How to retouch a small blemish with the clone tool

A small spot can stand out in a portrait, even when the rest of the photo looks right. The clone tool can cover it by copying nearby pixels, but a patch that is too large or sampled from the wrong place can look like a smear.

Work close to the blemish, use skin with similar light and texture as your sample, and build the repair in small strokes. You can do this in the browser with the Photo Editor.

Retouch the blemish

1. Open the Photo Editor and load your photo. If you can, save a copy or duplicate the image layer before editing so the original remains unchanged.
2. Zoom in until you can see the blemish and the surrounding skin clearly. Keep a little area around it in view so you can judge whether the light and skin texture match.
3. Select the clone tool. Choose a sample point on clean skin close to the blemish, but not on the blemish itself. Pick a spot with similar brightness, color, and texture.
4. Set the brush slightly larger than the blemish, if the tool offers a size control. Apply a short stroke over the spot, then pause and inspect the result before adding more.
5. Resample nearby clean skin as needed. Use a few small strokes rather than one large stroke, and zoom out occasionally to check that the repair fits the face naturally.

The clone tool copies the pixels under the sample point to the area you paint. As you move the brush, its sample point usually moves with it, so the copied texture changes along the stroke. Resampling helps you avoid dragging one patch of skin across a larger area.

Choose a good sample and brush

Sample from nearby skin

For a spot on a cheek, choose clean skin on the same cheek when possible. Skin farther away may have a different shadow, highlight, or color. A sample from the nose or forehead can look too shiny or too dark when placed on a cheek.

Keep the sample point away from features that should not be copied, such as an eyebrow, hair, an eyelash, a nostril, or the edge of the lips. Also avoid sampling across a boundary between light and shadow. The copied boundary may leave a visible line over the blemish.

Match the brush to the mark

A brush much wider than the blemish copies extra texture and may make the skin look flat. Start with a brush just wide enough to cover the spot. If the edge looks too sharp, reduce the brush hardness or choose a softer edge if that option is available.

For a larger or darker mark, lower the brush opacity if the tool provides that control. Opacity controls how strongly the copied pixels cover the original. Several light passes can blend more smoothly than one fully opaque stroke, but too many passes can blur the skin.

Keep the skin's texture

Natural skin is not perfectly smooth. A successful repair covers the blemish while keeping pores, fine lines, and small changes in tone around it. Do not use the clone tool to replace a wide area with one smooth patch. For a very small spot, one or two careful strokes are often enough.

Fix common clone-tool problems

1. Undo a stroke that looks wrong. If the patch has a hard edge, a strange color, or a repeated mark, undo that stroke and try again with a closer sample point. It is usually quicker to remove a bad stroke than to paint over it repeatedly.
2. Resample when texture repeats. A visible copy of a pore, freckle, or hair can make the edit obvious. Choose a different nearby source for each short stroke, and avoid repeatedly using the same small patch.
3. Reduce the brush size for detail. If the repair reaches into an eyelid, lip, hairline, or another feature, undo and use a smaller brush. Work around the edge in short strokes rather than covering the feature.
4. Lower opacity if the patch looks pasted on. A strong change in color or brightness can make the skin look like a sticker. Use a lighter pass, or choose a sample with a closer tone and lighting direction.
5. Check the image at normal size. A repair can look convincing when highly magnified but still appear blurred or uneven in the full portrait. Zoom out to the size people will normally view it, then make only the changes that remain noticeable.

When a clone tool is not the best choice

Cloning works well for a small isolated blemish on a relatively even area of skin. It is less suitable when the spot crosses a sharp edge, lies over detailed hair, or covers a strong change in lighting. Copying nearby pixels in those areas may duplicate part of the edge or create a smudged transition.

If the Photo Editor offers a selection tool, you can limit where you paint so the clone brush does not spill onto an eye, eyebrow, or other nearby feature. For a larger mark, consider making several small repairs from different nearby areas instead of one broad stroke. If the result still looks artificial, undo it and leave the detail rather than smoothing away too much skin.

Before exporting, compare the edited image with the original at both close and normal viewing sizes. Keep the change limited to the blemish and the few surrounding pixels needed to blend it in.