STAMPING OUT DEFECTS

The Rubber Stamp tool works by sampling (essentially, replicating or cloning) a portion of an image. You can then apply (or stamp) this sample over other parts of an image. It can be used to clone an entire image or individual element in an image, but is most often used to repair dust, scratches, tears, and other image defects. In this tutorial, for example, we will sample a portion of the background near the stain, and then stamp it onto the portion of the image that contains the stain to make the stain disappear.

Click on the Rubber Stamp tool in the toolbox to select it:

Double-click on the Rubber Stamp tool in the toolbox to bring up the Rubber Stamp Options palette:

Make sure it is set to Normal and Opacity is 100% (like in the graphic above).

In the drop-down menu next to Option, select Clone (non-aligned). With the Clone (non-aligned) options, Photoshop applies a cloned sample from the exact same position every time you click until you Option-click again to create a new cloned sample Other Options will be discussed at the end of this tutorial:

With the Rubber Stamp tool selected in the toolbox, hold down the Option key (Alt key for Windows), and click near the area that you want to clone that has similarly colored pixels (in this case, above below the stain). If your brush is too big or small, pick another brush in the Brush palette, and Option-click again. (Note, it is better to use the Brush Size Painting Cursor for stamping. Under the File menu, scroll down to Preferences, and in the pop-up menu, select DIsplay & Cursors. Under Painting Cursors, make sure Brush Size is selected.)

Whenever you Option-click on a portion of an image with the Rubber Stamp tool selected, you create a clone of that portion of an image. You paint with that cloned portion by simply clicking on the part of the image you want to correct. For the image in this tutorial, for example, I Option-clicked to clone a portion of the image above the stain, and starting at the bottom of the stain, clicked directly on the stain until it was gone like in the animation below:

First option-click to create the cloned sample;
Then, click on the image to paint with the cloned sample.

In the Rubber Stamp Options palette, you have a choice of Aligned and nonaligned cloning. For this tutorial, the Aligned box is not checked, but you may want to experiment with Aligned cloning (i.e. check the Aligned box) as well. When the Aligned box is not checked, Photoshop applies a cloned sample from the exact same position every time you click until you Option-click again to create a new cloned sample.

Other Rubber Stamp Options include: Clone (aligned), Pattern (aligned), Pattern (non-aligned), From Snapshot, From Saved, and Impressionist.

With Clone (aligned), Photoshop clones continuously, not from the exact same position every time, but rather from a fixed position relative to the position of your cursor. Aligned cloning is used primarily for cloning entire objects or elements in your image. Just Option-click once to set a beginning reference point, and then click (or you can also drag with the cursor like you do when you paint) to clone:

Pattern (aligned)/Pattern (non-aligned): This option allows you to clone from a predetermined pattern. First, select a portion of the image that you want to serve as your pattern (if you are unsure as to how to do this, see the tutorial on Making Selections). For instance, you could select a small portion of the blue background above the stain.

Next, from the Edit menu, select Define Pattern. You should now deselect your selection (Command D for Mac/Control D for Windows), and in the Rubber Stamp Options palette, select either the Pattern (aligned) or Pattern (non-aligned) option. Pattern (aligned) and Pattern (non-aligned) work the same way that Clone (aligned) and Clone (non-aligned) do except that you don't have to Option-click first. You have already defined your pattern (your cloning sample). Just start clicking on your image to clone.

From Snapshot: A snapshot is a temporary stored version of your image. To create a snapshot, select Take Snapshot from the Edit menu. When From Snapshot is selected in the Rubber Stamp Options palette and you click anywhere on your image, you will clone from that snapshot image.

From Saved: Similar to From Snapshop, except that you clone from the last saved version of your image.

Impressionist: When Impressionist is selected in the Rubber Stamp Options palette and you click anywhere on your image, you will clone from an "Impressionistic" (in this case, more smudged and blurry than "Impressionistic") rendition of your image. If you are trying to create an "Impressionistic" effect, this is NOT the way to do it, but it does come in handy if your image has a mottled or uneven background that you want to smooth out.