Photoshop Tip: Selections and Masks
When doing professional Photoshop work, the most important part of any composition is the selection. Removing subjects from their background can distinguish professional work from amateur work. Often, I see classmates or friends working in Photoshop, and when they reach for the dreaded eraser tool, I can’t help but cringe a bit. Here are some tips to create better selections and edit photos in a non-permanent manner.
First, there are several selection tools that greatly improve efficiency and quality of Photoshop work:
Used to select largely uniform areas, the Marquee tool is great for cropping off a large area of an image. The selection can also be feathered to give edges a softer look.
Used to make rough, abstract selections, the Lasso tool is good for quickly removing large areas of an image that aren’t uniform. The Magnetic Lasso tool can be used to select portions of an image based on color difference. By dragging the Magnetic Lasso around your subject, you can select it with little to no work providing the subject is largely identifiable from the background. The Polygonal Lasso tool is perfect for selecting areas with straight edges.
Used to make more specific selections, the Quick Selection tool identifies differences in color to make a selection. This tool is suitable for selecting subjects from busy backgrounds but will not work properly if the subject color is close to the background color.
Used to make quick selections, the Magic Wand tool is perfect for a subject on a plain colored background. By adjusting the tolerance (found in the toolbar) of the Magic Wand, you can select all of one color at once to quickly remove a solid background. Be careful of subjects on white backgrounds as highlights on the subject can often be selected with the background. Adjust the tolerance to minimize this effect.
These four tools create the backbone of professional Photoshop work. By becoming proficient in all of them and learning how to mix and match tools to create the best selection, the quality of your Photoshop work will increase significantly.
To use these tools in a non-permanent manner, make a selection then add a mask. The Mask tool can be found at the bottom of the Layers window; it resembles a square with a circular hole in the middle. The Mask tool uses your selection to create an editable mask on your image. Using a mask prevents permanent changes to an image and can save lots of work later on if an area of the image is accidentally erased.
By combining different selection tools with layer masks, Photoshop work becomes more efficient and the output is much better. So next time you need to edit an image, think twice before reaching for the eraser tool.
- Camille Aucoin, Advanced AVP
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