Retouch with the Healing Brush tool

The Healing Brush tool lets you correct imperfections, causing them to disappear into the surrounding image. Like the cloning tools, you use the Healing Brush tool to paint with sampled pixels from an image or pattern. However, the Healing Brush tool also matches the texture, lighting, transparency, and shading of the sampled pixels to the pixels being healed. As a result, the repaired pixels blend seamlessly into the rest of the image.

(Photoshop Extended) The Healing Brush tool can be applied to video or animation frames.

Sampled pixels and healed image

Select the Healing Brush tool

Click the brush sample in the options bar and set brush options in the pop‑up palette:

Note: If you’re using a pressure-sensitive digitizing tablet, choose an option from the Size menu to vary the size of the healing brush over the course of a stroke. Choose Pen Pressure to base the variation on the pen pressure. Choose Stylus Wheel to base the variation on the position of the pen thumbwheel. Choose Off if you don’t want to vary the size.

Mode: Specifies the blending mode. Choose Replace to preserve noise, film grain, and texture at the edges of the brush stroke when using a soft‑edge brush.
Source: Specifies the source to use for repairing pixels. Sampled to use pixels from the current image, or Pattern to use pixels from a pattern. If you chose Pattern, select a pattern from the Pattern pop‑up palette.
Aligned: Samples pixels continuously, without losing the current sampling point, even if you release the mouse button. Deselect Aligned to continue to use the sampled pixels from the initial sampling point each time you stop and resume painting.
Sample: Samples data from the layers you specify. To sample from the active layer and visible layers below it, choose Current And Below. To sample only from the active layer, choose Current Layer. To sample from all visible layers, choose All Layers. To sample from all visible layers except adjustment layers, choose All Layers and click the Ignore Adjustment Layers icon to the right of the Sample pop‑up menu.

Set the sampling point by positioning the pointer over an area of the image and Alt-clicking (Windows) or Option-clicking (Mac OS).

Note: If you are sampling from one image and applying to another, both images must be in the same color mode unless one of the images is in Grayscale mode.

(Optional) In the Clone Source palette, click a clone source button

and set an additional sampling point.

You can set up to 5 different sampling sources. The Clone Source palette remembers the sampled sources until you close the document you’re editing.

(Optional) In the Clone Source palette, click a clone source button to select the sampled source you want.

(Optional) Do any of the following in the Clone Source palette:

	To scale or rotate the source that you’re cloning, enter a value for W (width), H (height), or the rotation in degrees .
	To show an overlay of the source that you’re cloning, select Show Overlay and specify the overlay options.

Drag in the image.

The sampled pixels are melded with the existing pixels each time you release the mouse button. Look in the status bar to view the status of the melding process.

If there is a strong contrast at the edges of the area you want to heal, make a selection before you use the Healing Brush tool. The selection should be bigger than the area you want to heal but should precisely follow the boundary of contrasting pixels. When you paint with the Healing Brush tool, the selection prevents colors from bleeding in from the outside.

Retouch with the Spot Healing Brush tool

The Spot Healing Brush tool quickly removes blemishes and other imperfections in your photos. The Spot Healing Brush works similarly to the Healing Brush: it paints with sampled pixels from an image or pattern and matches the texture, lighting, transparency, and shading of the sampled pixels to the pixels being healed. Unlike the Healing Brush, the Spot Healing Brush doesn’t require you to specify a sample spot. The Spot Healing Brush automatically samples from around the retouched area.

Using the Spot Healing Brush to remove a blemish

If you need to retouch a large area or need more control over the source sampling, you can use the Healing Brush instead of the Spot Healing Brush.

Select the Spot Healing Brush tool from the toolbox. If necessary, click either the Healing Brush tool, Patch tool, or Red Eye tool to show the hidden tools and make your selection.
Choose a brush size in the options bar. A brush that is slightly larger than the area you want to fix works best so that you can cover the entire area with one click.
(Optional) Choose a blending mode from the Mode menu in the options bar. Choose Replace to preserve noise, film grain, and texture at the edges of the brush stroke when using a soft‑edge brush.
Choose a Type option in the options bar:

Proximity Match

Uses the pixels around the edge of the selection to find an image area to use as a patch for the selected area. If this option doesn’t provide a satisfactory fix, undo the fix and try the Create Texture option.

Create Texture

Uses all the pixels in the selection to create a texture with which to fix the area. If the texture doesn’t work, try dragging through the area a second time.
Select Use All Layers in the options bar to sample data from all visible layers. Deselect Use All Layers to sample only from the active layer.
Click the area you want to fix, or click and drag to smooth over imperfections in a larger area.