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Sally Jane Photographic ArtAdobe Photoshop Tutorial |
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Adobe Photoshop Tools - Healing Tools
Patch ToolThe patch tool icon looks just like a tiny patch. This tool works a little like the clone tool only far better as it will blend the new pixels to match the surroundings of the space they are given to occupy. It is great for removing sensor dirt, rubbish in backgrounds or bruises and scars on people plus much, much more. The more you practice with this tool the better you will get at it and the more applications you will find for this little life saver. It does, however, need some practice and getting used to as it has many quirks. I'm going to demonstrate using a couple of images that were taken on a camera with a dirty sensor. The first one, below, shows dirty smudges in the sky.
Incase you can't make them out they are highlighted here. also if you click on the above image you can see a larger version.
When you select the patch tool you need to check the tools menu bar at the top of the screen and change a few settings where necessary.
You need to make sure they are set as I have them here. In particular make sure Source radial button is selected. |
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That is fine for blank areas such as cloudless skies but what about blemished that extend over other details. For this you need to take a little more care. In this next image we have the same areas of dirt as it was taken on the same camera only in portrait rather than landscape. One of the smudges goes over a line in the image.
In case you are having trouble spotting the smudges I have highlighted them here. You may be able to see them better by making your eyes go slightly out of focus. Also If you click on the above image you can se a larger version.
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We will look and see what happens if we try to use the patch tool as described above to fix the blemish on the right that goes over the stay. If we draw around it and drag the selection to a clean area of sky this is what will happen when we release the mouse button.
The stay line is removed as well. To ensure we keep the line we have to carefully drag the selection to a clean area of sky with part of the stay line running across it. Because you can see the new selection displayed in the original selected space you can align it perfectly.
Now when you release the mouse button the patch is healed and the line is retained. |
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Lets give it a go and see.
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By using the clone tool to separate the top of the lighthouse from the rest of the structure I am now able to use the patch tool without it causing any fussiness.
Ok so in reality you are not going to want to do this to this image but I have used this method to take out pylons, cranes, rogue cars and, perhaps more importantly for me, head collars on horses. (Pass your mouse over image below).
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Recommended Further Reading for PhotoshopReturn to introduction & contents page Flikr "A-Z of Digital Editing" group
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Tel. 07956 448690 e-mail - Images@sally-jane.com |
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The
healing tools consist of the 
Draw around the area you want to heal. It does not need to be too accurate, just a rough selection but try not to bring in any contrasting pixels. You will get a dotted line where you have drawn just like you do using the marquee tools. 
Now drag this area to a clean area of sky. As you do you will see the patch icon change slightly.
If you have the source radial button selected as I mentioned you should see the original area being replaced by the new area as you drag. Once you are happy with your new selection just release the mouse button and the new patch will be blended into place. The selection will still be active so you can drag again if you want to. 
Hit Ctrl + D on your keyboard to deselect the area and your blemish should be fixed. You are now ready to do the next one. 
OK, so lets see how silly we can get with this. What would happen say, if we wanted to remove the top of the lighthouse? 
If you simply select the area and drag it to a clean area of sky the tool does it's best to blend the edge pixels to the new surroundings. This will cause a blurred edge which in this case would not be welcome. No worries, it can still be done but we need to prepare the ground first. 
