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Not even professional photographers manage to take perfect pictures every time, and there may be occasions where an otherwise perfect picture is ruined by a spot on the lens, or a mark on the image. This is especially true when taking photographs of people. One of the main advantages of using photograph editing software such as Photoshop is that these minor imperfections can be quickly and easily removed, making the photograph perfect in every respect. The easiest way to do this on Photoshop is by using the clone tool. Although it can be tricky to master, it is easy to learn the basics of this tool and with a little practice the technique will quickly become second nature.

Using the Clone Tool in Photoshop

The basic principle of the clone tool is that you are cutting a piece of image from one part of the photo and overlaying it onto the area of the image where the blemish or imperfection is. In order to do this, first create two copies of the photograph by using the “create a new layer” icon. This enables you to save a copy of the original image so that you can revert to the original if you do not like the changes, and also to compare it with the altered image. Then, working with the second copy, click on the clone tool which is in the menu on the left hand side of the page. Select the section of the picture where you wish to remove an imperfection by holding down the ALT key on the computer. Then click on a section of the picture which looks similar to the area with the imperfection, such as an area of clear skin or an area of sky. Then click on the area with the blemish or imperfection. The software will then copy the perfect area and paste it on top of the blemish, removing it completely. This tool works best when the areas which are pasted in are the same colour as the area with the blemish and it may take some trial and error attempts to find which works best.

Removing larger areas

Once you have mastered removing minor blemishes or spots from photographs, you can then move onto trying to clone larger areas of a photograph. This technique is useful when you wish to remove an item completely from a photograph, such as a random stranger in your holiday snaps or a pet which has wandered into shot at the wrong time. Using another area to paste over the top works well, but the larger the item you wish to remove, the harder it will be to conceal it completely without it looking obvious.