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photographs copyrighted, all rights reserved.
Adobe Photoshop's
Rubber Stamp Tool
(Also
known as the Clone Tool)
The Rubber Stamp tool is a sophisticated copy & paste operation. Simply put, it allows you to copy an existing part of a picture and then paste it on top of another area. The Rubber Stamp does its job without looking like an unsightly band-aid patch. The Rubber Stamp tool is also called the Clone Tool.
Dust & dirt spots, blemishes, red-eye, and nearly any other kind of flaw you can imagine can be invisibly corrected with Adobe Photoshop's Rubber Stamp Tool. It can invisibly rid you of the unexpected piece of lint on a sweater, the unwanted reflection on an eyeglass lens, the detracting skin blemish or two (or more). Once you get the hang of it, you'll find yourself using the Rubber Stamp to some degree on most of your "keeper" pictures.
Using the Rubber Stamp
Here's a simple
repair: A frequent problem
with In this picture,
dust on the CCD of a Nikon D1 shows up as a "UFO"
next to this Canada Goose in flight. An easy fix for the
Rubber Stamp...
pro style cameras is the accumulation of dust or
dirt spots on top of the camera's
imager.
Choose the Rubber Stamp Tool
from the main toolbar in Adobe Photoshop.
Click the toolbar icon with your mouse, or simply press the
letter "S" on your keyboard.
Rubber Stamp Options:
Depending on the version of Photoshop you're using, the
Mode,
Brushes, Opacity, and other option locations will vary.
(Version 6.0.1 shown.)
Rubber Stamp option settings
- Brushes: There are three
types of brushes... Hard-edged, soft-edged, and
splattery.
I use the soft-edged brushes 99% of the time, they make the cleanest repairs because they feather out the edges of the cloning stamp as it is applied. Much like a soft, light overspray around the edges.
I use the hard-edged brushed only if I'm cloning (stamping) next to an edge I don't want to get overspray on. The hard-edged brush will leave a band-aid edge if you're not careful.
I never use the splattery brushes. Experience has shown me that they're very visible, they make a ragged edged repair.
Helpful tip - once you pick a brush, you can quickly and easily change its size during the course of repairs by using the " [ " or " ] " keys on your keyboard. (They're next to the letter P). They act as quick plus and minus sizing tools on the fly. Every time you touch one of the keys, it makes the brush one size larger or smaller.
- Mode: Use "Normal"
only.
- Opacity: I use 75%
opacity as a starting point for most repairs. I've found
that 100% leaves a slight band-aid edge even with the
soft-edged brushes. It's better to give a few light coats
over the target spot using less opacity. Move the brush
around a bit for a clean blend.
For harder textured repairs use more opacity, for softer looking repair areas use less opacity. For example, I sometimes use as little as 25-30% if I'm touching up around skin tones, much like one would apply light makeup powder. And I might use 90% for a base if I'm filling in missing hair spots or covering up a serious blemish.
- Alignment: Always
unchecked. When unchecked, the clone source
remains constant. You can move around and apply the same
clone to different areas of your picture.
If checked, the clone source moves as you move your stamping point. (Not a good deal.)
- Use All Layers: Leave it empty (unchecked).
The Repair:
Choose the
appropriate brush size by need, as
shown. Remember - once you
pick a brush type, you can quickly and easily
change its size by using the " [ " or " ] "
keys on your keyboard. Choose your
source: With the "Alt" key
held down,the brush cursor will change into a
Rubber Stamp icon. Select the source
for your repair by moving the Rubber Stamp icon
over it, then "click" on it with your
mouse. Release the "Alt"
key, the cursor will return to the brush
shape. Click the brush
icon on top of the target spot. Notice that as you
click, a cross hair mark appears over the original
source area of your clone. Every time (and
everywhere) you click your mouse, the cloning stamp
is applied. And with every click, the cross hair
will indicate the source point. To change source
points, hold the "Alt" key down and click on a new
source. Results:
After applying four
slightly shifted position clicks of the brush over
the dust spot, it completely disappears.
Perfectly blended
and feathered, the original grain of the sky is
retained. No "band-aid" patch
marks... The repair is absolutely invisible, even
when zoomed in to an 800% super pixelated
enlargement.
The procedure is basically the same for any repair challenge.
More Rubber Stamp samples...
Minor blemish
touch-up project. With a couple of
clicks, the Rubber Stamp took care of a couple of
unwanted spots. And with a little
more work, you get an idea of how fashion magazines
make their models appear "picture
perfect". Big Job: I didn't notice the
big, ugly fighting scar on the goat's head until I
got home and looked over my pictures. It obviously didn't
bother the goat, but it ruined what was otherwise a
pretty cute snapshot. This particular
repair job required multiple source points,
multiple brush sizes, and multiple opacity
changes. For about 5 minutes
work*, it was certainly worth it. (*Your mileage may
vary... the more you practice, the better and
quicker you'll get.)
