{"id":16269,"date":"2011-01-02T14:39:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-02T14:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amateurphotographer.co.uk\/uncategorized\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects-16269"},"modified":"2014-09-05T12:28:06","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T11:28:06","slug":"cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloning: how to clone out wires and large objects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technique explained: Advanced retouching techniques<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

Requirements:<\/h3>\n

Software: <\/strong>Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or similar software
\nSystem requirements: <\/strong>Windows PC or Mac
\nSkill required:<\/strong> Medium
\nTime to complete:<\/strong> 20 minutes<\/p>\n

\"Cloning<\/img><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As much as we try to create perfect masterpieces in-camera, there will always be occasions when an unwanted object appears in a picture. Fortunately, image-editing software gives us the ability to remove these elements, and there is no shame in doing so.<\/p>\n

Skilled photographic printers often edit images in the darkroom, and there is many a story of altered and doctored images coming out of the old Soviet Union. The difference now is that these once mythical skills can be achieved in just a few minutes on a computer, rather than a few hours in the darkroom.<\/p>\n

In a previous article, I removed the flagpole from the top of this fort, using a combination of sample selections, masking and cloning.<\/p>\n

To complete the image, I am now going to remove the wires that stretch across the image on the left. This is one of the most common cloning tasks a photographer will come across, but it can be tricky if the wires are in front of a cloudy sky.<\/p>\n

Finally, I will demonstrate how to use a little artistic licence to remove the distracting car on the left-hand side of the image, replacing it instead with a rocky mound.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, these straightforward techniques will help you clone out unwanted areas without creating repetitive cloning patterns. <\/p>\n

\"clone<\/img><\/p>\n

Cloning out wires and large objects<\/h2>\n

How to eliminate distracting elements without creating cloning patterns<\/h3>\n

\"How<\/img>Step 1.<\/strong> The technique to rid the image of the overhead cables is similar to the one I used to remove the flagpole in the previous Last Resort. I have used the Marquee tool, with a slightly feathered edge, to select an area just above the wire.<\/p>\n

\n\"How<\/img>Step 2.<\/strong> Use this selection to patch over the overhead cable. To do this, select Layer>New>Layer Via Copy, which will copy the selection to a new layer. With the new layer selected, use the Move tool (found in the Tools palette) and move the layer so the patch is placed over the cable.<\/p>\n

\n\"How<\/img>Step 3.<\/strong> I have repeated steps one and two a number of times, creating several selections until most of the cable has been removed. The image now has 33 layers. To flatten them, select Layer>Flatten Image.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/img><\/p>\n

Step 4.<\/strong> The areas where the cable meets a cloud need to be cloned to blend them. To do this, change the Opacity of the cloning brush to 80% and gradually build up the effect. Keep one hand on the Alt key and press this every few clicks to select a new clone sample. This helps prevent patterning.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/img>Step 5.<\/strong> To complete the image, I want to remove the car and structure on the left as well as the object above it. I will use some artistic licence to do so. I have set a new clone point at the bottom edge of the rock.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/img>Step 6. <\/strong>The idea is to use the Clone tool to copy this area over the car. If done carefully, it should replace the car with a realistic rock surface.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/img>Step 7.<\/strong> I have used the Marquee tool to select the rocky area, and then inverted the selection by clicking Select>Invert.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/img>Step 8.<\/strong> Using a large Clone brush set to around 70% Opacity, clone the clouds in the background over the object. Again, setting the Opacity lower than 100% allows the effect to be gradually built up, while the selection prevents the rocks being affected, producing a clear edge.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/img>
\nIn the final image, the flag pole, cables and car have all been removed, making the image a lot neater and tidier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to clone wires and large objects out of your images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":16270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"product-category":[],"class_list":["post-16269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technique"],"yoast_head":"\nCloning: how to clone out wires and large objects - Amateur Photographer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to clone wires and large objects out of your images\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cloning: how to clone out wires and large objects\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How to clone wires and large objects out of your images\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amateur Photographer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Amateur.photographer.magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-02T14:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-09-05T11:28:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2011\/01\/cloning_21.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kev Mitchell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AP_Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AP_Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kev Mitchell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kev Mitchell\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/#\/schema\/person\/14f28eb37e57e1d884527cfed648453f\"},\"headline\":\"Cloning: how to clone out wires and large objects\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-02T14:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-05T11:28:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/\"},\"wordCount\":624,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2011\/01\/cloning_21.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Technique\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/cloning-how-to-clone-out-wires-and-large-objects\/\",\"name\":\"Cloning: how to clone out wires and large objects - 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