Clone Stamp Tool

The Clone Stamp Tool is one of Photoshop's most powerful retouching features. It allows you to copy pixels from one area of an image and paint them over another area.

To use it, hold down the Alt key (Option on Mac) and click on an area you want to define as the source point. Once selected, release Alt and start painting over the area you wish to clone onto.

This tool is perfect for removing blemishes, unwanted background objects, or replicating textures. For seamless blending, use a soft-edged brush and try varying the opacity settings depending on the texture details.

Where to Find It

The Clone Stamp Tool is located in the toolbar, typically represented by a rubber stamp icon. You can activate it by pressing S. It shares the toolbar group with the Pattern Stamp Tool, so you may need to right-click to select it if Pattern Stamp is currently active.

How to Use

• Set the source point: Hold Alt (Option on Mac) and click on the area you want to copy from. This sets the sampling origin.
• Adjust brush settings: Choose a soft-edged brush from the Brush Picker and set the size slightly larger than the area you want to cover.
• Paint over the target area: Click and drag over the imperfection or area you want to replace. Notice the crosshair moves in sync, showing which source pixels are being applied.
• Resample as needed: Release and re-sample (Alt+click) in a new clean area to avoid repeating patterns or visible seams.
• Use Aligned mode: In the Options bar, keep Aligned checked so the source and target move together, or uncheck it to always clone from the same source point.

Settings & Options

• Opacity & Flow: Lower opacity creates a more subtle clone effect; lower flow builds up the effect gradually.
• Aligned: When checked, the source point moves relative to the brush. When unchecked, the source stays fixed.
• Sample: Choose Current Layer, Current & Below, or All Layers to determine which layers are sampled.
• Ignore Adjustment Layers: When enabled, adjustment layers are ignored when sampling — useful for cloning from the original image without applied adjustments.

Pro Tips

• Create a new blank layer above the image layer, set Sample to All Layers, and clone onto the blank layer. This keeps your original image untouched and allows you to erase mistakes.
• Frequently resample from different source areas to prevent obvious repeating patterns, especially when cloning large continuous areas like sky or skin.
• Use a graphics tablet with pen pressure to control the opacity dynamically, giving you more natural-looking results when blending cloned areas.

Common Mistakes

• Creating repeating patterns: Not resampling the source frequently leads to visible repeated textures that look artificial.
• Using hard brush edges: A hard brush creates sharp, visible borders around cloned areas. Always use a soft brush with 0% hardness for natural blending.