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More extreme than scratches and scuffs, missing content is the kind of serious damage that can make you think you just can't salvage a photo. Not all image editing packages can fix dramatic problems, but many can.
Fixing more serious damage requires digital spackle, which works a lot like the gloppy white spackle that you apply to your walls to fill in holes from where pictures were hung or someone gouged the plaster while moving furniture. Photos can also suffer from the same sort of dents and dings as your walls, and you need to fill in the holes and gashes with something, right? You can use content from within the image (or from another image), or you can create new content from scratch.
Preparing your spackle
Unfortunately, image editors don't come with a spackle tool, but you can create your own spackle by using the various tools at your disposal. The most common tool for this application is the Clone tool or Clone brush, depending on your image editor. The spackle that you create depends on what kind of damage you're repairing. You can fill in small areas with solid colors, which you apply with a Brush tool, or you can clone existing content from nearby and place it over the damage. You have virtually unlimited choices, and your mousing skills (for those tight corners and tiny repairs), patience, and how much time you have to devote to the task determine the success of your repair work.
Replacing content that's ripped or torn away
Although you may not be able to put the corner back exactly as it was, you can make it look as if the corner was never even missing. If that sounds like a contradiction, consider that no one may know what was in the corner. What if the corner were missing before you even got the photo? If you don't know what used to be in that corner, you can't put it back. You can, however, create a new corner from existing content and make it look like it's always been there. To get started, follow these steps:
1. Think about what you can use to replace what's missing.
If you know what's missing, this step isn't difficult. If the missing or damaged portion doesn't tell you anything about its original state, however, you may have to decide what remaining content you can use to rebuild the corner.
2. Click the Clone tool.
3. Choose a brush size and set the Opacity to 100%.
4. Zoom in to the area that you want to work with.
5. Choose the source area for cloning.
Some image editors require right-clicking to select a source area. In others, you have to hold down the Alt key (if you're a Windows user) or the Option key (if you're on a Mac) as you click the area that you want to clone.
6. Click and/or drag over the damage, watching as the sampled content covers it.
 | If you want to be able to apply the same exact cloned spot to the entire damaged area, be sure to select the Aligned option on the Options bar (or the Cumulative option with some image editors) before you start painting the cloned content onto the damage. This setting lets you use the original sample repeatedly. If you leave this option unchecked, the Clone tool continuously resamples the photo while you paint with the tool, meaning that the sampled content may be slightly different each time you clone. |
| Your filling needn't come from the image that you're fixing! You can use the Clone tool to sample content from another image and then apply that content to the damaged photo. Just open up the new image, sample the content (press the Alt or Option key as you click the content that you want to clone), and then switch back to the damaged photo. With the Clone tool still selected, begin to click and/or drag to place the cloned content in the image. |
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