Restoration help

[ferrous]

I have a 60 year old photo with a crack down the middle. Is there anywhere in Photoshop that will fix the damage without having to use the clone tool? I'm having a bit of trouble using that tool. I'm very much a learner here. Thanks:

[Wendy]

Hi ...

It really depends on what the crack passes over ... some areas the healing brush can cope with but for fine detailed areas then the clone tool is the best one to use.

What problems are you having with the clone tool ?

Wendy

[ferrous]

I keep cloning bits I don't want to. I keep putting the nose on the cheek!!!

[snidely]

Hi ferrous,
The clone tool takes a lot of practice and sometimes you've just got hours of experimentation to get the result you wanted.

Be sure you try cloning with the "aligned" box unchecked and checked both. There are times when having the clone stamp "aligned" makes me crazy and puts the nose in the ear or something.

The more combinations of tool settings you try, the better you'll be able to understand the power of PSE. It's definitely worth the trouble. :)

Have fun,
Steve

[Wendy]

Hi ..

One of the things to remember with the clone tool is that you need to sample often otherwise you get this sort of thing happening.

Also instead of using the tool like a paint brush it soemtimes can be better to use it more like a stamp ... sample a new area and then click a couple of times to use that sample ... Then start over again with a fresh sample :)

Wendy

[emkayess65]

Hi, you can also clone on a separate layer.
If you don't like how it turns out you just throw the layer away.

Click on the new layer icon and make a new layer above your picture.Then in the option bar check that "use all layers" is checked. Make sure the blank layer is active and start cloning.
The clone tool can be set to clone at less than 100% and you can also set blend modes.

Most of all resample frequently.
Alt+click to set your point, where it samples from(crosshairs), then watch - when you stamp the clone stamp you can see a "+" that blinks and shows you where you are cloning from.
Sometimes you want to clone from the same spot, then you uncheck the "align" box. If you want to clone in a line, where the sample spot moves parallel with the stamping, then you need to have the align checked.

HTH Don't get frustrated, you really can do amazing stuff with this program. Good Luck with your project.
MKS