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mum2gnt
05-05-2011, 09:20 AM
GETTING RID OF UNWANTED THINGS IN PHOTOS:

So you have that perfect photo but there’s a spot or there’s food around your toddler’s mouth – or in my case there are Transformer tattoos on Thomas’ arm!
There are various ways of deleting them. If it is just a tiny spot then your best bet is the Spot Healing Brush tool but if it’s something larger then you may need everything Photoshop has!!!!!!

Here’s my original photo:
http://i55.tinypic.com/ap8aba.jpg

Ugh! Don’t you just hate tattoos!

With just your photo open, copy it by doing Control/Command J to make a copy on a new layer.

After zooming in (remember you can hold the space bar and drag the image or use the navigation palette’s red square and move that), you’ll need to find something that is similar in colour and shade to what you want to cover with. I chose an area just above Bumblebee (yellow) tattoo.

Because it is a large area and not just a weeny winy spot (just my luck!) it’s probably best to use the PATCH TOOL. This is found under your band aid in the tools palette and looks like a little patch.

http://i52.tinypic.com/2607gae.jpg

Now I can draw a “patch” on the clean area and move it over Bumblebee. Once I drop it onto Bumblebee you’ll see it blends with the surrounding area:

http://i54.tinypic.com/wqzq86.jpg

Once all the large areas are covered – and you may have to do this a few times as it blends in – you can switch to a smaller area tool. It depends on what you want to do: the HEALING BRUSH tool (also under the band aid tool) Works very similarly with the Patch tool. You just alt click on an area you want to copy and go back to your tattoos and just keep brushing over the desired area. Just keep alt clicking as you go if you need to.

The SPOT HEALING BRUSH is great for spots as it just mimics the area surrounding the brush and blends it in. I use this for all spots and little things.

The other fabulous tool is the CLONE TOOL. (Looks like a person in the tools palette) You alt click on an area and then click on the area you want to copy and it copies it exactly – so no blending here (although you can use your opacity here to sort of make it blend).

So, back to my tattoos and I really need to use the clone tool as it’s hard to stop the healing brushes blending the colours plus I am close to the edge of his arm. I am going to be quite the little clever clogs here and clone /copy an area and then use the healing brushes to blend it in. Remember to change your brush size/blur and opacity as required.

Here’s my cloned area which now needs blending with the healing brush tool:
http://i56.tinypic.com/126bqdk.jpg

And now ………………….drumroll……………………here is the finished photo – not too perfect but the tattoos are gone! (and good riddance!!)
http://i53.tinypic.com/2zgdna9.jpg

Oh and one more tip - you can use all these brushes on unwanted backgrounds and make them blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

That done now, I think I need to work on shrinking those feet! How big are they!

heathert
05-05-2011, 09:27 AM
Very cool, you little clever clogs! ;) You're so sweet to share--I know you're short on time! Thank you!

mum2gnt
05-05-2011, 09:44 AM
It was supposed to be another TUT! :rolleyes: I should send this to the transformer people and they can stop making silly tattoos! It's their fault for making them - not mine fot buying them of course!!:giggle:

France
05-05-2011, 10:32 AM
Too funny, AND instructive!!! :worship: your boys are cute!! they look happy too. good job!!

France
05-05-2011, 10:50 AM
eeeek! I seem to only have the Healing Brush Tool and none of its friends... PS8? :bawl:

Joyce
05-05-2011, 12:15 PM
Fantastic Tut!!
Thanks for sharing, Suzie!!! :worship:

mum2gnt
05-05-2011, 02:45 PM
eeeek! I seem to only have the Healing Brush Tool and none of its friends... PS8? :bawl:

Hun if you hold the band aid icon down in the tools pallette it will bring a list up like my snapshot above. If it still doesn't then it must be a PSE thing. But at least you'll know how to use the Healing Brush tool now! :rainbowf:

mum2gnt
05-05-2011, 02:51 PM
Hey France - this was taken at King's Park by the war memorial.

France
05-05-2011, 04:53 PM
Cool (photo location). Nah, I tried holding the mouse over, clicking on it, hovering in the corner (there's a little thing in the corner though which makes me think maybe some of my options are wonky), i even pressed the screen to see if maybe it had turned into a touch screen and would pull out the little menu, but nope... nuffink. :rainbowf:
So yeah, I'm going to have to read some instructions, or help file or something, methinks something is not quite right (as the tutes I saw online had a menu pull out when you hovered!)
thanks Suzie :)

You know, I actually used that tool to remove swimmers in one of my LOs... hang on.... this one: http://www.mscraps.com/galleri/showphoto.php?photo=27077&title=april-2011-template-ch&cat=all Ona's challenge! there were two people in the water, and not there's none! :wink2: though one might have been partially obscured by the band in Ona's template though. It's a fun tool, and I'll look to try and do what you did, I'm sure it's somewhere! It has to be :rolleyes:

mum2gnt
05-05-2011, 06:26 PM
Hun I click and hold the click for about 1 second and the drop down comes. Like you are ringing a doorbell and the door gets answered!!! Oh now look who's being silly and I'm one hour later than you!!! :25r30wi::rainbowf:

Great page BTW! It's good to use PS at it's full potential!!!

DoggiNo
06-05-2011, 09:10 AM
I'm just wondering how the content aware fill in CS5 would handle this ... will have to give it a try some day.

Romy
06-05-2011, 07:35 PM
Katja, if you have CS5, then content-aware fill or delete is perfect!! you still have to clean some spots but it does wonders for me!!

hondachicc
06-05-2011, 07:37 PM
Awesome TUT Suzie!!!!! :worship:

Now I can take myself out of any photos I am in :25r30wi: LARGE BRUSH REQUIRED :25r30wi::rofl2:

JeanH
06-05-2011, 07:37 PM
Agree with you, Romy, but when I tried to get rid of a large spot (me) it just didn't work. I tried superimposing a younger, thinner person but it didn't cover me up! Any suggestions?

Romy
06-05-2011, 09:12 PM
warp tool, Jean!! :wink2:

jennyf92
07-05-2011, 03:44 AM
Great tut, Suzie!

justjen
08-05-2011, 03:45 PM
Eeeeeeeeeeek suzie your boys are GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please come visit me (and help blow up my ridge) your boys would LOVE IT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please please please come visit
Ps fabulous tut you are amazing doll :):worship:

mum2gnt
14-05-2011, 01:59 PM
Eeeeeeeeeeek suzie your boys are GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please come visit me (and help blow up my ridge) your boys would LOVE IT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please please please come visit
Ps fabulous tut you are amazing doll :):worship:

Yeah OK! That would be awesome!!!!

Maybe a round the world trip for January as the boys are off school for 10 weeks! Summer holidays! Just have to find the money now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLM
23-01-2013, 07:59 PM
This is great!! I used the clone tool before but never the others, great to see more about it here!.
I'll come back an dpeep when I need it!

Jo~Anne
25-03-2013, 05:44 PM
Yes these are fabulous tips..I have another for you..got old worn photos that are slightly dirty looking? or have white spots, slight scratches..try in 'filters' using the' reduce noise' filter or 'dust and scratches' filter, that works for most of little white spots and marks too. may need to try it a few times, what you don't get rid of you can use the healing and clone tools.:flower2:
Make sure to work on a different layer, then flatten the image and save as copy or best. or get rid of the background layer before saving as something else.:flower2: