One of the single most powerful tools in Photoshop is the Clone Stamp Tool. With this feature you can work magic on photos that need to be touched up or have items removed. In the photo below, the woman has a small mole on her face that needs to be cleaned up. The two versions below show the power of the Clone Stamp Tool when used properly.
1. Open an image you want to touch up or use the one above by going to File -> Open.
2. It is always a good idea to copy a layer just in case you want to start over or do not want to replace an original. Right-click on the layer in your Layers window and select “Duplicate Layer” to create a copy.
3. On your new layer (likely called “Layer 1 Copy”), select you Zoom tool or press Z. Drag the mouse over the region you will be working on. In our case, we will zoom in on the mole we will be removing.
4. Now, select your Clone Stamp Tool and observe the features along the top toolbar that you can use to control the attributes of the Clone Stamp Tool.
5. Adjust the Brush settings to have a master diameter of 45 px, hardness of 0%. You can also click on the setting in the options in the drop-down menu.
6. With your mouse on the image you are editing, press the Alt key and notice how the mouse pointer changes to a crosshair. Put crosshair over a section of the picture that does not have a blemish or does not have the element you want to remove and left-click.
7. Hover your mouse over the mole we are removing and center the Clone Stamp Tool as best you can.
8. Left click and watch the magic happen!
9. Zoom out by typing 100 in the bottom left corner of the window.
There you have it! You could do this with much greater care by keeping the brush smaller and taking parts of the blemish out a little bit at a time.
This should get you started with the Clone Stamp Tool. You can play around with the pressure of the clone tool to take out eyebags, imperfections and even dirt that may have been from your camera lens. Have fun and don’t be afraid to try new things with the tool as you can always Step Backwards with Ctrl + Alt + Z.
