A blank retouch layer is useful only when the healing tool samples the photograph it is meant to repair. If sampling is restricted to Current Layer, an empty layer supplies no useful photo texture. Keep the output layer separate, but choose an appropriate source scope. Do not flatten the document merely because the first healing stroke did nothing.
Identify output and source separately
The active layer receives the repair. The sample option determines which visible image information the tool can read. Those are separate decisions. Name the blank layer clearly, place it deliberately relative to the photograph, and check which healing tool is selected; Healing Brush and Spot Healing can expose different source controls.
Adobe's demonstrated workflow enables sampling from other layers while making repairs on a separate layer. Where the current tool offers Current & Below, that can keep unrelated overlays above the retouch layer out of the sample. All Layers can be appropriate, but can also include visible labels, borders or other artwork that should not become replacement texture.
Compare sampling without changing the repair target
This is a reproducible test plan, not an observed repair. On a copy, retain the original photo, add a blank retouch layer, and choose a small confirmed dust spot. Hold the layer and tool constant. First inspect the current sampling scope; then change only that scope to an appropriate option that includes the underlying photo.
Apply one small repair and switch the retouch layer's visibility off and on. The source should remain intact underneath while the separate layer supplies the correction. If no repair appears, inspect the active target, layer locks, selection and source-point requirements before concluding that sampling alone explains the problem.
Add an obvious temporary label above the retouch layer in a further copy if you need to compare sampling scope. The test asks whether that label contaminates a repair, not whether All Layers is universally wrong. Remove all diagnostic marks before saving the approved version.
Judge the repair as real image content
For a hypothetical shop photograph, a speck sits on a plain tabletop beside the product's printed name. A successful repair removes the confirmed speck without copying the label into the table or softening a product edge. The workflow is a planning example, not a claim of a completed photo test.
Examine texture and neighboring lines at useful magnification, then judge the delivery size. Sampling the right layers does not guarantee that the chosen replacement texture is believable. Keep the region small and protect genuine product marks, seams and lettering. Repeated repairs from one source may introduce a recognizable duplicated pattern.
Acceptance and source
Accept when the original photo is untouched, the correction sits on its own layer, and no unintended overlay or repeated motif appears. Reopen the layered master and compare the exported file. Photoshop's sampling controls belong to the external editor; Imagild may supply an image for this workflow but is not promised to expose these layer-source options.