Subject: Clone Stamp Tool
Difficulty: Intermediate
The clone stamp tool, as the name suggests, is used to clone areas of an image. This means that when using it you can subtly copy and paste areas of the image to cover or alter other areas as you wish.
For this tutorial I am using the following image (click the image to open in new window):
You can choose to use this one or experiment with another image of your choosing.
Once Photoshop is opened the first task is to click and drag the image in to Photoshop to be edited. Open your browser and navigate to your chosen picture, then click and drag the picture on to the main screen of Photoshop. Alternatively, click and drag a file from your computer in the same way:
Once your image is in Photoshop, select the Clone Stamp Tool from the toolbar located on the left of the screen by default:
Once the tool is selected turn your attention to an area you wish to remove from the image. For this tutorial we will get rid of the man on the beach. In order to get rid of him we will clone areas around him and stamp them over his image. To clone an area, hold down the Alt key on your keyboard. The cursor will now turn to a crosshair when placed over the image. Position the mouse over an area of sand near to the man and click:
The tool has now sampled that area of the image and is ready to clone it. Release the Alt key and click and drag over a small area of the man while keeping relatively in line with where you sampled the sand. The man will begin to disappear:
Continue to resample different areas by holding the Alt key and clicking to ensure that the same bit of sand is not cloned too often. Take your time and work a little bit at a time. Try to work horizontally and sample areas similar to what would appear behind the image you are removing. For example, in this image ensure you sample the water when water will appear behind his legs, lighter sand for the rest of his legs and the bluer sand for where his torso would is:
This tool will allow you to completely remove the man from the image. Take your time and try to be as accurate as possible and nobody will be able to tell that he was ever there. You should end up with an image like this:
This technique can be used to remove almost anything from images as long as there are enough areas to effectively sample from. It also has many other uses. It’s commonly used in beauty magazines to remove wrinkles or to make people look thinner.
