Retouching with Heal, Clone, or Blemish Remover
Heal, Clone, and Blemish Remover let you remove small, distracting elements from your photos. They use layers and Region tools in a similar way to selective editing.
• Heal mode is best used for small blemishes in smooth, low detail areas, such as a small blemish on skin, or a small bird in the sky. It is limited only to circular regions created with the Circle tool, and unlike cloning, it does not require that you to set a source.
• Clone mode is the process of copying a part of an image in order to cover up a distracting or unwanted feature in the picture. Cloning takes image content from a source region and places it in the selected area.
• Blemish mode combines smart healing with cloning. Because you can use the Circle, Polygon, or Curve Region tools and choose a source, Blemish mode is more versatile than Heal. The source area you choose is analyzed along with the selected area to produce more seamless coverage. You can activate Blemish mode by choosing the Blemish Remover tool on the AfterShot toolbar.
Each version can have only one Heal/Clone/Blemish layer. Copying and pasting a Heal/Clone/Blemish layer replaces any existing Heal/Clone/Blemish layer.
Switch between Heal, Clone, and Blemish
You can use the Circle tool in Heal, Clone, or Blemish mode. To switch between these modes, simply choose Heal, Clone, or Blemish from the Mode drop-down list in the Layers palette. The control is visible after you select an area, and only the modes available for the region type created are available in the drop-list.
To remove a spot with Heal
1 Click the
Open Layer Manager button
2 In the Layers palette, click the +Heal/Clone button.
3 Click the Circle Region tool, and in the Preview panel, click the spot that you want to remove.
4 In the lower-left corner of the Layers palette, choose Heal from the Mode drop-down menu.
If you want to adjust the size of the circle or how the edges of the circle blend, drag the Size or Feather sliders at the bottom of the Layers palette.
The Heal mode was used to remove a small white spot from a flower
To cover or copy image areas by cloning
1 In the Layers palette, choose an existing Heal/Clone/Blemish layer or click the +Heal/Clone button to create a Heal/Clone/Blemish layer.
2 Click a Region tool.
3 Select the portion of your image that you want to clone out. This is the destination area for the cloning.
4 Ensure the Mode is set to Clone.
5 After you finish creating your destination region, a source region is automatically created (outlined in red). Click and drag the source region to position it over the image content that you want to copy.
Tip: When cloning, you can click the Swap Source button at the bottom of the Layers palette to swap the source region with the destination region. This is useful when you want to duplicate content in an image instead of using cloning to remove image content.
To remove an unwanted area with the Blemish Remover
1 On the AfterShot toolbar, choose a Region tool from the drop-list.
The Brush Region tool is the only option that is not available for the Blemish Remover.
2 Click the
Blemish Remover tool
. 3 Select the portion of your image that you want to remove.
4 After you finish creating your destination region, a source region is automatically created (outlined in red). Click and drag the source region to position it over the image content that you want to use as a source.
5 In the Layers palette, ensure the Mode is set to Blemish.
6 Adjust the Feather and Size slider to blend the edges of the selection and cover the area.
