Banish Blemishes with the Retouch Tool

It’s hard to control everything when you’re shooting, but don’t let that keep your photos from achieving perfection - just fix the flaws back at your Mac. If a spec of dust on your camera’s lens shows up in the picture, or your subject matter has an imperfection you’d like to zap, try your hand with iPhoto’s Retouch tool.

Before (left) and After (right): A scratch on a leaf and other realities of nature are easily removed with the Retouch tool.

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1. Up Close and Personal

Launch iPhoto and double-click the photo you wish to correct. Click the Edit tool. Zoom in on the photo by dragging the slider on the bottom right of the screen, as shown, until you can easily see the blemish. By working on the blemish up close, you’ll be able to remove it with fine-tuned precision.

Is that mark on the leaf a scratch or a fleck of dust? Doesn't matter - it will be gone soon.

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2. The Right Size. Click the Retouch button to bring up the Brush tool. Adjust the size of the brush by moving the slider to the left or the right. For the best results, make sure the brush is about the same width as the blemish. If it’s too big, you might remove more than you intended, and if it’s too small, you may not fix the entire problem area.

The Size slider lets you adjust accordingly for the perfect brush size.

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3. Abracadabra - Blemish Be Gone. Place the brush over the blemish and click or drag to remove it. For best results, you may need to drag the brush over the area several times. To see your handiwork, zoom out. If you still need to work on it, zoom back in and try the brush again. When you’re satisfied with the changes, click Done.

Scratch? What scratch? One or two clicks with the Retouch tool, and it's history.

Read the next part of Better Your iLife here.