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Spot Fixes
When I say "spot fixes," I'm referring to actual spots that appear in photos. Dust motes you didn't notice during a shoot can be distracting in the final images, or of course there's always the problem of having dust on the lens or image sensor. Figure 2 shows a photo imported from my DSLR that is the victim of dust (note the smudge in the lower-left area).
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Figure 2 This photo suffers from dust spots.
Fortunately, these are easy fixes in many apps. In iPhoto for iOS ($4.99), for instance, you'd use the Repair tool:
- Open the image in iPhoto and tap the Edit button.
- Tap the Brushes button and choose the Repair brush (Figure 3).
- Draw on the area you wish to fix. For finer control, zoom in on the image first. After a second or two, the area is repaired (Figure 4). Repeat for any other spots you wish to fix.
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Figure 3 The Brush tools available in iPhoto.
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Figure 4 Spot-repair applied (top) means the spot is removed (bottom).
Some apps clone other, similar areas of the image to repair imperfections. For example, here's how you'd fix the same problem using Photogene ($2.99):
- In Photogene, open the image you want to repair.
- Tap the Retouches button in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the Heal tool.
- Double-tap the spot you wish to fix. The app displays two linked circles: one for the original spot and one for the area being cloned as the fix (Figure 5).
- Drag the handles on either circle to change the area being affected. You can also move the repair area to use a different section of the image.
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Figure 5 Photogene clones a similar area to fix blemishes.