{"id":3973,"date":"2016-07-13T00:53:39","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T00:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/?p=3973"},"modified":"2016-10-13T16:50:39","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T16:50:39","slug":"using-selections-in-photoshop-tools-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/using-selections-in-photoshop-tools-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Selections in Photoshop: Tools & Techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This article is for older versions of Photoshop
\n(prior to CS6\/CC), but the fundamentals still apply.<\/p>\n

PURPOSE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Selection tools and techniques <\/strong>will <\/strong>give you the ability to make corrections (such as contrast, sharpening or color correction) “Locally” <\/em>(a portion of the overall image) versus “Globally” <\/em>(the whole image). Making a selection allows you to use an Adjustment Layer <\/strong>locally and take advantage of the power of Layer Masks<\/strong>, amongst other things. By the way, I previously covered Layer Masks and Adjustment Layers in this column<\/a> and in this column<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n<\/em>
\nWHERE TO FIND<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are over a dozen ways to make selections. To keep things simple, we will only be spending time with three tools: the Magic Wand Tool<\/strong>, the Lasso Tool<\/strong>, and The Brush Tool<\/strong>. These three tools will be covered in detail in future columns and will meet most of your selection needs.<\/p>\n

HOW IT WORKS
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Simply put<\/em><\/strong> (Again, NOT the only way to do it): <\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Make a selection.<\/p>\n

2. Create an Adjustment Layer in the layers palette to work on your selection. This automatically creates a Layer Mask for that layer.<\/p>\n

The three examples on the right will illustrate how this works: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> The sky in Image \u201cA\u201d <\/strong>has a strong magenta cast, while the rest of the image\u2019s color cast looks fine.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> In Image \u201cB\u201d<\/strong>, a combination of the Lasso Tool <\/strong>and Magic Wand Tool <\/strong>were used to select the area to be changed. The moving dashed line is called the Selection Border<\/strong>, however, it is more commonly known in the Photoshop community as “Marching Ants”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

3. After making the selection, Image <\/strong>\u201cC\u201d<\/strong> shows the results of using a Hue-Saturation <\/strong> adjustment layer (see this column<\/a>) to correct the selected area, bringing the sky to a more realistic blue color. You will notice that the rest of the image\u2019s color cast was not changed.<\/p>\n

EXPLANATION OF SOME FEATURES <\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Each Selection Tool <\/strong>will have its own Options Bar<\/strong>. The Options Bar shows up below the Menu Bar near the top of your workspace. The options available will change depending on the tool selected.<\/p>\n

2. When you make a Selection, and then open an adjustment layer, the \u201cMarching Ants\u201d <\/strong>will disappear, allowing you to see the results of your adjustment unobstructed.<\/p>\n

3. You can use a combination of Selection tools. Each Selection tool works best in a specific situation, but you can use a combination of tools to create the same selection. For instance, you start with the Magic Wand Tool<\/strong>, but finish with the Lasso Tool<\/strong>, creating one selection. This is what was done in Image \u201cB\u201d <\/strong>above.<\/p>\n

4. The edges of your selection can be \u201cblurred\u201d <\/strong>slightly to help it blend in with the overall image and keep your selection from looking fake. The three main tools to achieve this are Feathering<\/strong>, Gaussian Blur <\/strong>and Refine Edge<\/strong>. These tools will be discussed in detail in later chapters.<\/p>\n

5. You may desire to Reselect a Selection <\/strong>for further correction. For instance, you may have corrected for contrast with a Selection and have decided that you need to correct the color in the same selection.<\/p>\n

There are 3 ways to Reselect: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A.<\/em><\/strong> Go to the “Select” <\/em> menu -> “Reselect”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

B.<\/em><\/strong> You can also right click with your mouse on the Layer Mask Thumbnail <\/strong>(the box on the right) in the Layer with the existing selection and choose “Add Layer Mask to Selection”.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

C.<\/em><\/strong> You can also press \u201cCommand\u201d (\u201cControl\u201d on a PC) then click on the Layer Mask that you want to Reselect.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

6. If you desire to Invert a Selection, <\/strong>go to the “Select” menu <\/em> -> “Inverse”<\/em>. This is an especially helpful technique if you have a high-contrast original image, and adjusting contrast globally will wash out highlights and\/or not allow you to open up shadows enough. You would:<\/p>\n

A.<\/em><\/strong> Select the highlight area as a selection and choose a tool to correct the contrast.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

B.<\/em><\/strong> Reselect, then invert your selection.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

C.<\/em><\/strong> Choose a tool to correct the contrast of the newly chosen area.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This technique works equally well for color correction or any other correction that you desire to make.<\/p>\n

In the next column, I\u2019ll discuss in detail how to use the Magic Wand Tool and the Lasso Tool.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Until the next column, have fun and stay well!<\/p>\n

by John Watts, Watts Digital Imaging<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This article is for older versions of Photoshop (prior to CS6\/CC), but the fundamentals still apply. PURPOSE Selection tools and techniques will give you the ability to make corrections [read more]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[198],"yoast_head":"\nUsing Selections in Photoshop: Tools & Techniques - Apogee Photo Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/using-selections-in-photoshop-tools-techniques\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Using Selections in Photoshop: Tools & Techniques - Apogee Photo Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NOTE: This article is for older versions of Photoshop (prior to CS6\/CC), but the fundamentals still apply. 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