Part 3 :- Using specific tools for localised repair or enhancement.

In this part, I am looking at some specific tools which you may find helpful. These are the Vivid Light, Patch, Spot Healing Brush and Healing Brush tools.

This is the image I wish to 'enhance' using these tools.

Step 1 - Select Vivid Light.

Step 2 - Select the Foreground Colour and make it 'white' 255,255,255.

Step 3 - First, it is important to note that the Opacity slider should be set to 5 or 6%, otherwise the effect will be way too harsh.

Select an appropriate brush size, and simply paint over the areas you wish to 'lift'.

Here, I was careful to keep away from any already bright areas.

A comparison of the 'painted' image. I have kept this as subtle as possible as I only wish to give the image a small amount of 'lift'.

Original on the left and reversed for comparison purposes.

Step 4 - Now, I wish to repair the blemishes on the flower. To do this, firstly, I will use the Patch Tool.

Select the Patch Tool from the tools palette.

Step 5 - With the Patch Tool selected, simply 'draw' around the area you wish to fix and when done, right click inside the 'patch area' and select 'Use Patch As Source'.

Note : Image magnified for clarity.

Step 6 - Drag the 'patch area' to the new area you wish to patch from.

Note : Image magnified for clarity.

Step 7 - Select 'Fade Patch Selection' from the Edit drop down menu.

Note : Image magnified for clarity.

Step 8 - Enter a value which displays the amount of fading you desire. Here, I have used 90%. Once finished deselect the area.

Typically, I use values between 50% and 90% .

Note : Image magnified for clarity.

Step 10 - Along with Patch Tool, other tools such as the Spot Healing Brush and the Healing Brush can be used to repair required parts of the image.

Select Healing Brush and use it to repair.

This tool is used in a similar manner as the Clone Tool in that you select a brush size and then select the area you wish to repair from and paint. On a PC this is done by pushing the 'Alt' key to select. You can also use the Clone Tool but it is a little less subtle.

Familiarise yourself with these tools as they can be invaluable assets.

Note : Image magnified for clarity.

The repaired image. This took about 5 minutes using the Patch, Spot Healing Brush and Healing Brush tools.

Below are two example images showing :

Image 1. Original compared to Vivid Light application. The lightening effect was achieved through using Vivid Light only.

Image 2. Original compared to (skin) blemish removal using the tools described above.

Pretty much that is it. I hope you find it beneficial.

Remember, do NOT save over your original file. Use 'Save As'.

There are hundreds of ways to post process. This is just one technique and I find it works well for many images.

Try it out and have fun. Be sure to try different values in the steps as this will provide you with a wealth of 'self-learned' views of how the values affect the outcome.

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