Skip to content

Day 18: Remove Objects with Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

Hello! Welcome to my another tutorial from 30 Days to Learn Photoshop series. Last time I wrote on Brush Tool in Photoshop. This is one is a bit different. Today, I’ll show you what’s the secret behind the removal of objects in Photoshop. Yes, you saw it right. Today, you’ll see how do Photoshoppers remove objects in Photoshop. They do it with the help of the Clone Stamp Tool. Although, there are many ways and tools available in Photoshop to remove objects, the most famous one is Clone Stamp Tool.

Remember what you learned in Healing Brush Tool, you have source and target. The same things are also present here. You have a source and a target. You choose source by holding down Opt/Alt key and you choose the target by clicking with the mouse.

I’ll share everything in more details in this tutorial. But before we proceed, let me show you the before and after pic of an image where I magically removed chairs and umbrella.

Before

Clone Stamp Tool in PhotoshopAfter

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

Now let’s begin with few questions

What is Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

Clone Stamp is a tool from which you can copy one part of the image and paste it on another part.

Where is Clone Stamp Tool Located in Photoshop

You need to grab Clone Stamp Tool from the tool panel or activate is by pressing Shift+S again and again until it activates.

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

How to Use Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

Now. let’s learn how to use the Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop.

Step 1: Define the Source

As said earlier, Clone Stamp is used to copy pixels from one part of the image and paste them on another part. To use the Clone Stamp Tool, you first need to define the source pixels. This will be pixels are going to be copied. You can do them by holding down Opt/Alt key.

Once you hold it down, the cursor will change to a sniper cursor.

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

I need to remove the chairs and umbrella. What I’ll do is to copy the nearby pixels of beach sand, water, and sky, and paste them on the area where chairs and umbrella are present.

So, for now, I am choosing my source as the sand.

Step 2: Paint the Target

Now that I have selected my source, I am going to paint those pixels onto my target. When you do that, you’ll see a cursor that moves synchronously with your cursor. This cursor denotes the pixels that are being copied.

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

Simply, do this for all over the image.

For best result, you may need to define your source multiple times.

Step 3: Refine the Result

If you do it multiple times, your result should look like below.

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

But you have noticed a very big flaw in the image. As I have basically copied and pasted pixels from one place to another, I have created a design that repeats itself and this looks fake.

To fix this, usually, I make some random designs by choosing some random areas as the target. In this case, I am choosing the left cloud as my target. If you want, you can choose something else.

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

And I am going to fill the cloud adjacent to it with my newly chosen target.

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

Like it? I bet you would.

Now, let’s go a bit deeper.

Option Bar of Clone Stamp Tool

Before we proceed, let me show you the option bar of the Clone Stamp Tool.

Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

I have given a name to important of them. You can leave the rest.

A: Mode – This is probably the most common option you get when you use any tool that is related to Brush Tool. This is nothing but the Blend Mode. I have written a vast tutorial on Blend Mode in Photoshop.

B: Opacity – Opacity is used define the opacity of the brush. If it’s 100%, the copied pixels are opaque. If it’s 0%, the copied pixels are transparent, and if it’s anywhere between 0% to 100%, the copied pixels will be translucent.

C: Pressure – This is something you can use when you use pressure sensitive pads like Wacom tablets. If turned on, the harder you press, the harder your target gets brushed.

D: Flow – For now, you can think that flow works exactly the same as opacity (but it doesn’t). The proper use of Flow comes in the advanced version.

E: Aligned – This is what I keep turned on most of the time. What this keeps is that it keeps the Source brush and Target brush aligned. In case you are having difficulty understand this feature, simply turn it off and try to use the Healing brush tool.

F: Sample – This lets you decide which layer to choose while taking your source as a reference. If you work non-destructively like me, it’s better to go with “All Layers”.

That’s all. I hope that you like it.

Check out other tutorials from 30 Days to Learn Photoshop series.

Please support TrickyPhotoshop by sharing this tutorial with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Share this post

Contact Us to Edit Your Photos

Google-Review

No credit card or sign up required

Else, you can email us at hello@tricky-photoshop.com

Need help to edit your photo?

We'll edit your photo

Choose your currency

You’ll be redirected to stripe.com

Choose your currency

You’ll be redirected to paypal.com

Choose your currency below