This lesson covers the Clone Stamp and Pattern Stamp — your bread-and-butter for retouching and texture fills.
2026 note: This lesson was recorded on Photoshop CS6 in 2014. Adobe no longer sells the CS line — Photoshop now ships via Creative Cloud subscription. About 95% of the menus and shortcuts shown in the video still match the modern version; only the iconography is a bit fresher.
Clone Stamp (S)
- Hold Alt/Option and click to sample a source point.
- Release and paint — the sampled pixels stamp under your brush.
- With Aligned on, source and brush share a fixed offset. Off — every click resets to the original source.
- Lower brush Hardness for soft transitions.
Which Tool When?
- Removing an object on a clean background: Clone Stamp or, faster, Spot Healing Brush (J).
- Stamping a fabric pattern or background texture: Pattern Stamp.
- Skin retouching (pimples, wrinkles): Healing Brush (J) — like Clone Stamp but matches tone/lighting automatically.
2026 Add-on — Generative Fill
In Photoshop CC 2024+ Generative Fill (Adobe Firefly) handles most Clone Stamp jobs in seconds. Manual cloning still wins when you need surgical control.
