Part IV: Enhancing, Correcting, and Retouching 478 Content-Aware fill The Content-Aware fill isn’t found with the Healing tools, but it works to take unwanted elements seamlessly out of an image. The Content-Aware feature is new with Photoshop CS5 and uses an amazing new algorithm that works to fill in a selected area of a photo seamlessly in a relatively short amount of time. Because the Content-Aware tool works with the Selection tools, it is possible to make precise selec- tions. For instance, the second boy in Figure 15.17 doesn’t look like he wants to be in this photo. Using the Quick Selection tool, I can select areas that need to be precise, such as those bordering the first boy. I left the other areas with a rough selection on purpose so the Content Fill didn’t take on the look of a silhouette. On the Web Site You can try using the Content-Aware fill on this image. Download Figure 15-17 from the Web site. n FIGURE 15.17 Using the Selection tools allows you to target precise areas on which to use the Content-Aware fill. After you’ve made a selection in an image, choose Edit ➪ Fill to open the Fill dialog box, as shown in Figure 15.18. Choose Content-Aware from the drop-down menu. After you click OK, the Content-Aware algorithm takes over, searching your photo for appropriate areas to use in replacing the area that was selected. This can be a time-intensive process, but when it is finished, your image should look pretty close to realistic. You can see in Figure 15.19 that my image is certainly not per- fect, but it takes relatively little cleanup to make it look good. 22_584743-ch15.indd 47822_584743-ch15.indd 478 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Chapter 15: Using Cloning and Healing to Restore Digital Images 479 Note The Content-Aware algorithm is memory intensive. Large files can take several minutes and use a considerable amount of RAM. Be sure to make allowances for this. n Tip The Content-Aware tool, much like the Healing Brushes, doesn’t return the same results every time you use it. If you’re not happy with the first results you get, try again. n FIGURE 15.18 The Content-Aware option in the Fill dialog box FIGURE 15.19 The Content-Aware algorithm makes short work of removing even large elements from images. 22_584743-ch15.indd 47922_584743-ch15.indd 479 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Part IV: Enhancing, Correcting, and Retouching 480 Fixing red-eye The Red Eye tool is easy to use. Click and hold the arrow on the Healing Brush icon in the Toolbox to open the other choices, and click the Red Eye tool. Your cursor turns into a crosshair. You can adjust the pupil size and darken amounts in the options bar. Center the cursor on the eye, and click. Photoshop takes it from there, darkening the red in the targeted area, as shown in Figure 15.20. FIGURE 15.20 Most cases of red-eye are as easy to remove as point and click. Note Sometimes a subject’s red eyes are so washed out that it is difficult to get a good fix with the Red Eye tool. When that happens, the next step is to select the red-eye using the Elliptical Marquee. Using a Hue and Saturation adjustment, target the red in the eye and desaturate it. If that doesn’t work, the last resort is to actu- ally paint (or clone) new pixels into the eye area. n The Clone Stamp Tool and Clone Source Panel The Clone Stamp tool is the miracle worker that takes off ten pounds, performs head swaps, and adds improbable elements (like giant spiders) to ordinary photos. Knowing how to use this tool effectively gives you the power to create great images from photos that were originally so-so. 22_584743-ch15.indd 48022_584743-ch15.indd 480 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Chapter 15: Using Cloning and Healing to Restore Digital Images 481 The Clone Stamp tool looks like a rubber stamp in the Toolbox, as you can see in Figure 15.21. It is nested with the Pattern Stamp tool, which allows you to brush patterns into your image and is covered in Chapter 16. The Stamp icon also opens the Clone Source panel. FIGURE 15.21 The Clone Stamp tool Cloning is a method of copying an area from an image and painting it in the same image or a dif- ferent one. This can be done to remove unwanted elements in an image or to add elements to an image. When you use the Healing Brushes to fix an image, they can leave smudgy looking areas due to over-blending. The Clone Stamp tool doesn’t blend at all (except around the edges, if you choose a soft brush). Because of this, it is more precise than the Healing Brushes, but it can leave obvious edges. It is a powerful tool that takes practice and a measure of creativity. In this section, I show you how to use the Clone Stamp tool and the Clone Source panel and pro- vide several examples that demonstrate different ways of using the Clone Stamp and tips and tricks for creating a fantastic end result. Setting the Clone Stamp options Just like every tool in the Toolbox, when you select the Clone Stamp, the options bar changes to display the particular options for the Clone Stamp. As you can see in Figure 15.22, they are similar to the options for the Healing Brushes, with a few added in. FIGURE 15.22 The Clone Stamp options bar Tool presets Brush presets Toogle Brush panel Toggle Clone Source panel Tablet pressure controls opacity Enable Airbrush Ignore Adjustment layers Tablet pressure controls brush size 22_584743-ch15.indd 48122_584743-ch15.indd 481 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Part IV: Enhancing, Correcting, and Retouching 482 Here are the options and what they do: l Tool Presets: This creates a tool preset for the Clone Stamp or loads a preset you have already created. l Brush Presets: This displays a list of Photoshop presets for the brush that will be used with the Clone Stamp. Use one of these or create your own. l Toggle Brush panel: Click to open or close the Brush panel. l Toggle Clone Source panel: Click to open or close the Clone Source panel. l Mode: This sets the blending mode for the new pixels added to your image. Using a blending mode other than normal can create some great artistic effects. l Opacity: This controls the opacity of the pixels added to your image. l Tablet pressure controls opacity: If you are using a tablet rather than a mouse, you can change the opacity based on the pressure you exert. This overrides the opacity setting. l Flow: This controls the rate at which new pixels are applied. l Enable Airbrush: When the airbrush is enabled, pixels continue to appear around the brush as long as you hold down the left mouse button, creating a pooling effect. l Aligned: When this option is selected, the Clone Source is locked with the very first brush stroke and doesn’t move even when you release the mouse. This is ideal when you are cloning very specific areas, such as a face or other object that you don’t want to move. If you are cloning a fix, however, and you want to reset the Clone tool every time you release the mouse button, deselect this option. l Sample: This lets you choose which layers to sample while cloning. l Ignore Adjustment layers: If you’ve already applied adjustment layers to your image and you don’t want to add them to the cloning mix, select this option. l Table pressure controls brush size: Again, if you use a tablet, you can choose this option to let the pressure determine the brush size. This overrides the size in your brush presets. Cloning basics Before I show you the more advanced cloning techniques, let’s start with an exercise that demon- strates the basic use of the Clone Stamp. Look at the amazing shot of a bluebird in Figure 15.23. Removing the branch in front of him makes this shot phenomenal. On the Web Site Can you clone out the branch? Follow along by downloading Figure 15-23. n 22_584743-ch15.indd 48222_584743-ch15.indd 482 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Chapter 15: Using Cloning and Healing to Restore Digital Images 483 FIGURE 15.23 An almost-perfect image You can use the Clone tool to erase an object from an image by following these steps: 1. Open an image with an area you want to change. 2. Click the Clone Stamp tool in the Toolbox. 3. Select a brush from the options bar. A soft brush usually works best for blending in edges. 4. Place the cursor over an area that you want to clone. It’s usually better to choose an area that’s as close as possible to the area being fixed. Even though this photo contains lots of green, you won’t believe until you try to clone it how much variance it has. 5. Hold the Alt key as you click the image. This sets the Clone Source of the image. 6. Drag over the area where you want to place the clone. The Clone Source is copied to that area. The crosshair shows the area that is currently being cloned, as you can see in Figure 15.24. 7. Reset the Clone Source as needed by holding the Alt key and clicking your image. 8. Repeat Steps 4 through 7 until the object is gone from your image. Don’t forget the bird poop on the branch! Don’t worry about the over-hanging branch; the Spot Healing Brush can take care of that with no problem. If you’ve taken your time and been careful, you’d never know there was more to your image, as shown in Figure 15.25. 22_584743-ch15.indd 48322_584743-ch15.indd 483 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Part IV: Enhancing, Correcting, and Retouching 484 FIGURE 15.24 Dragging over your image with the Clone Stamp copies the area the crosshair is over exactly. FIGURE 15.25 The Clone Stamp worked well to take out the unsightly elements. That’s it for the basics of using the Clone Stamp. Are you ready to make it lots more fun? The Clone Source panel gives you the capability to use a different image, resize your clone source, or even to tilt the clone source. 22_584743-ch15.indd 48422_584743-ch15.indd 484 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Chapter 15: Using Cloning and Healing to Restore Digital Images 485 Utilizing the Clone Source panel You can open the Clone Source panel in three ways: Use the toggle button for the Clone Source panel in the options bar, use the Clone Source icon in the panel, or choose Window ➪ Clone Source. Any one of these methods opens the Clone Source panel shown in Figure 15.26, and with it, a whole new world of possibilities in using the Clone Stamp. FIGURE 15.26 The Clone Source panel Flip clone source Scale clone source Overlay Blending mode Reset Rotate clone source I introduce you to the options in the Clone Source panel and then show you how they work by taking you through an exercise that utilizes many of the options. You find these options in the Clone Source panel: l Clone Sample: The Clone Source panel includes five Clone Sample icons. They give you the capability of setting and storing five different clone sources. These sources can be cre- ated in any document and used in any document. l Offset: The offset values indicate how far you’ve moved the clone source from its original position. 22_584743-ch15.indd 48522_584743-ch15.indd 485 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM . take unwanted elements seamlessly out of an image. The Content-Aware feature is new with Photoshop CS5 and uses an amazing new algorithm that works to fill in a selected area of a photo seamlessly. Part IV: Enhancing, Correcting, and Retouching 478 Content-Aware fill The Content-Aware fill isn’t. elements from images. 22_584743-ch15.indd 47922_584743-ch15.indd 479 5/3/10 10:36 AM5/3/10 10:36 AM Part IV: Enhancing, Correcting, and Retouching 480 Fixing red-eye The Red Eye tool is easy to use.