Removing Contents with the Clone Stamp Tool

You will start with the Clone Stamp tool to remove the scan lines in the sky:

1. From your image banks, open and make a duplicate copy (Image -->Duplicate) of the Clouds RGB image. Name the copy Clouds RGB_Repaired.

2. Zoom in on one of the obvious scan lines in the sky located near the top-left quadrant of the image.

3. Configure the Clone Stamp options in the Options palette as follows:
- Brush Size Slightly larger than the scan line, here 8 pixels.
- Hardness About 50%.
- Mode Normal, because you will be replacing the scan line with surrounding sky.
- Opacity Try 100% here. This is where using a fuzzy-edged brush provides enough blending with the background.
- Aligned Selected, so that the clone source will follow the clone brush around at the same distance and offset.

4. While still zoomed in, Option/Alt+click above and slightly to the right of the beginning of the scan line to establish the clone source starting point. Using clone pixels slightly offset from the intended clone line will also help prevent the formation of any obvious cloning artifacts.

5. Now click and drag the clone tool across the scan line. Voilà—the scan line is gone, with no artifacts of its removal. Sometimes it is just that easy if you pay attention to brush size, hardness, and clone position—and the clone source cooperates!

6. Perform this same scan line removal on the other scan lines against the sky.