If a GIMP Clone repair begins correctly but samples an unexpected area on the next stroke, inspect Alignment and watch the source marker. None restarts each stroke from the chosen origin, while Aligned retains the source-to-destination offset established by the first stroke. Neither behavior is universally correct; choose it according to whether the repair should continue a surface or reuse an isolated detail.
Start from the mapping, not brush softness
A softer brush can hide a seam without correcting the source position. For a tabletop edge, the source must follow the same structural relationship as the destination. For a small isolated defect, you may instead want a fresh sample for every mark. Record which relationship is intended before changing tool settings.
GIMP also provides Registered, which uses corresponding coordinates between the source and destination, and Fixed, which keeps the source origin stationary. Registered is useful only when those coordinates actually refer to matching content. A second photograph taken from another position does not automatically become aligned merely because the file depicts the same object.
Make source movement visible
The following is an unexecuted reader exercise. On a disposable copy, choose a source patch with an unmistakable landmark, such as a junction between two grout lines. Set Clone to Image source. Ctrl-click the landmark, then make two separate short strokes in empty test space, lifting the pointer between them. Keep size, opacity, and the source unchanged.
Repeat the pair with None and Aligned, undoing each comparison. Watch where the source marker starts on stroke two. With Aligned, also check whether its retained offset leads beyond the source layer. With None, check whether restarting from the origin creates a repeated landmark or a mismatch where strokes meet. A side-by-side note about source position explains the problem more precisely than calling the second patch strange.
Use geometry to choose the repair
For a long straight product edge, sample a parallel undamaged region and retain a suitable offset across short strokes. Inspect the actual edge after each stroke; an aligned tool can still copy an incorrectly chosen edge perfectly. For scattered dust spots on a plain wall, reselect clean nearby sources as necessary instead of dragging a single sample across changing illumination.
Keep the original photo available for shape and label verification. Clone transfers recorded pixels from somewhere else, which can duplicate a logo, seam, screw, or scratch. Correct tool alignment does not make those substitutions truthful. On a product listing, remove only approved distractions and preserve actual condition information.
Before applying an Imagild style to the repaired reference, inspect the full photo and a close crop of every structural join. Accept the edit when lines continue naturally, no distinctive detail has been unintentionally duplicated, and the repair scope is clear. The alignment controls described here belong to GIMP, not a promised Imagild Clone interface.