Online PSRemoving clutter and filling in backgrounds: Clone and Content Fill
The Clone tool: copy one area over another
The Clone tool "samples" one place and paints that content somewhere else, covering clutter with clean texture.
- Pick the Clone tool (the stamp icon);
- In the tool options bar set the size a little larger than the clutter;
- Set the sample point on a clean area that looks like the surroundings: right-click on a computer, long-press on a phone;
- Paint over the clutter; the sampled content is copied onto it.
The closer the sample point is to the clutter, the better texture and color match. Sky, walls and grass are the easiest to repair.
Content Fill: fill in empty space
Content Fill fills empty space around an image: for example after putting a portrait photo on a landscape canvas, or enlarging the canvas with "Image → Canvas Size". It fills the gaps for you:
- Make sure the current layer is the image and that it doesn't cover the whole canvas;
- Click "Tools → Content Fill";
- Choose a Mode: "Expand edges" stretches the edge pixels outward, "Cloned edges" copies texture from the edges, "Resized as background" enlarges and blurs the image behind it;
- Adjust the blur settings and confirm when the preview looks right.
Sky, grass and plain walls come out most natural.
Small blemishes
Spots on a face or dust on a photo: set the Clone tool to a small size, sample the skin or background right next to it and click a few times. Then use "Layer → Show / Hide" to compare and check that it looks natural.