STEP BY STEP REMOVE THE MESS

Use a combination of tools to clean up your landscape photos

01 Make a new layer

Open tidy_landscape_before Photoshop Elements. Click the Expert tab, then click Layers icon to access the Layers Panel. Click the ‘Create New Layer’ icon at the top, then double-click the name of the newly created layer (called ‘Layer 1') and rename it ‘Healing’.

02 sample all layers

Grab the Spot Healing Brush from the Tools Panel. At the tool options, check ‘Content Aware’ and ‘Sample All Layers’. Now we can heal non-destructively on our new empty layer while sampling from the image layer. Zoom in to the image by pressing Cmd/ctrl and plus.

03 Heal the spots

Paint over sensor spots and debris with the Spot Healing Brush tool, using the ] and [ keys to resize the brush tip as you go. If the tool goes wrong, hit Cmd/ Ctrl+z to undo then switch to the Healing Brush, Alt-click to sample a nearby clean source and retry.

04 clone over distractions

Hit S for the Clone tool and again check ‘Sample All Layers’. Make another new layer and rename it ‘Cloning’ then zoom in to a messy patch, hold Alt and click to sample a clean area nearby, then clone over the mess, repeatedly changing the source point.

05 smooth rough Patches

Cloning over problem areas can leave a slightly patchy result, but we can smooth this over by using a lower opacity. Hit 2 to set the Clone tool to 20% opacity (or 3 for 30, 4 for 40 and so on) then sample a clean area and paint over any rough edges in your retouching.

06 dodge and burn

Seascapes benefit from subtle dodging and burning to reveal texture. Press Cmd/ctrl+shift+alt+e to merge a new layer. Grab the Dodge tool and set Range: Highlights, Exposure 10% then paint to lighten the rocks. Use the Burn tool to darken crevices.