How do you use the healing brush tool to fix color casts or uneven lighting?

The healing brush tool is one of the most useful tools in photo retouching, especially when you need to fix color casts or uneven lighting in your images. Color casts are unwanted tints or hues that affect the overall tone and mood of your photos, while uneven lighting can create harsh shadows or highlights that distract from the main subject. In this article, you will learn how to use the healing brush tool to correct these common problems and improve your photo quality.

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1 What is the healing brush tool?

The healing brush tool is a Photoshop feature that allows you to sample pixels from one area of your image and apply them to another area, blending them seamlessly with the surrounding pixels. Unlike the clone stamp tool, which copies pixels exactly, the healing brush tool adapts to the texture, color, and lighting of the target area, creating a more natural and realistic effect. You can use the healing brush tool to remove blemishes, wrinkles, dust, scratches, or any other unwanted elements from your photos.

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Akhilesh Parmar

Supercharging Post Production for eCommerces, Studios, Photographers & More
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The Healing Brush Tool samples pixels from a "source" area in your image and uses them to "heal" imperfections in another area. It analyzes the surrounding textures and blends the source pixels seamlessly to match the target area. This allows you to remove unwanted elements, fix blemishes, and correct color and lighting issues.

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2 How to access the healing brush tool?

To access the healing brush tool, you need to open your image in Photoshop and select the tool from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. You can also use the shortcut key J to switch between the healing brush tool and its variants, such as the spot healing brush tool, the patch tool, and the content-aware move tool. The healing brush tool has two modes: normal and replace. In normal mode, the tool blends the sampled pixels with the target pixels, while in replace mode, the tool replaces the target pixels with the sampled pixels without blending.

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Akhilesh Parmar

Supercharging Post Production for eCommerces, Studios, Photographers & More
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There are two ways to access the Healing Brush Tool: Shortcut: Press the key "J" on your keyboard. Toolbox: Locate the Healing Brush Tool icon (bandage symbol) in the toolbox. It's grouped with similar tools like the Spot Healing Brush Tool and Patch Tool.

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3 How to sample pixels with the healing brush tool?

To sample pixels with the healing brush tool, you need to hold down the Alt key (Option key on Mac) and click on the source area that you want to copy from. You will see a crosshair cursor indicating the sampled point. You can adjust the size, hardness, and spacing of the brush tip in the options bar at the top of the screen. You can also choose to align or not align the sampled pixels with the target pixels. If you align them, the tool will keep the relative position of the sampled point as you move the cursor over the target area. If you do not align them, the tool will use the same sampled point for every stroke.

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Akhilesh Parmar

Supercharging Post Production for eCommerces, Studios, Photographers & More
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To fix color casts or uneven lighting with the Healing Brush Tool, follow these steps: Set the Healing Brush Options: In the Options Bar above the image window, you'll find settings like "Sample," "Mode," and "Source." Here's a quick rundown: Sample: Choose "Content-Aware" for best results with color and lighting issues. This analyzes the surrounding area and intelligently blends the source pixels. Mode: "Normal" is a good starting point. It directly replaces the target area with the source pixels. Source: This determines where the Healing Brush samples pixels. We'll address this in the next step. Sample the "Good" Area: Uneven Lighting: Zoom in on an area with the desired lighting (neutral or balanced).

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4 How to fix color casts with the healing brush tool?

To fix color casts with the healing brush tool, you need to identify the areas that have an unwanted tint or hue and sample pixels from a neutral or balanced area of your image. For example, if your photo has a blue color cast, you can sample pixels from an area that has a natural white or gray tone. Then, you can apply the sampled pixels to the affected area, using a soft and large brush tip for a smooth transition. You can also lower the opacity of the tool in the options bar if you want to reduce the intensity of the correction.

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5 How to fix uneven lighting with the healing brush tool?

To fix uneven lighting with the healing brush tool, you need to identify the areas that have too much or too little light and sample pixels from an area that has a similar or opposite light level. For example, if your photo has a dark shadow, you can sample pixels from an area that has a brighter light. Then, you can apply the sampled pixels to the shadow area, using a hard and small brush tip for a precise adjustment. You can also increase the opacity of the tool in the options bar if you want to enhance the contrast of the correction.

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6 Tips and tricks for using the healing brush tool

If you're looking to get the best results from using the healing brush tool, there are some tips and tricks that can help. It's important to zoom in and out of your image to see the details and overall effect of your retouching. Additionally, use different layers for different corrections and name them accordingly for easy organization. The history panel or the undo command can be used to go back to a previous state if you make a mistake or want to try a different approach. For smaller or larger areas that need less control or more content-awareness, use the spot healing brush tool or the patch tool. The color blend mode or the luminosity blend mode can be used to correct only the color or lightness of your image, respectively. Ultimately, experiment with different settings and modes until you find the one that suits your image and style.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you use the healing brush tool to fix color casts or uneven lighting?

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1 What is the healing brush tool?

2 How to access the healing brush tool?

3 How to sample pixels with the healing brush tool?

4 How to fix color casts with the healing brush tool?

5 How to fix uneven lighting with the healing brush tool?

6 Tips and tricks for using the healing brush tool

7 Here’s what else to consider

Photo Retouching

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