How to Move or Clone an Object in PhotoDirector

PhotoDirector's Object Move and Object Clone let you select an object in a photo and place it somewhere else in the same shot. Object Move fills in the spot the object left, and Object Clone keeps the original and adds a copy. Use them when a subject sits too close to the edge, or when a scene would look fuller with two of the same subject.

Object Move tends to work best on a small object against sky, water, or a plain surface, where its old spot is simpler to fill. From the PhotoDirector launcher, choose Guided & GenAI.

Click Open at the top left of the canvas to bring in your photo. Then click Edit in the rail on the left and choose Object Move under Extract / Compose.

Under Select a brush, the left icon is the brush and the right one is the eraser. Paint over the object with the brush, and set Brush size so each stroke covers it without spilling onto its neighbors. This example uses 20 for the sails, mast, and hull. Then click Next.

Keep the selection on the object alone, because everything inside it moves. On a first pass with a larger brush, the tip of a palm frond was caught and dragged along with the boat. Paint over any extra with the eraser. Or hold Alt to switch to it while you work. If the object casts a shadow, select the shadow too.

Click the selected object, and a frame with handles appears around it. Drag inside the frame to move it, and drag a corner or edge handle to resize it. To rotate it, hover near a handle until a curved arrow appears, then drag. In this example the boat went a little to the right and grew slightly larger.

To check the new spot without the selection outline, uncheck Show selection edge above Flip. The two buttons under Flip mirror the object left to right or top to bottom. When it sits where you want it, click Apply.

The boat now sits farther right, and its old spot is filled with cloud and sea to match the scene around it. Click Export at the top of the window to save the photo. A Save As window opens with -1 added to the file name. The edit is saved as a new photo, and the original stays as it was. For the file types you can save, see PhotoDirector's supported file formats.

Open your photo on the Guided & GenAI tab. Then click Edit in the rail on the left and choose Object Clone under Extract / Compose, just below Object Move.

Select the object the same way as in Object Move. Paint over it with the brush, the left icon under Select a brush, and set Brush size so the stroke stays on the object. Use the eraser on the right for anything extra, then click Next.

Click the selected object, and a copy appears on top of it inside a frame with handles, while the original stays outlined in red. Drag the copy to its new spot, and drag a corner handle to resize it. In this example the copy went right along the horizon and was made smaller, so it looks farther away.

Under Flip, click the left button to mirror the copy left to right, so the two boats face each other. Then click Apply.

Each pass places one copy. After Apply, the panel goes back to its first step. For another copy, select the object again, click Next, and drag out the next one.

PhotoDirector blends the copy into the scene. In this example, the copy came out a little warmer than the original, helping it look like a second boat in the scene. Click Export at the top of the window to save the photo. Like Object Move, it's saved as a new photo, and the original stays as it was.

We tested these steps in PhotoDirector 365 version 18.0.10 on Windows.