Some help with correcting patches

[thexcuriousxwanderer]

Hi guys need some help here! I took a picture and when i zoomed in I saw this:



Short of editing pixel by pixel, is there an easier way of removing the ugly patches? Thanks a lot!

 

[catchlights]

how many times of magnification you zoom in?


as in how many %?

 

[kandinsky]

Short of editing pixel by pixel, is there an easier way of removing the ugly patches? Thanks a lot!

Are those individual pixels??! If you're viewing at the pixel level, short answer: No. You can clone, but pixel by pixel. Without seeing the entire image in context, it's hard to assess if there's an easier way.

If there are similar areas in the image, you can possibly work it with cloning. Or look for images with similar patterns/textures.

 

[thexcuriousxwanderer]

how many times of magnification you zoom in?


as in how many %?

That was 100%

Are those individual pixels??! If you're viewing at the pixel level, short answer: No. You can clone, but pixel by pixel. Without seeing the entire image in context, it's hard to assess if there's an easier way.

If there are similar areas in the image, you can possibly work it with cloning. Or look for images with similar patterns/textures.

Yeah it's the sky which means there is a gradient so i can't really go about cloning it just like that. Those are not the pixels, just zoomed in.

 

[catchlights]

That was 100%



Yeah it's the sky which means there is a gradient so i can't really go about cloning it just like that. Those are not the pixels, just zoomed in.

100%?

what camera you are using?
and is this the original file straight out from the camera?

if possible, post the original photo with exif data intact, if it is too big, upload it somewhere and post the link to the file.

 

[kandinsky]

That was 100%

Yeah it's the sky which means there is a gradient so i can't really go about cloning it just like that. Those are not the pixels, just zoomed in.

Hmm. If it's not pixel level, that looks like either jpg image artifacts, or sometimes from pushing raw files too hard too. Yeah, cloning is just the first step. Without seeing the whole image, my guess is that you'll probably need to use a mix of dodge and burn, or adjustment layers/masking, to blend the gradient/tone with the rest of the area. One thought is you can reduce/blend the blocky parts using a certain amount of blur, then add grain/detail back with a textured layer. Then blend. Gotta experiment.

 

[Octarine]

To me it's look like typical JPG compression artifacts. Original data for a fine colour gradient were lost in the compression process.
Unless one views the image very close up or on huge magnification (on screen), nobody will notice these artifacts on normal screens and prints.