Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual

Zapping Shines and Shadows

Shiny spots (or hot spots, as some folks call them) are truly evil. They can ruin a perfectly good photo by making your subject look like a big ol’ sweat ball. That’s OK if the person just finished a marathon—glistening skin is expected then—but not if she’s sitting for a portrait. Fortunately, the Clone Stamp tool can get rid of shiny spots and unsightly shadows in a hurry. It works by copying pixels from one area of an image to another (see Figure 11-8).

Note

Take these steps for a spin by visiting this book’s Missing CD page at www.missingmanuals.com/cds and downloading the practice file Shine.jpg

Figure 11-8. Top: This sweet photo would be worth framing if the subjects weren’t so shiny. To fix it, grab the Clone Stamp tool and set your sample point as close to the shiny area as possible to match tone and texture (right). Be careful not to let the sample point (the crosshairs) go into the shiny area, or you’ll replicate the shine. Bottom: No more shiny spots! The shadows on the subjects’ faces and necks have also been lightened. Setting the Options bar’s Sample menu (not shown) to All Layers lets you clone on empty layers, keeping your original image safe and sound. Toggle the visibility of the layers you just added off and on for a quick before-and-after comparison.

Tip

Be careful not to completely erase all the shine and shadows from your images; you want ...