Lightroom > Develop Module >

7 - Five Tools on Top of the Basic Panel >

Spot Removal

By default, the tool is in Heal mode.

Heal mode samples the area outside the brush, and blends it with the area inside the brush.

The Clone mode samples an area outside the brush, and pastes it into the area inside the brush.

Heal	Blends like a painter mixing two colors on a palette
Clone	Pastes like a painter using a paint roller on a wall

Try the Heal mode first.

If there's subject matter nearby that will blend incorrectly, use the Clone mode.

You can switch between Heal and Clone to see which one works the best.

Use one mode, and then click on the other mode in the panel.

Or, right click on the circle and select the other in the contextual menu.

First, two definitions.

You're going to create two circles.

Where you click, a heal circle or a clone circle will appear.

A second circle will then appear, with a thicker border.

This second cricle is the sampled area.

To reposition the circles, click and hold on the circle, and drag.

This method is like the Spot Healing brush in Photoshop Elements.

Do the following.

1) Use the bracket keys, [ and ], to make the brush slightly larger than the area to be retouched.

2) Position the brush carefully, and click.

3) If the editing is poor, click and hold on the thicker white circle, the sample-area circle, and reposition it.

Do the following.

1) Use the bracket keys, [ and ], to make the brush slightly larger than the area to be retouched.

2) Position the brush carefully, click and hold, and drag outward.

3) Position the sample-area circle in the optimum location.