The Pakistan Shop: March 2010

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

Being a researcher, I like to explore new handsets everyday. New handsets are coming in the market which are introducing more and more new features for the users. I am very fond of the Nokia N-series handset. In terms of everything such as camera, storages space etc., these handsets have made inroads. One of the latest N-series handsets launched by Nokia is the Nokia N98 which has come up with a plenty of attractive features.

Starting from the memory of the device, it comes with an excellent internal memory of 16GB/32GB. Apart, 1 GB of additional memory is preloaded in the card slot of the device. If you still require more memory then you can add the card of 24 GB in the card slot of the handset. Such a mammoth memory reminds me the PCs of some years back whose memory were used to be less then this.

We all know that entertainment is necessary for all of us and the N98 has commendable entertainment features. The handset has an excellent media player which supports the file formats like MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC, MPEG4, AVI, WAV, WMA, AMR and 3GP. On the other hand, it has an excellent FM radio which allows you to enjoy interesting programs on the move. Moreover, you can also get the entertainment by connecting this mobile phone with television. The TV-out feature of the handset allows you to view the pictures and videos of the handset on you television screen. It also has the mobileTV option which allows you to watch TV programs on your communication gadget.

Apart, it has the messaging features like SMS, MMS, Email and Instant Messaging to stay in touch with loved ones. Internet features of the handset include WAP, XHTML and HTML supported browser and GPRS slot. Data transfer functions like Bluetooth and USB are also available in this device with the help of which you can transfer the documents to other compatible devices.

I am quite sure that this handset is giving good competition to its predecessors. Hopefully, many more such handsets will be launched by Nokia in the coming time.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

For me, Nokia is the only brand that I trust. This is my opinion and there is no need to be like me and always go only with Nokia. Nokia 3600 Slide is a smart mobile phone that has been able to catch the attention of the phone lovers. It is further backed with many different features that prove it to be a great gadget in your hand.

Don't take me wrong while I speak about the Nokia 3600. It measures 97.8 x 47.2 x 14.5 mm in dimensions and weighs just 97.3 gm. Without an attractive look, a phone is a waste for me. But the 3600 is not so!

Another important feature of my phone is the long lasting battery support which has been provided in the Nokia 3600 as the battery here provides a talktime support of nearly five and a half hours and a standby support of nearly ten and a half days.

Attractive images can be caught in the phone through the 3.15 MP camera of the phone which again has a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, an autofocus to get focussed images comfortably and an LED flash for getting snaps even in the dark. Videos can also be recorded in the phone, through the camera.

I can even send messages – text and multimedia, slowly and instantly through the SMS, MMS, Email and Instant Messaging features of the gadget. I will suggest that if you are in need of a simple yet attractive phone, you should sure go for the Nokia 3600.

Entertainment is taken care of through the FM radio and the music player playing the MP3, AAC and eAAC formats of music.

I never have to worry about the storage as enough space is offered through the 30 MB internal memory which can be further expanded through 8 GB of SD card. Nokia maps is available in this phone so that users can enjoy additional advantages in the Nokia 3600.

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Nokia N900 - A smart gadget with advanced features

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

The stylish looking Nokia N900 is one of the latest 3G mobile phones in the market and in the first look it is really difficult to ignore. There are a number of useful and advanced features that keep it separate in the crowd. Here in this blog, I tell you in brief about this glamorous gadget.

The slide out designed handset carries QWERTY keyboard along with TFT resistive touchscreen of 16M colours and its 3.5 inches long display has high resolution 800 x 480 pixel for clear image viewing. The technologies of proximity sensor for auto turn-off and accelerometer sensor for auto rotate are another helping features to handle it comfortably. This model has the dimensional size of 110.9 x 59.8 x 18 mm that weights just 181 g, so it is very comfortable to carry in my pocket.

This model has 5 megapixel digital camera along with a Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus, and dedicated camera key. The features of dual LED flash and support of geo-tagging allow me to locate the site wherever I take pictures. And video light technology helps to add brightness in the gloomy surroundings. The feature of second camera lens on the front of the mobile enables to view the face to whom I am talking. Those who want to access internet in the handset, N900 is a good option for them. Here one can use the World Wide Web with the 3G HSDPA and HSUPA for the high speed connectivity and fast internet access. And the support of WLAN Wi-Fi technology enables to access internet without cable wire. Furthermore the class GPRS and EDGE are also there for fast rate data transfer from this gadget to other devices.

This smartphone has the support of document viewer to use documents including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF format files. Maemo 5 operating system powered by advanced CPU processor cater the demands of today's generation. In the fun and entertainment features, in N series handset I can enjoy stereo FM radio with FM transmitter technology, downloadable games Ovi maps and many more. In the last, I tell you about the features of its standard battery that can support 9 hours stand by and 9 hours long talk time.
So, overall the Nokia N900 can be enjoyed as a mini laptop in hand, and the integrated advanced features make it a rare gizmo.

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Nokia N76 Mobile Phone

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

Latest Nokia N76 Mobile Phone.
This latest Nokia cellular phone. N76 Mobile Phone with 2MP phone with many features, this phone you will find the latest and best. In the mobile phone, you will find many features you have the battery type Li-Ion 700 mAh (BL-4B), managed by the version 9.1 of Symbian OS (S60 3rd Edition), Weight: 115 grams Dimensions: 106 , 5 × 52x13.7 mm, external screen displays up to 262,000 colors, resolution 160 × 128 pixels, graphics display high contrast, 16? Colors (TFT), resolution of 240 × 320 pixels, 2.4. You also get the installation of the camera, your multimedia entertainment you also get FM installation.

You get the guarantee of one year in this new cell phone. In addition, obtain the installation image to give a name. This was the best and improving cell phone handset before. You get the phone book, calendar, messages, images and installations. You can also submit your profile to this temporary device, you can set the date and time of your device. You get a few toys that entertain you, but you can download more games. so just try this phone.

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Nokia 2720 Mobile Phone

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

Nokia surprised us by announcing their latest mobile phone, all three models of mid-budget crowd of features and high-capacity memory. Nokia 2720 Fold is a mobile home, and comes with the super rich glossy look. This compact clamshell model sports a unique design of the mirror too. The starting of Nokia has exciting features like the Tools and Nokia Ovi Mail, in fact they are the main strengths of this time mobile phone. This glossy is available in two flavors; Deep Red and Black Plain. Mainly for emerging markets and rural communities, these handheld boasts easy access to Internet and mail.

Full integration with the tools and the Nokia Ovi service helps users run a mail account and also to maintain easily by mobile phone. This magic device also gives you access to useful information for agriculture and education services to guide you through the most successful way. This mobile phone sports an organizer and a web browser and wireless. Nokia life helps the customer to access information and services without accessing the internet. Nokia argues that the secondary display of this mobile phone will be the spring of life with a single button on the side volume key. Otherwise, it will be more or less like a bright mirror.

This clamshell phone also features a 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth connectivity, a decent music player with FM radio, voice recorder, telephone gizmo chip has two dual band (GSM 850 / 1900 and GSM 900/1800). The 1.8 "TFT main comes with a screen resolution of 128 x 160 pixels and is capable of producing 65,000 colors. Secondary display also sports the same thing, but is slightly smaller than the primary (1.36").

Large keys, allows for better ease of use is another feature of this mobile phone. This device supports GPRS and EDGE but lacks 3G support. Time offered by this mobile phone is approximately 5 hours and stand-by time is approximately 16 days. Nokia 2720 Camera Mobile Phone can be marked as the beginning of luxury at the line-up by Nokia. This beautiful phone is scheduled to host the store shelves of the third quarter of 2009.

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Nokia 6303i Classic Review

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

New Nokia 6303i Classic also has slightly better resolution camera with 3.2 mega pixel capacity. Based on the Nokia 6303 Classic, the device has sports a 2.2-inch screen with a 240x320 resolution. This one adds a few more features and comes in more color versions when compared with its predecessor.

This device is available with some enhancements which can be widely enjoyed by its users. One of the most significant features can be the battery and social messaging attributes. This phone encompasses improved battery capabilities, facilitating around 8 hours of calls.
The Nokia 6303i Classic has internal memory of 50 MB which is expandable with SD card to 2 GB. The Nokia 6303 classic has only 17 MB inbuilt memory and expandable memory up to 1 GB with SD card. Nokia 6303i classic is also equipped with FM radio making it preferred for music lovers. To give better experience on FM, battery lasts for 30 hours when phone is on FM.
The new phone is fully 2.75G equipped and supports tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity (900 / 1800 / 1900). No sign of 3G, however.
The Nokia 6303i classic is compatible with instant messaging for improved social abilities. The handset embraces a 3.2-megapixel camera with dual LED flash. This can facilitate sharp and picture-clear snaps. One can even share these images online with friends and family. The mobile phone comes in two colors namely silver and khaki gold.

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Google Rolls Flash into Chrome

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

Upcoming versions of Chrome will come with Adobe Flash built right in, as Google attempts to solve the plug-in problem.

While Steve Jobs’ disdain for Adobe Flash led him to bar it completely from the iPad in a highly controversial move, Google has been lining up a marriage between Adobe’s bad boy and its daughter Chrome. On Tuesday, the company announced the two would unite in digital matrimony with a new version of Google Chrome that features Flash built right in.
Rather than installing Chrome, downloading the latest Flash plug-in, and updating it regularly, users will be able to install upcoming versions of Chrome and forget about the rest. The all-in-one download will always carry the latest version of Flash, and Chrome will automatically update it as Adobe trickles out new releases.
Google also plans to directly address Jobs’ criticisms of Flash – and other plug-ins – by working with Adobe and rival Mozilla to improve the existing browser plug-in API.
“Improving the traditional browser plug-in model will make it possible for plug-ins to be just as fast, stable, and secure as the browser’s HTML and JavaScript engines,” engineer Linus Upson posted on Google’s Chromium blog. “Over time this will enable HTML, Flash, and other plug-ins to be used together more seamlessly in rendering and scripting.”
Google offers the first version of Chrome with Flash through its developer channel, but it remains an experimental release with known issues.

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Nokia 2010 mobile phone the latest list of the annual spring

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

High-level attention to mobile phones, in fact, Nokia is also focus on different needs of users, the launch of this spring out several different positioning of the latest mobile phones, provide users with more then full of both Shi Yong Xing grid of Xuanze.In addition to several low-end phones in addition, Nokia also introduced the special will be the end of last year, with new features N97 mini re-debut in 2010, offering users a choice of another nobleNokia N97 mini Gold Edition Price: $ 5,49818K gold-plated

Nokia 2010??????????

Last year the listing of N97 mini, this time put on a 18K gold-plated coat on again. Nokia N97 mini Gold Edition and the regular version of the N97 mini specifications as the same size, different only the case becomes more noble. Slightly different is N97 mini Gold Edition pre-loaded free version of Ovi Maps and voice navigation, so users can enjoy the cover 74 countries, supporting 46 different languages walking and driving voice navigation, and more than 180 countries covering the electronic map.Nokia 6303i classic Price: $ 1,198Simple design
Nokia 2010??????????

Nokia classic series of vertical cell phone has been mainly designed to be simple and practical function. Newest member of the 6303i classic khaki with white silver and gold, shell curvature to human design and stainless steel to create, to mobile phones more durable. Function, 6303i classic built-in 3.2 million pixel camera, FM radio function and support a maximum 8GB mircoSD more random and pre-loaded 2GB microSD comes with 8 current and classic mobile games, including Bounce Tales, Brain champion, Sudoku, Tower Bloxx / City Bloxx , Highroller Casino, Block’d, Diamond Rush, and Rally Stars.
Nokia 7230 Price: $ 1,498Bright metal shell
Nokia 2010??????????

The Nokia 7230 slide design coupled with bright colors and the texture is very good metal case, a total of graphite and bright pink color two color choices. Plane surface with 2.4-inch screen, users can connect from the main screen on the Facebook and Twitter, popular social networking sites, always keep in touch with the outside world. Function is equipped with 3.2 million pixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack.Nokia 2220 slide Price: $ 598Slim volume Nokia 2010??????????

As with the 7230 match as a selling point to bright colors of the Nokia 2220 slide, an entry-level phones. Small body weight of only 93.5g, easy to carry. Function is relatively simple, built-in recording function can be preset FM radio, can record radio shows for future listening. The other also view e-mail, calendar, shopping lists and notes and so on.

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T-Shirt Lights Up When You Have New Email

Posted by Majid Chaudhry

C
hris and his wife Madeline make a t-shirt that lights up when you have new emails, and also tells you the number in your inbox.

Chris said: “Back in January, the fine people at Sparkfun Electronics helped out with that by running a Free Day where they gave away electronics worth USD $100k: $100 free, to 1000 people.”

“I was lucky to be one of the 1000 people, which put some electronics ideas within my reach that I otherwise would have found it hard to justify spending money on,” he added.

Using an Arduino Lilypad microcontroller, a few LEDs, conductive thread, and a Bluetooth dongle to communicate with an Android phone nearby (which has access to the inbox), Chris took a custom printed T-shirt and rigged up this badboy.

Check out the video below and Chris’ website, if you’re thinking about cobbling together your own. [ChrisBall via Engadget]

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The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Posted by Majid Chaudhry Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Photoshop’s wide array of cloning tools is the cause of many of the absolute best and worst works created with the application. In a skilled and experienced hand, these tools lead to phenomenal results. In the hands of a careless artist, Photoshop cloning can be disastrous to the credibility of the result. This article introduces the several cloning tools available in Photoshop and goes over the proper usage and best practices of each.

The Clone Stamp Tool

The Clone Stamp tool is the oldest and most widely known of the cloning tools. The basic concept is that you duplicate certain portions of an image using a source, destination and brush.
2-sourceset in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

2-sourceset in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Use the “Option” key (”Alt”) to set the source.
To clone out the name on the tombstone above, you would select a source that shares the texture of the area you want to replace. In this case, the area around the words provides an ample source of stone texture from which to clone.
To begin, simply click on the preferred source area while holding down the “Option” key (”Alt” on a PC). Then, with no keys held down, begin painting over the area you want to replace. The image area from the source will be transferred to the destination.
To be able to use this tool effectively, let’s look at the relevant settings.

Basic Settings: Brush

Below, you’ll find the default settings when the clone stamp is selected.

The clone stamp’s basic settings.
The first setting you’ll want to familiarize yourself with is for the brush. Photoshop does not restrict cloning to a basic default brush. Instead, it allows you to use any brush you want, allowing you to create an unlimited number of effects. In the example above, and in most cases in fact, a small to medium-sized round soft brush gives the best result.
3-hardvssoft in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

3-hardvssoft in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

A hard brush creates noticeable seams.
As you can see, a hard brush often creates visible edges along the path of the clone. The transition is much smoother on the left side, where a soft brush was used. Both sides suffer from noticeable replication, but this was intentional to exaggerate the cloned area. We’ll discuss how to avoid this later.
As stated, while a soft round brush is recommended for basic cloning, a number of interesting effects can be created using alternate brushes. For instance, below I’ve used a scatter brush shaped like a leaf to add some visual interest to the photo.
4-scatterbrush in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

4-scatterbrush in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Use a scatter brush to create interesting particle effects.
Experiment with the opacity, blending mode and brush flow for an even wider variety of results.

Basic Settings: Sample

Under the “Sample” menu are three options: Current Layer, Current & Below and All Layers. These options affect the area you are sourcing. Here’s a visual illustration of how each mode works:
5-sample in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

5-sample in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

The area cloned depends on the selected layer and sample mode.
As you can see, with Current Layer selected, the clone stamp ignores pixel data contained in any other layer. Conversely, All Layers ignores all layer distinction and clones any visible pixels in the document (invisible layers will be ignored). Finally, Current & Below samples pixels from the selected layer and any visible layers behind it.

Basic Settings: Adjustment Layers

The final basic setting (the circle with a diagonal line through it) lets you decide whether the clone stamp tool should sample adjustment layers when cloning. Adjustment layers, such as Hue/Saturation and Levels, are meant to be a non-destructive way to change the appearance of layers. So, you can make drastic changes to a layer or group of layers without destroying the original pixels.
Because of this, turning on Ignore Adjustment Layers When Cloning is almost always a good idea. This allows you to clone the original image, which can then be affected by an ever-changeable adjustment layer. If you do not choose to ignore the adjustment layer, the adjustment becomes permanent in the cloned areas.
In the layer set-up below, turning on Sample All Layers would by default clone pixels from both the background layer and the adjustment layer in the foreground. Turning on Ignore Adjustment Layers prevents this.
6-adjustmentlayer3 in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

6-adjustmentlayer3 in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

You can choose to ignore adjustment layers when cloning.

The Spot Healing Brush

As you can see below, the Spot Healing Brush tool is located under the Eyedropper tool and above the Brush tool, and it can be accessed quickly by hitting J on the keyboard.
7-spothealingbrush in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

7-spothealingbrush in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Type J to bring up the Spot Healing Brush.
The Spot Healing Brush is by far the simplest cloning tool in Photoshop. With little to no experience, you can repair small areas of an image. The secret to using the tool is in the name: Spot Healing. The tool is intended not for large areas of replacement, but rather to remove little unwanted spots, such as a scratch on an old photograph or a mole on a person’s face.
To use the tool, simply hover over the area you want to replace and click once. Photoshop does all the work by examining the pixel data around the spot and seamlessly integrating the data into the destination.
9-beforeafter in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

9-beforeafter in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

The Spot Healing Brush is perfect for repairing old photographs.
As you can see above, the tool does a remarkable job of not leaving behind any noticeable artifacts or repeating patterns. The trick is to go slowly and work on very small portions of the image. Select a spot to fix, and use a brush that’s only slightly bigger than the selected imperfection. The larger the brush, the more likely you are to clone unwanted portions of the surrounding area, and the more noticeable the repetition of pixels will be.
8-smallbrush in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

8-smallbrush in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Use a brush slightly bigger than the target spot.

The Healing Brush

The Healing Brush tool, located under the Spot Healing Brush tool, is very similar to the Clone Stamp tool. To begin, Option + click (Alt + click on a PC) to select your source, and then carefully paint over the destination to transfer the pixels. The Healing Brush performs this operation with more built-in intelligence than the Clone Stamp.
As with the Spot Healing Brush, the Healing Brush attempts to automatically blend in the cloned pixels with the environment around it.
11-puppyface in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

11-puppyface in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

The Healing Brush tool automatically blends the source with the destination.
As you can see, using the Clone Stamp to clone the puppy’s eye results in a straight copy of the pixels, while the Healing Brush does a much better job of blending with the background.
This built-in intelligence proves extremely helpful when cloning a subject with diverse colors, textures and lighting conditions. Using the Clone Stamp in these situations can leave you with a lot of noticeably patchy spots that really stand out from the surrounding area.
10-facefix in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

10-facefix in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

The Healing Brush Tool makes it easy to clone visually complicated areas.
The photograph above is a good example of a subject with a fairly complicated surface. Using the Clone Stamp tool would have made it quite difficult to paint over the cracked areas while retaining the integrity of the stained stone. Much of the discoloration would have been sacrificed as you sourced smoother areas to erase the cracks. However, the Healing Brush was able to effectively replace the cracked areas with smoother areas, while sampling from the surrounding area to replicate the stains.

The Patch Tool

The final healing tool we’ll examine is the Patch tool, which can be found under the Healing Brush tool, as seen below.
12-patchtool in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

12-patchtool in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Tip: hit Shift + J to cycle between the tools in the fly-out menu.
The cloning tools we’ve examined so far are best when used meticulously on small portions of an image. By contrast, the Patch tool is the best way to clone large, relatively uniform areas. As with the other healing tools, the Patch tool not only performs a straight clone but attempts to blend in the edge of the selected area with the target environment.
To use the Patch tool, either make a selection with any of the selection tools, or simply select an area with the Patch tool’s built-in lasso. There are two modes to choose from for the behavior of the patch: “Source” and “Destination” (found in the menu bar above the document area).

Source Mode

With the source mode selected, first select the area of the image you want to replace, and then drag that selection to the area you want to source. For instance, to eliminate the golf ball in the image below, you would first select the area around the golf ball, and then drag that selection around to find the best source.
13-source in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

13-source in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

In source mode, first select the area you want to replace.
As you drag the selection around to find a suitable source, watch the destination (i.e. your originally selected area) for a preview of what the source pixels will look like in that area. Keep in mind that this preview is a straight clone without any blending (the final image will look much better). Release the selection to see the actual result.
14-noball in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

14-noball in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

The Patch tool’s result.
As you can see, it does a pretty impressive job of blending the source and destination pixels all on its own. But going over areas that need improvement with the Healing Brush is good practice.

Destination Mode

With “Destination” mode selected, the area you select first will be the area that is replicated elsewhere. For instance, if we start with the same selection as before, dragging the selection this time gives us a preview of copying the ball to a new location.
15-destination in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

15-destination in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Patch tool destination mode.
After you release the selection, the golf ball is copied to a new area of the image and blended with the surrounding pixels.
16-twoballs in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

16-twoballs in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Result of “Destination” mode.

The Clone Source Palette

The Clone Source palette (found under Window → Clone Source) is an invaluable resource for professional-quality cloning. This tool gives you much more control over the results and functionality of the Clone Stamp and Healing Brush.
The Clone Source palette contains three primary sections: cloning source, offset adjustment and overlay options.
17-clonesource in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

17-clonesource in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

The Clone Source palette.

Cloning Sources

In the first section in the Clone Source palette, you can define multiple areas of an image as a source from which to clone and/or heal.
18-sources in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

18-sources in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Defining multiple sources.
The image above illustrates an example of when you might want to define multiple sources. To save a source, click on one of the five source buttons, and then Option + click (Alt + click) with either the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush. That location will now be saved to that button. Now, select the next button in line, and do the same in another part of the image. Once your sources are loaded, you can quickly shift between them simply by clicking the related button.
Notice that the file name appears just under the clone source buttons. This is because you can actually select a clone source outside of the image that you’re working on. Simply open a different file and set the clone source. Then, when you go back to the primary file to paint with the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush, the pixels from the other image will function as the source of the clone.

Offset Options

The second section of commands in the Clone Source palette really increase the variety of cloned results available to you. You can set exact coordinates for the source, change the size of the cloned result relative to the original source, tweak the rotation of the result and set a precise offset (again, relative to the original source).
19-hayclone in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

19-hayclone in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Tweaking the cloned results.
You can see these transformation effects in action in the example above. The two bails of hay are actually one and the same, but they look considerably different because of the offset options. First, I set both the width and height to 90%, so that the cloned bail would appear slightly smaller than the original. Then I changed the width to -90% to flip the clone horizontally (you could change the height to a negative number to flip the image vertically). Finally, I set the rotation to 10° to give the illusion of a small hill.

Overlay Options

The overlay options are among the most helpful features in the Clone Source palette. Years ago, cloning involved a lot of guess work because it was difficult to tell exactly what the selected sample would look like without actually applying it. The guesswork has been eliminated with the “Show Overlay” command. When “Show Overlay” is selected in conjunction with the “Clipped” option, your brush is shown with a preview of the clone source inside. This is extremely helpful when attempting to clone inorganic areas with straight edges, such as a brick wall.
20-overlay in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

20-overlay in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

An overlay of the source is displayed within the brush.
Note that if you choose to turn on the overlay but turn off “Clipped,” then your entire clone source layer will be shown surrounding the brush.
21-notclipped in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

21-notclipped in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

An overlay of the source is displayed within the brush.
Working this way is actually quite difficult because the source significantly blocks your view of the destination. But if you prefer it, try reducing the opacity of the overlay so that you can see the image below.

Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point takes cloning to an entirely new dimension, literally. The tool makes it possible to set up primitive planes across your artwork, which a clone then follows to simulate a three-dimensional space. Vanishing Point has a ton of features and potential applications, and it really merits its own entire article, so this will be just a brief introduction.
When you open up the Vanishing Point dialog (found under the “Filter” menu item), you’ll see a large preview of your image, along with a small set of tools on the left side.
22-vanishingpoint in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

The Vanishing Point dialog.
Grab the tool sitting second from the top to set up your initial plane. With this tool, click once on each of the four corners, outlining the desired plane. Once you’ve created an initial plane, you can Command + click (Control + click on a PC) to extend the plane perpendicularly. Some images, though, like this old barn, won’t have perfect angles. In this case, you’ll have to create a second plane, entirely distinct from the original.
23-twoplanes2 in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

23-twoplanes2 in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Setting up planes.
Once you’re satisfied with the planes, grab the Clone Stamp (fourth from the top), and Option + click the desired source (in our case, the barn door). Then clone the door onto the front-facing wall using the same method you would use with the normal Clone Stamp tool. Turn “Healing” on in the drop-down menu above the image preview to ensure that the source is properly blended into the destination.
24-vp-result2 in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

24-vp-result2 in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Vanishing Point result.
As you can see, Photoshop interpreted the planes fairly well. Some fine-tuning and clean-up are definitely necessary if we want a believable image; but overall, the result is extremely impressive, given the lack of work required.

5 Quick Tips For Better Cloning

Now that we’ve examined each tool in depth, let’s close by recalling a few things to keep in mind if we want to clone with professional results.

Take Your Time

As you undertake a cloning project, the quality of the result is directly proportional to the amount of time you put into it. Cloning photographic details can be incredibly tedious work. The world has become well acquainted with Photoshop magic, so never assume that no one will notice your blunders.

Duplicate the Active Layer

The very first step to take when cloning parts of an image is to duplicate the layer you’ll be working on (or to just work on a new transparent layer). Realizing that you made a mistake so long ago that your “Undos” don’t go back far enough to fix it is beyond frustrating. Keeping the original image on a hidden layer gives you the flexibility to revert any part of an image to its original state.

Be Selective With Your Tools

Each cloning tool has its strengths and weaknesses, as outlined above. Never arbitrarily grab a tool and stick with it for the duration of a project. Consider which tool is best suited to the particular area of the image you’re working on. On large projects, no single tool creates believable results on its own. Use two or more tools in synergy to achieve a realistic result.

Watch for Obvious Duplication

25-grass in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Sloppy cloning results in noticeable patterns.
If you’re not careful, duplicated pixels can become painfully obvious. This is especially true of areas that should look fairly organic, like the grass above. Instead of appearing natural, an obvious pattern emerges when you use the same section of an image over and over. To avoid this, make heavy use of the Clone Source palette. Use multiple sources; and change the size, rotation and orientation of the areas you’re cloning to give the illusion of an unmanipulated image.

Avoid Disasters

When retouching significant parts of an image, overlooking certain areas becomes all too easy.
26-disaster in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

26-disaster in The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop

Where did her leg go!?
If you’re not careful, you could eliminate enough vital body parts to make the image humorous. Your goal is to prevent your work from showing up on Photoshop Disasters, which is where you’ll find the image above.

Conclusion

Cloning in Photoshop is a difficult task that requires significant time, studious attention to detail and an in-depth knowledge of several tools and commands. To improve the quality of your results, invest some time learning Photoshop’s entire cloning arsenal. Experiment with all of the options for each tool to get a better feel for where you can excel.