Work with brush strokes

There are many controls in the Brush HUD that you can use to apply, remove, and feather brush strokes.

Figure. Image before and after the edge of a previously applied brush stroke has been smoothed with the feathering brush.

Feather brush strokes

In many situations, it’s best to avoid brush strokes that have hard, noticeable edges. The Brush HUD has a feathering brush that you can use to smooth the edges of previously applied brush strokes so that they blend seamlessly into the image. The feathering brush is applied to the selected brushed adjustment only.

Select the photo with the brushed adjustment whose brush strokes you want to feather.
Select the brushed adjustment in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, and click the Brush button in the adjustment controls.
In the Brush HUD, click the Feather button.
Specify the diameter of the brush and its intensity using the Brush Size and Strength sliders and value sliders.
Drag the brush over the edges of the previously applied brush strokes.
Tip: When feathering brush stokes, it’s a good idea to display the brush strokes as color overlays to help identify the boundaries of each brush stroke. You can turn the color overlays off at regular intervals and visually inspect the image to ensure that the brush strokes are feathered appropriately. For more information, see Work with brushed adjustment overlays.

Invert an adjustment’s brush strokes

You can remove an adjustment from the area you brushed it on and apply it to the rest of the image instead.

Select the photo with the brushed adjustment whose brush strokes you want to invert.
Select the brushed adjustment in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, and click the Brush button in the adjustment controls.
In the Brush HUD, choose Invert from the Brush Action pop-up menu.

Erase brush strokes

You can erase the brush strokes for a previously applied brushed adjustment using the eraser brush in the Brush HUD. The eraser brush erases the brush strokes of the selected brushed adjustment only. The eraser brush uses the same parameters as the standard brush (Brush Size, Softness, and Strength).

Tip: You can quickly switch from the brush to the eraser by holding down the Option key. To switch back to the brush, release the Option key.

Select the photo with the brushed adjustment whose brush strokes you want to erase.
Select the brushed adjustment in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, and click the Brush button in the adjustment controls.
In the Brush HUD, click the Eraser button.
Specify the diameter of the brush, its softness, and its intensity using the Brush Size, Softness, and Strength sliders and value sliders.
Drag the brush over the previously applied brush strokes that you want to remove.
Tip: Some brushed adjustments are so subtle that it’s difficult to identify the boundaries of the brush strokes or even the brush strokes themselves. In some cases, one brushed adjustment can obscure another when brushed over the same area. To help identify brush strokes, it’s a good idea to use overlays. For more information, see Work with brushed adjustment overlays.

Remove all brush strokes for a specific adjustment from an image

Select the photo with the brushed adjustment whose brush strokes you want to remove.
Select the brushed adjustment in the Adjustments inspector or the Adjustments pane of the Inspector HUD, and click the Brush button in the adjustment controls.
In the Brush HUD, choose “Clear from entire photo” from the Brush Action pop-up menu.