Need A Lesson in Cloning

[selig1656]

I was told that on the beak of the cardinal in one of my pics to clone it. Sounds good but I have never reached this bridge, truthfully I am lost. I will research it on the internet , but any direction would be well appreciated.

[NorthernFocus]

What software do you use?

[dennybeall]

"Clone it" is a reference to a tool available in post-processing software. You take a spot from somewhere else in your picture and cover up the bad spot.
I use Photoshop CC while others use Lightroom or another software. Photoshop is a complex software with a huge set of tools but the Clone Tool is one of the easiest to use.

[Manfred M]

Cloning is "borrowing" a bit of an image and inserting it into another. Quite often cloning is done within the same image, using the already mentioned "clone stamp" tool in Photoshop.

It can also refer to borrowing a suitable piece from a totally different image and can include doing some level of translation (rotating, flipping it over, stretching or shrinking). A different set of tools (selection tools) would be used rather than the clone stamp. For instance, I've transplanted an eye from the same image and made it fit, or just the catchlight.

Cloning covers a who gamut of operations. The real trick is to be able to fool the people viewing the image into thinking the image was not "doctored". In my experience, it is best to start with something simple and work your way into more complex work, as your experience improves.

[xpatUSA]

I was told that on the beak of the cardinal in one of my pics to clone it. Sounds good but I have never reached this bridge, truthfully I am lost. I will research it on the internet , but any direction would be well appreciated.

Cloning is kind of like 'copy-and-paste' in one shot. But first you have click on the area (alt-click for example) you want to clone from. And most editors will offer the ability to select the pixels diameter you want to clone. There may be other options like feathering the edge, and more.

So, if the birds beak has a blemish of some sort, you could select and copy a nearby unblemished part of the beak and paste it over the blemished part at 100% opacity or . . . just clone it!

[TobyMac]

Have a look at this video on YouTube, this channel is amazing fro learning anything photoshop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BChw...raphyTutorials

[FootLoose]

If you have Photoshop, Ray, check out some of the free tutorials on this page:
http://phlearn.com/?s=clone+tool

If you don't have Photoshop, just watch a couple and be amazed.

[Acorn]

I wish these people who put up demonstrations on YouTube would learn to stop gabbling, speak in a more measured way and more clearly.

[Geoff F]

Basically reasonably easy to use, Raymond, but you do pick up a few tips as you gain in experience. So make sure you are learning on some copies not the only version of your images.

Vary the brush size, softness and opacity as required. Sometimes it is better to blend in an area with several passes using a reduced opacity. When working close to edges which have to remain unchanged I often draw a selection around the 'working area' which should give you sufficient space to clone from but protect other parts of the image.

[loosecanon]

But remember if any part of the image is cloned it ceases to be considered to enter into competions etc. as a nuture or wildlife image.

[selig1656]

Presently I own Adobe Elements 11

[mknittle]

Basically reasonably easy to use, Raymond, but you do pick up a few tips as you gain in experience. So make sure you are learning on some copies not the only version of your images.

When I am learning a new technique I sometimes will go out and shoot some images that have the things I want to work on.

[mknittle]

If you have Photoshop, Ray, check out some of the free tutorials on this page:
http://phlearn.com/?s=clone+tool

If you don't have Photoshop, just watch a couple and be amazed.

Thanks Greg there is some cool stuff there.

[jcuknz]

So make sure you are learning on some copies not the only version of your images.

Really a nonsensical comment as whatever is on the screen is a 'copy' of the file and the file only gets replaced when you foolishly use the 'save' button rather than 'Save As' where you can change the file name or saving system. I frequently use 'shift+Z' as two keys next to each other on the keyboard to add Z to the file name and so preserve the original file.

The rest of the post is excellent sense. My contribution is "different and often" so when cloning large areas, unlike just a beak, you avoid transfering repetition[s] of obvious features which can be as simple as a clump of grass. 'Picking up' from a different spot frequently.

Cloning is a very useful technique when [ie.] at the camera stage you slightly clip the wing tip of a bird and after increasing canvas size to make room for the missing tip you clone across the other wing tip, which involves as Manfred mentioned, flipping and perhaps a slight rotation. I did this for Brownbear awhile back as a suggestion, and just recently there was a heron taking flight which could benefit from the treatment. As to if it is feasible does depend on the background which also needs to be filled into the extra space created by the canvas increase.
[ Unless you want the tip stretching out of the frame ]

EDIT ... and you do not need PS as I do all my cloning with Paint Shop Pro and occasionally Paint dot Net which is a free download though not as controllable as PSP.

[jcuknz]

But remember if any part of the image is cloned it ceases to be considered to enter into competitions etc. as a nuture or wildlife image.

A silly position taken by competition organizers IMO
Not in such a competition but favoured by a judge with first place ..... The bird was flying in the wrong direction for the composition and the bird on the rock was from another shot. The whole shot was flipped ....

[Geoff F]

Clicking on Save instead of Save As is something which I do too often, John. In many ways I preferred software which had Save or Export as the options.

[jcuknz]

Obviously you mis-understood my post [ or in typing you got the cart before the horse ] ....

SAVE saves what you have on the screen over the top and replaces the original file whereas SAVE AS gives you control over the process and enables you to change the file name so that the original is not over-written. Depending on the programme it is possible that SAVE AS is only accessible through the FILE menu which discourages its use by the lazy or hurried though my current PSP has two buttons which are next to each other which I thought a mild hazard at first.

My understanding of EXPORT as found in PSP is quite different and is used to exercise the amount of compression required to meet sites with a restrictive file size limit such as Photonet with their 100Kb to display rather than post as a link. Now with the widespread use of broadband I rarely use it except for PN postings ... perhaps that is a little arrogant of me.

[davidedric]

Hi John,

You are of course quite right about Save and Save As in general.

However, a word of caution to any novice Lightroom users who are using plug-ins. The normal workflow is to have Lightroom create a copy before invoking the plug-in. That means you need to Save when you exit the plug-in. If you Save As then Lightroom loses track, can't place it the catalogue, and it effectively disappears.

Dave

[Geoff F]

When using CS5 and I want to save an image after alterations I go to File then have a choice of Save or Save As which are placed next to each other. Too often, I have done something substantial like a resize for internet use then clicked Save instead of Save As; with serious and unwanted consequences!

Sometimes I have noticed my error and have been able to go into History for a reset and then a correction save. After which I have to start the process over again to obtain my desired result of an altered copy.

With my previous software (Serif Page Plus) Save saved in the programme native resolution while Save As saved in the same format as the original image format. Creating a copy with or without a change of format meant using Export which gave a choice of formats and any compression settings etc. So in that case, Export was usually the best option for saving any changes without also altering the original files.

[jcuknz]

Dave ... when I read about the gyrations that Adobe programmes perform "to make life easier" so long as you think the way Adobe dictate you should, I am truly glad I gave up on Adobe a decade or more ago Adobe Reader is the only good one IMO that I have in my current computer.