background blending

[crockny]

I use CS4 -- I shoot a lot of birds and butterflies and sometimes have blotches in a mostly dark background that I want to get rid of. How do I make a seamless appearance after cloning? Sometimes I also use the eyedropper and brush to "paint" but I still have areas where I can see it on screen even using a totally soft brush ... I've tried lowering the opacity and brushing the edges but still seem to have some uneveness ... what do YOU do?

[zona5101]

Clone stamp tool or Patch tool or the spot healing brush (that might be cs5 only)

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by zona5101

Clone stamp tool or Patch tool or the spot healing brush (that might be cs5 only)

Nope, not just CS5. I use CS2 and have all those.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Nope, not just CS5. I use CS2 and have all those.

cool. hate to say try "X" and they have no "X".

[crockny]

Yes and yes I have used clone etc. at different opacities and still get a mottled look ...

[ravncat]

I would use a layer mask - and I would get as close as possible to the edges of your butterfly, then zoom in and do detailed work. I would also recommend using the smudge tool to affect the layer mask. If you want to do really fine work, you may have to work the edge at 500 - 700 percent depending on the f inal image size. It can take hours to do if you want to make a super fine blend- I recommend using a pen tablet. The less time you use the courser the work. You may be able to find a nice balance starting with the magnetic lasso. It's certainly easier to go about changing a background with a layer and mask than just cloning in my opinion.

[edbayani]

i use the quick mash tool with varying hardness and softness and varying size depending on the edge at 100% opacity. zoomed in to see the effect of the mask on the edge.

[crockny]

I still don't get the quick mask thing ... I've learned how to use an adjustment mask, which I love ... but can't seem to get it going for other stuff ... back to the drawing board ...