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Adobe Photoshop CS2

Retouching Images

There are several options to choose from when retouching your images. Three of those tools are the Spot Healing Brush Tool, Healing Brush Tool, and the Patch Tool.

return to topThe Healing Tools

The Healing tools allow you to fix flaws such as scratches, blemishes, or inconsistencies in your images. Located in the Toolbox, the Healing Brush tool contains three additional hidden tools: the Spot Healing Brush tool, the Patch tool, and the Red Eye tool.

Healing Brush toolHealing Brush tool
Allows you to conceal an undesirable portion of an image, such as a scratch, by covering the area with a sample that you select from elsewhere in the image.

Spot Healing Brush toolSpot Healing Brush tool
Allows you to conceal an undesirable portion of an image by covering the area with a sample that Photoshop automatically draws from the surrounding area.

Patch toolPatch tool
Allows you to select an irregularly shaped portion of an image to conceal before selecting the sample that will cover it.

Red Eye toolRed Eye tool
Darkens a specific point to hide red eye in an image.

return to topHealing Brush Options

Each of the Healing Brush tools offers several options to adjust the effects upon your image.

Hardness
refers to how dramatic the retouch is going to be. The greater the percentage, the more defined the retouch will appear. The smaller the percentage, the less obvious the edges of the retouch will appear.

Spacing
refers to how much space is between each instance of the brush in a brush stroke. A low percentage makes the brush strokes tighter and a high percentage makes them farther apart.

Angle
controls the alignment of the brush tip

Roundness
controls the height of the brush, although the width remains the same. This can control whether the brush appears more circular or more elliptical. The lower the percentage, the shorter and more elliptical the brush will appear.

Size: Off
keeps the diameter of the brush consistent

Size: Pen Pressure
varies the diameter of the brush based on the force applied with the pen. This option is only relevant if using a pressure-sensitive pad and pen.

Size: Stylus Wheel
varies the diameter of the brush based on your manipulation of the stylus wheel. This option is only relevant if using a pressure-sensitive pad and stylus.

Mode
Replace leaves the edges of the retouched area naturally jagged, as opposed to smoothing the edges as the Healing Brush tools usually do. For information about additional modes, see Blend Modes: An Introduction.

Proximity Match
covers the area with pixels copied from the neighboring area.

Create Texture
covers the area with a new texture created by sampling and recombining pixels from the neighboring area.

 

return to topUsing the Spot Healing Brush Tool

The Spot Healing Brush tool works best on small flaws that require only a few clicks to retouch. With the Spot Healing Brush tool, you do not need to select a sample first; it will automatically heal the inconsistency using the surrounding pixels to blend the retouched area. The Spot Healing Brush tool samples the new pixels for the area randomly, so if you do not like your first result, undo it and try using it again.

  1. From the Toolbox, click the SPOT HEALING BRUSH TOOLSpot healing tool
    The Options bar changes to the Spot Healing Brush Tool Options bar.
    Spot healing options bar

  2. To adjust the brush, on the Spot Healing Brush Tool Options bar, click BRUSH:brush pull-down button
    The Brush Options palette appears.
    NOTE: For more information about the options available, please refer to Healing Brush Options.
    brush menu

  3. To adjust the Diameter, Hardness, or Spacing, slide the arrow until you reach the desired value
    OR
    In the text boxes, type the desired size or percentage

  4. In the Angle text box, type the desired angle

  5. To adjust the Roundness, type the desired percentage of roundness in the text box.

  6. For Size, choose one of the three options: Off, Pen Pressure, Stylus Wheel

  7. To adjust how the healing action will affect the image, select a mode

  8. To adjust how the Spot Healing Brush Tool will interact with the pixels of the image, select which type of retouching action you want

  9. If you have more than one visible layer that you want to make adjustments to, select Sample All Layers

  10. On the image, click on the blemish you want to retouch

return to topUsing the Healing Brush Tool

The Healing Brush tool requires that you first select an area of pixels that you want to copy, then decide where to paste them. This tool is useful for retouching larger areas that require more attention to detail and cannot be handled by the Spot Healing Brush tool. After you set your brush and sample options, you are ready to select your sample area and begin touching up your image.

  1. From the Toolbox, click the HEALING BRUSH TOOLhealing brush tool
    The Options bar changes into the Healing Brush Tool Options bar.
    Healing brush tool options bar

  2. To adjust the settings for the Brush,
    1. On the Healing Brush Tool Options bar, click BRUSH:brush pull-down button
      The Brush Options palette appears.
      NOTE: For more information about the options available, please refer to Healing Brush Options.
      brush menu
    2. To adjust the Diameter, Hardness, or Spacing, slide the arrow until you reach the desired value
      OR
      In the text boxes, type the desired size or percentage
    3. In the Angle text box, type the desired angle
    4. To adjust the Roundness, type the desired percentage of roundness in the Roundness text box.

    5. To select a control for size variance, in the Size pull-down list, choose one of the three options: Off, Pen Pressure, Stylus Wheel

  3. To adjust the mode, in the Healing Brush Tool Options bar, from the Mode pull-down list, select a mode

  4. To retouch areas with one hand-picked sample,
    1. In the Source section, select Sampled
    2. To select the sample that will cover the areas to be retouched, press [Alt] + click the area to copy

    3. To cover a portion of the image with the copied portion, drag or click the mouse
      HINT: Dragging the brush will begin to "repaint" the entire original image, beginning with the selected sample point.

  5. To retouch the image with a pattern,
    1. In the Source section, select Pattern
    2. From the drop-down Pattern Picker, select a pattern

    3. To cover a portion of the image with the pattern, drag or click the mouse

  6. To retouch areas with a sample relative to the distance and direction from the source point,
    1. In the Source section, select Aligned
    2. Select your sample area
    3. Click the area to retouch
      HINT: Until you define a new sample area, each time you click the Healing Brush tool, the sample area will be drawn from the same relative distance and direction from the area to be retouched as it was in this first sample.
    4. Drag or click the brush
      The sampled area will move with the brush, it will stay parallel with the brush even after you release the mouse.
      HINT: Dragging the brush will begin to "repaint" the entire original image, beginning with the selected sample point

return to topUsing the Patch Tool

The Patch tool is another Healing Brush tool, but it is different from the other healing tools in that you first select the area to retouch and then find the part of the image to replace it.

  1. From the Toolbox, click the PATCH TOOLthe patch tool
    The mouse pointer turns into a patchpatch mouse pointer.
    The Options bar changes into the Patch Tool Options bar.
    the Patch Tool Options bar

  2. On the Patch Tool Option bar, click NEW SELECTIONNew Selection button

  3. From the Patch section, select Source
    NOTE: If you want the edges of the selection to be more blended, you can feather the selection before you move it, but only if the Patch Type is Destination. For more information, see Feathering a Selection.

  4. To minimize the effects of the patch, select Transparent

  5. Select the area to retouch by clicking and dragging the mouse to encircle it
    A ring of marching ants appears around your selection.
    HINT: To hide the marching ants, press [Ctrl] + [H].

  6. Click and hold the mouse inside the selection
    The patch pointer turns into a patch with an arrowpatch pointer inside selection

  7. To select the area which will replace the section, drag the selection to the area that will replace it
    NOTE: The selected area displays a "preview" of the sample as you drag over the image.

  8. Release the mouse
    This area blends into and replaces the selected area.

  9. When finished, to deselect the area, press [Ctrl] + [D]

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