Sample Tutorial Post (Digital 2 Tutorial #1 Hauck)

I made this tutorial and its just an example of how a one can look.  You are free to choose the style you like as long as it is ambitious with numerous steps.  Each Tutorial will be given a grade and simple, unambitious tutorials won't receive many points.

How to remove an unwanted object from a photo leaving no trace of its prior existence.

This is a fairly common task that you will need to use in several different assignments.  The process utilizes 2 key tools in Photoshop.  The clone stamp basically clones, or samples, an area on the picture with a brushlike tool and then inserts the area on top of a different area of your choosing.  The healing brush is another brushlike tool that analyzes the surrounding area and then using an algorithm it figures out what should be in a desired spot based on the surrounding information.  It is very useful to use after using the clone stamp.  In tandem, these are very powerful tools.

1.  Open the photo in Photoshop

2.  I've got 3 planes and I only want there to be 2.  The one in the middle must go.  Select the clone stamp tool.

3.  You have brush controls that may need to be changed.  You can change the size, flow, hardness, and opacity of the brush.

4.  Once you have adjusted the brush to the approximate size needed you'll need to identify the area of the picture that is to be cloned, or sampled.  This is area that you be using to obscure the unwanted area of the picture (in this case the middle plane).  Move your mouse over the area and hold the option alt button down and click your mouse once.

5.  Now move your mouse onto the area that you are obscuring, or removing, and click your mouse.  You'll notice that the area of the photo that you "cloned" or "sampled" now appears.

6.  The tool is now set.  You can continue to click your mouse and clone.  However, Photoshop remembers the the relationship between the "sampled" area and the 1st spot were the clone was used.   If you continue using the clone stamp you'll get a carbon copy area and this is no good.  So you must "resample".  To do this you simply choose new areas to clone every couple clicks (see step 4)

7.  Continue until the area is completely obscured.

8.  The plane is gone, but the area is kind of choppy looking and I can tell that something used to be there.  To help smooth everything out, I'll use the healing brush.  The first inclination is to use the blur tool, but that's not always the best tool to use because blurring will change the picture dramatically.  This picture was grainy before I started and I don't want a smooth blurry area to stand out.  So select the healing brush.

9. There may not be a need to make any adjustments to the healing brush, but you make the same adjustments as with the clone stamp.  Just adjust the size so that you can use it only of the rough area.  Simply move the tool over the area and click and drag.  

10.  While using the healing brush some of the surrounding clouds began to appear.  I just used the alt option button and resampled just like I had with the clone stamp.  This corrected the problem and within a few seconds the plane completely gone!!!!