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Removing unwanted elements in Gimp.
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GIMP Tutorial - Removing Unwanted Elements from a Scene
Removing Unwanted Elements from a Scene
Step 1 At times we just can't gain the ideal vantage point when capturing a photograph. And this often leaves us with unwanted elements invading the frame. The good news is that most high-end image processing applications provide useful tools for dealing with the removal of unsightly elements. You might be surprised with just how easy it is to remove objects, even on complicated backgrounds. In this tutorial we will be using the Clone tool to remove the rather obvious light pole shown in the image to the right. The Clone tool is common among many of the high-end image processing applications and is fairly easily mastered.
We will be removing this light pole from the image
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GIMP Tutorial - Removing Unwanted Elements from a Scene
Step 2 Choose the Clone tool from the GIMP toolbox (highlighted on the right) and set the tool options for Clone tool as shown below.
Most cloning operations work best using a soft (fuzzy) brush. The general exception to this is where you need to work close to a well defined edge. In this example, I set the brush to Circle Fuzzy (19) at a scale of 1.00, and set the alignment to Aligned with the sample source. By choosing Image as the Source, the clone tool will copy pixels from within the same (or another) image. The alignment setting of Aligned will serve to maintain a constant offset between the source and destination areas as you click and paint with the mouse.
Clone tool
Choose a ‘fuzzy’ brush
Scale the brush size as required
Sample from the image
Maintain a constant offset to the sampled pixels
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GIMP Tutorial - Removing Unwanted Elements from a Scene
Step 3 We will start by choosing the source location to copy pixels from. Hold down the Ctrl key and place the cross-hair of the mouse cursor over the point where you want to begin copying from. This is the Source point. In this example, I selected an area where two tyres meet. The reason I chose this particular point for the source is that it’s similar to a destination point between adjacent tyres left of the light pole. While holding down the Ctrl key, left-click the mouse to set the clone source point. Release the Ctrl key and set the destination point by Left-clicking the mouse over the point where we want to copy the source pixels to.
Source point (pixels copied from here)
Destination point (pixels copied to here)
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GIMP Tutorial - Removing Unwanted Elements from a Scene
Step 4 Once the source and destination points have been established, the Clone tool will maintain a constant offset between the points. Zooming in (200% in this case) will help you gain a better view of the detail during this task. The enlarged view will help you spot any problems with the cloning process. Sometimes you may need to rethink the source area to gain a better result. To clone the pixels across, simply hold down the left mouse button and start painting the source pixels to the destination area. The small cross-hair shown on the left in my example identifies where the pixels are being copied from, and the brush circle on the right represents where the area where the pixels are being copied to.
The Clone tool has various options for tracking along straight lines etc
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GIMP Tutorial - Removing Unwanted Elements from a Scene
Step 5 To remove the lower portion of the pole in this example, I reselected a new source area (Ctrl+Click) in the region to the right of the pole, at the edge of the grass. This region contained a more similar background than the area on the left of the pole.
Destination point (pixels copied to here)
Source point (pixels copied from here)
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GIMP Tutorial - Removing Unwanted Elements from a Scene
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Step 6 The final result! If you didn't know where the pole originally existed, you would be hard pressed to pick it in the now corrected image. Many images you find appearing in magazines and on advertising literature have usually had some degree of manipulation to correct or remove unwanted elements. The Clone tool is very commonly utilised in image post-processing and well worth spending time to master using it. Copyright © 2008, Greg Perry
