Design Crafters

Let’s just say you’ve taken some photos that you might wish to import into your Photo Christmas Card.

Only problem is, there are scratches and speckles in the image.

Similar scratches and speckles may also appear in printed-out family photographs you might wish to scan in to your PC and then build another Christmas card from that. An example might be photographs of your family last Christmas.

Fortunately, photo editing tools can help you fix these images. One of the simpler tools is Adobe Photoshop Elements 5. I use this $99 program for my personal photos, as well as professional photo editing.

First, let us look at why photos sometimes need to be cleaned up. Then, I will tell you how to do this with Photoshop Elements.

In photos, dust and spots can occur because of something in the picture itself, such as a scratch on someone’s face from shaving earlier on that day, or even a smudge on furniture in the shot.

These unsightly artifacts can also pop up on older, non-digital snapshots you have scanned in– and have assumed digital form as a result. Sometimes, this is because of wear and tear on the original photo.

1. With the View menu open, click Actual Pixels. This increases the display size of the image you are viewing.
2. Select the cClone sStamp tool.
3. Select a brush from the Brushes pop-up palette.

When using a brush, it is generally more efficient to select a soft-edge one. Generally, soft-edge brushes tread more lightly on the photo you are repairing, and you are less likely to smudge the image while editing it.

Also, I should point out that brushes come in various sizes and shapes. Try to select one that most closely matches the dimensions of the dust or spots you are trying to correct.

Now that you have selected your brush, you are ready to apply this tool to the damaged areas of your photo.

4. Position your cursor over an undamaged area of the photo that most closely resembles the damaged area you are fixing.

5. Hold down the Alt key as you press any other key. This selects the undamaged area as the “sample point.” But: before you press Alt and another key to select the sample point, make sure that the second key is not a “hotkey” that you use to perform an action in another, totally unrelated program. If you unintentionally use the hotkey, this can bring up the unwanted program, and cause confusion. The letters “A,” “P,” and “X” keys frequently are default hotkeys preset in various software programs.

6. Drag your cursor over the damaged area.

7. Paint over the damaged area until the spots disappear.

When you are painting over an image, Adobe recommends using short strokes to make the repair look realistic, and not like a special effect.

On Monday, we’ll continue with more photo editing tips to ensure that the photograph you use will make your Photo Christmas Card look great!