Set the clone tool options
Save the practice image
This photo is from a forum member who was looking for help removing the ink stains from a scanned photo using Photoshop Elements. If you'd like to follow along, right click the following link and save the image to your computer: erin_on_plane.jpg
Unfortunately, the photo provided is extremely over-compressed, the highlights are blown out, and it doesn't have a lot of detail to begin with. Besides the stains, the photo is discolored from age and the girl in the photo has a case of red eye.
I'll show you quick ways to fix those problems, but there is little we can do about the blown-out highlights and the JPEG artifacts.
For the ink stains, I'm going to show you a technique using the clone stamp tool in lighten mode that works well for this kind of problem. Many people don't think of using blending modes with the clone tool, but it is a very effective way to avoid seeing the ugly stamp pattern that often results from using the clone tool. The clone tool portion of this tutorial will work with any version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Let's get started? begin by opening the practice file in the standard edit mode of Photoshop Elements.
Apply Auto Smart Fix
First let's apply Auto Smart Fix to correct the fading and discoloration: Enhance > Auto Smart Fix. Auto Smart Fix doesn't always work so well on every image, but in this case we got lucky. It's quite an improvement to the color.
Set the Red Eye Removal Tool Options
Next let's fix the red eye. Photoshop Elements 3.0 has a red eye removal tool that works quite well. However, since this is a low-resolution image, I find the default settings of the tool are a bit too harsh, so we need to dial down the settings a bit. Select the red eye removal tool, then go to the options bar and enter 20% for the pupil size and 5% for the darken amount.
Fix the red eye with two clicks
Then click the cross-hair cursor directly on the red part of each eye. All fixed!
Set the clone tool options
Now to tackle the ink spots. Select the clone stamp tool in the toolbox, then go to the options bar and select a soft brush of about 20 pixels, set the mode to "Lighten," opacity 100%, align checked. We are using lighten mode because the spots are darker than the background areas in this photo. If our spots were lighter than the background, then we would set the mode to darken instead of lighten.
Clone out the ink stains
Start on the ink damage to the far left of the photo. Begin by sampling a clean source point slightly lower than the ink spots at the far left of the photo. Press the Alt key and click to define your clone source. Then move the cursor slightly up from the source point, and slowly paint over the ink. Use small strokes, releasing the mouse button after each small stroke. This will make is easier to undo any mistakes you make. As you work over the ink-stained area, frequently select a new source point close to the damage. Continue working over the stains, up and to the right, but don't get too close to the edge of the window for right now. Stick to the beige wall of the plane until you get it all cleaned up.
To do the window frame you'll want to reduce the size of your brush, select a new clone source, and work very carefully. It will take some practice and patience, but it can be done.
Zoom in close to see your work better. By going to View > New Window, you can have two windows open for the same image. Set one to actual pixels and then zoom in on the other. As you work on the zoomed window, you can see your results at actual pixels in the other window.
Continue cloning until all the ink spots are cleaned up. Remember, undo is your friend (Ctrl-Z). The hardest part of the image to correct is going to be the girls face, but if you work slowly and carefully, you can make considerable improvement.
I followed the clone tool with the blur tool, only on the girl's face, to even out some of the JPEG artifacts. Select the blur tool, set the strength to about 60-75%, and using a small soft brush, carefully brush over the face, being careful to avoid the detail areas of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
The final image isn't perfect ? we can't bring back what was lost in the scanning process, or from the JPEG compression ? but it is quite an improvement over our original.
This photo is from a forum member who was looking for help removing the ink stains from a scanned photo using Photoshop Elements. If you'd like to follow along, right click the following link and save the image to your computer: erin_on_plane.jpg
Unfortunately, the photo provided is extremely over-compressed, the highlights are blown out, and it doesn't have a lot of detail to begin with. Besides the stains, the photo is discolored from age and the girl in the photo has a case of red eye.
I'll show you quick ways to fix those problems, but there is little we can do about the blown-out highlights and the JPEG artifacts.
For the ink stains, I'm going to show you a technique using the clone stamp tool in lighten mode that works well for this kind of problem. Many people don't think of using blending modes with the clone tool, but it is a very effective way to avoid seeing the ugly stamp pattern that often results from using the clone tool. The clone tool portion of this tutorial will work with any version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Let's get started? begin by opening the practice file in the standard edit mode of Photoshop Elements.
Apply Auto Smart Fix
First let's apply Auto Smart Fix to correct the fading and discoloration: Enhance > Auto Smart Fix. Auto Smart Fix doesn't always work so well on every image, but in this case we got lucky. It's quite an improvement to the color.
Set the Red Eye Removal Tool Options
Next let's fix the red eye. Photoshop Elements 3.0 has a red eye removal tool that works quite well. However, since this is a low-resolution image, I find the default settings of the tool are a bit too harsh, so we need to dial down the settings a bit. Select the red eye removal tool, then go to the options bar and enter 20% for the pupil size and 5% for the darken amount.
Fix the red eye with two clicks
Then click the cross-hair cursor directly on the red part of each eye. All fixed!
Set the clone tool options
Now to tackle the ink spots. Select the clone stamp tool in the toolbox, then go to the options bar and select a soft brush of about 20 pixels, set the mode to "Lighten," opacity 100%, align checked. We are using lighten mode because the spots are darker than the background areas in this photo. If our spots were lighter than the background, then we would set the mode to darken instead of lighten.
Clone out the ink stains
Start on the ink damage to the far left of the photo. Begin by sampling a clean source point slightly lower than the ink spots at the far left of the photo. Press the Alt key and click to define your clone source. Then move the cursor slightly up from the source point, and slowly paint over the ink. Use small strokes, releasing the mouse button after each small stroke. This will make is easier to undo any mistakes you make. As you work over the ink-stained area, frequently select a new source point close to the damage. Continue working over the stains, up and to the right, but don't get too close to the edge of the window for right now. Stick to the beige wall of the plane until you get it all cleaned up.
To do the window frame you'll want to reduce the size of your brush, select a new clone source, and work very carefully. It will take some practice and patience, but it can be done.
Zoom in close to see your work better. By going to View > New Window, you can have two windows open for the same image. Set one to actual pixels and then zoom in on the other. As you work on the zoomed window, you can see your results at actual pixels in the other window.
Continue cloning until all the ink spots are cleaned up. Remember, undo is your friend (Ctrl-Z). The hardest part of the image to correct is going to be the girls face, but if you work slowly and carefully, you can make considerable improvement.
I followed the clone tool with the blur tool, only on the girl's face, to even out some of the JPEG artifacts. Select the blur tool, set the strength to about 60-75%, and using a small soft brush, carefully brush over the face, being careful to avoid the detail areas of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
The final image isn't perfect ? we can't bring back what was lost in the scanning process, or from the JPEG compression ? but it is quite an improvement over our original.
Source...