the opacity and blending both side of the line together. This done right will eventually make the picture look somewhat realistic.
Again, this is in no way an end product, refining the lines would take a fair bit longer if this were a real project, nevertheless its clear that many of the lines have disappeared just by going over them and blending the image together. Opacity depends on the picture, but I like to stick around 15–20% and click more as need be.
Everyday use
Cloning can also be very helpful for editing facial features such as removing zits.
I have a few red marks on my face in this picture, and the cloning tool is the perfect tool to remove them. I just select a source which has similar skin tone and paste it over the marks.
The smaller the cloning required, the easier it is to perform the action. Removing pimples is one of the simplest actions, whereas cloning a background is one of the hardest. A final action one can do with the cloning tool is restoration of photos.
All these white spots in the picture can easily be removed by copying other elements of the photo. Cloning with black and white photos is especially effective as you don’t need to account for colour tone.
As your can see all the aged marks are cleanly removed. This photo was also enhanced through increased sharpness, which I find takes away from the quality of the picture, but it sometimes necessary when restoring old photos in order to tell what’s been damaged and what hasn’t.
Improved Shadows
The final technique of the day is selecting colour for shadows. Using the colour picker…
Select a dark tone if one exists near where the shadow will be added. In this next photo I selected the dark green of the bushes for the shadow; the colour should be similar (green for over green). You select the colour just by clicking it, it may take a couple of attempts to get the right one. Then go to your paint brush and adjust your opacity (as was explained in the last post) and start drawing your shadow.
Although real shadows don’t exhibit colour, in Photoshop I find it helps add a sense of realism. As always thanks for reading and come back for my next blog to learn all about removing people from photos, using the skills from this segment and from my first blog post on the selection tool. Furthermore, make sure to check out my website to see or inquire what I can assist you with in terms of Photoshop advice and consults.