How to Photoshop a Person or an Object Out of a Photograph

We are going to take out the adult in this thumbnail photo. (See the end of article for results).

Have you ever taken a photograph of your intended subject and you come to find that some unwanted person or object snuck into your photo? Well, there is a way of "rubbing" them/it out.

Step 1

Open your photo in Photoshop or any photo editing software that has a cloning tool.

Start by opening your photograph in Photoshop or any photo editing software that has a "cloning" feature.

Step 2

Click on the magnifying glass with the plus sign and then click on your photo.

To be effective in removing an object or subject you will need to zoom in very close. Zooming in will allow you to have better control over cloning and will minimize the amount of work you will have to do by showing the outline of the subject/object. Click on the magnifying glass with the plus sign and then click on your photo a few times until you can get in really close without loosing the shape you are looking at.

Step 3

Choose the size and opacity of your cloning tool. You will do best to use 100% hardness.

Once you are zoomed in nice and close. Click on your "cloning" tool. Then choose the diameter of the circle or square (brush) you will use to clone with. When using the cloning tip (circle or square) be sure to choose 100% hardness or in other terms do not use any opacity. You do not want to "airbrush the subject" you want to take it out completely.

Step 4

The idea of cloning an object out of a photograph is that you will be using the area around your subject/object to "cover up" the unwanted item in your photo; as if it was never there. For Adobe Photoshop Users, hold Alt and Left Mouse Click somewhere above or around the subject/object you will be removing. For all other photo editing software users, please check the help section in your program or documentation on how to activate your cloning tool. PS4 Users: Hold your left mouse button down and slowly drag your mouse over the subject/object you want to cover up.

Step 5

At first, just concentrate on covering up the unwanted subject/object. Then you will work on making the scene blend in much more perfectly. For instance, in this photograph you will see that after covering up the person's head, I then needed to make the wall look realistic. I simply cloned the wall and wood beam to where it would have been in the photo to blend the background in. I will reposition my cloning tool and extend the wood to blend the background in.

Step 6

Here is the end result.

The cloning process takes time and, most of all, patience. If you make a mistake you can hold the CTRL button and press the letter Z to undo the very last edit you made. Go through the entire process of covering up or cloning over the unwanted subject/item first. Then go back and "clone in" the background where you need it to be to blend the entire photo as if your subject/item was never there. Have fun with this and good luck.