How to Remove Blemishes in GIMP

Old photos often have blemishes.

Many people have large collections of photos that they try to protect and preserve for their family. But even with the most conscientious efforts, blemishes and other damage will inevitably occur. While some of them choose to scan their images in and use an expensive and complex program like Photoshop or Painter to remove these blemishes, another alternative is the freeware program GIMP. GIMP has many of the same tools and functions as Photoshop and it is relatively easy to use.

Instructions

1. Load the image that you want to remove blemishes from onto your computer by copying it from your camera or SD card or by scanning it in.

2. Open GIMP. Select "File" from the menu and choose "Open." In the dialog that appears, locate the image that you copied to your hard drive and open it.

3. Select the "Clone Tool" from the tools on the upper left. In the tool options below this, choose the size you want for the brush. It should be slightly larger than the blemish that you want to remove.

4. Hold down the "CTRL" key on your keyboard and click to choose a reference point. It should be an undamaged area near the blemish but not on it.

5. Hold down the left mouse key and paint over the blemish. GIMP will automatically use the referenced point as paint for covering the blemish.

6. Repeat steps four and five to remove all the blemishes in the image.

7. Select "File" from the menu and choose "Save." Name your file and save it.

References

• Digital Photography School: Introduction to GIMP