Using Spot Healing, Healing, Patch, and Red Eye Tool

Healing Brush Tool

We are going to learn how to use healing brush tool in Photoshop. Healing Brush tool, the name itself shows that it’s used for healing the damaged area of a images. Eg. If you have a scratch you set a sample point or pattern and heal the damaged portion of the image.

Healing Brush tool is of two types
1) Spot Healing Brush Tool
2) Healing Brush Tool

Spot Healing Brush Tool (Shortcut – J)

This tool is not found in old version of photshops. I guess this tool is available only from CS4.

This tool helps healing more easier. Normally you have to select a sample point to start healing, but this tool is bit advanced that it can select the sample point by itself. Let’s say you damaged a gradient effect, you just select Spot Healing Brush 7th icon in menu bar or you can also select it by using shortcut key (J).

Now just select your required brush size and select the sampling type, I prefer using proximity match. Now brush over the damaged portion of the image. It just recovers the image. Using spot healing brush even heals the gradient images without the lose of gradient effect.

Healing Brush Tool (Shortcut – J)

This tool does the same work as spot healing tool. Here you have to select a sample. You can hold down ALT key and click on the image to select a sample.

Now the once again we will be doing the same, that is select the brush size and select source. If you select pattern as your source, then don’t forget to select the pattern type.

Now just brush your damaged portion, you can notice that the image’s damaged portion is getting healed by the sample portion’s color. Using healing brush will make image lose it’s gradient effect. This tool is not as helpful as spot healing brush.

Patch Tool (Shortcut Key – J)

This is another useful retouching tool. This tool is used to heal a damaged area. To use this tool , first select the Patch Tool and select the damaged area.

 

Using Patch As Source (Method 1)

You can make a selection by drawing around the damaged area(just like selecting with lasso tool). Now select Source in Menu bar, and just drag the damaged area on to a repair source. (the portion that will replace the damaged area). Now you can notice that the damaged area in fixed.

Using Patch As Destination(Method 2)

Instead of making a selection of damaged portion, now make selection of repair source(ie. the portion that will replace the damaged area) and then select Destination in Menu bar and drag the selected portion on to the damaged area. It’s healed now.

Using Pattern

You can also use pattern to fill the damaged area. For this, first make selection of damaged area and then selec the pattern and click use pattern. It’s done.

Red Eye Tool (Shortcut – J)

Red Eye Tool is a used that helps us to remove the red eyes.
To Start using this tool select the Red Eye tool from the toolbar. You’ll find it nested with the Spot Healing, Healing, and Patch tools.

With the Red Eye tool active, click in the red area of one eye. If the correction doesn’t match the size of the pupils or seems too light or too dark, undo the effect and change the Pupil Size or the Darken Amount setting on the Options bar and then reapply. When you’re satisfied with the result, click in the red area of the other eye.