For make a precise selection in photoshop You don’t need great editing skills or even deep knowledge of this editor. I always think that learning editing in a more or less self-taught way can be quite challenging, especially if you want to learn everything at once and don’t know where to look.
The selection in any editing program is one of the first things you should learn and, if Photoshop has something, it is that it allows you to make very, very tight selections to be able to choose the area you want from the image practically to the millimeter.
With that said, today I’m going to explain to you the easiest way to make an accurate selection without overcomplicating yourself.
What is precise selection in Photoshop for?
A precise selection allows you to choose in a very tight way areas of the image that you want to select to make, for example, adjustments such as exposure, contrast, sharpness, tone, etc., but it can also be used to isolate those selected areas from their original background to, for example, exchange it for another.
Either option starts with the selection tools. So let’s see the easiest way to get that selection in Photoshop.
Make a precise selection in Photoshop step by step
The quickest and easiest way to select a light subject in Photoshop is through the Photoshop tool. Selection->Subject which you can find in the top bar. If the protagonist is clear, Photoshop will have no problem finding and selecting it. In my case it had no problem.
Once the automatic selection is made, you will see that there are areas where the selection may have failed. Surely in the hair area of a portrait or in those areas where the contrast is low. In my case, the fault is focused on the hair and the sole of the shoes, which, as they are dark as the ground, have generated confusion.
Now we are going to give the ok to the selection even if it is not perfect because we will correct it later. We do it with the route Select->apply mascara.
Next, you’ll need to finish refining the selection, but first choose how you want the selection to display.
You will find it in the Properties from the right panel. Here you can tweak them a bit and choose the one that allows you see the selection more clearly. Depending on the image, one or the other may work better for you. I have chosen Overlay (V) in red. Once you have chosen a style, you will see that you can configure the opacity of the effect and even change the color. This runs to your liking.
To finish correcting our selection we must use the other tools that Photoshop offers us in terms of selection:
- Quick Selection Tool: Another way to quickly select your subject is through this first tool, which will select the place you indicate and the surrounding area that it considers to be related to it.
- brush tool: Much more precise, this tool is used to paint exclusively the area through which the brush passes without taking into account the adjoining ones. It is used to finish adjusting the selection of complicated areas.
- hand tool: To move over the image.
- Brush tool to refine edges: A “smart” tool to correct the selection at the edge of the image.
- Lasso tool: It allows you to draw the perimeter of the area you want to select and select the interior.
- Magnifying glass tool: To enlarge the image and make it easier for you to make precise selections.
For choose the size of the brush, hardness etc click on the right mouse button, or you can go to look for it in the upper bar, where you will also find the option to add (+) or remove (-), to expand or subtract the selection area.
To finish selecting the area that interested me, I have helped myself with the brush tool. As you can see, there are several areas of the image that Photoshop hasn’t selected. In fact, I have chosen an image that I already expected to have problems with in order to show you how this editor works.
With the brush tool I perfect little by little and enlarging when I need it, all the areas that have been left out of the selection.
Once I am more or less satisfied with the result, I just adjust the edges with the brush tool to refine edges.
I’m brushing the entire edge of the image and Photoshop does intelligent boundary detection and helps you create your selection accurately. To see the selected area, go to the right panel and click on show border.
Here you can correct those areas that need to be reselected.
I used the selection in the first place to adjust the exposure a bit. The image is taken in RAW, so there is no adjustment, but you can see how the exposure adjustment only affects the selected area (girl) and not the background.
This way you can make adjustments to only one area of the image without affecting the rest.
Exposure Adjustment Example
Precise selection to change the background
Another of the most typical applications for selections of this type is when you want to change the background of your image.
To do this, once you have your image selected (after you’ve fixed the edges and are happy with the selection), go to the properties in the right panel and convert your selection to New layer with layer mask.
Once this is done, drag the image you want as a background on top of your selection. You will see that the image covers your previous selection. Move this layer below the selection layer like this:
You will see your selection move on top of the background you have selected. And now you have it. Now you should play with the blur, the lighting or the shadows to finish giving your photo realism.
To give you an idea of the initial result, this is how the montage would look without any type of adjustment and without refining the selection much. The more fine-tuned your selection, the more believable your background change will be. Then you will have to correct the lights, the blur, the tone, add shadows, correct the perspective, etc. to make your image much more believable ;).
I hope you found this article on Precise Selection in Photoshop interesting. Do you dare to try it? Whether to change the background or to make adjustments to specific areas of the image (such as changing the color of a suit, for example), without a doubt, one of the features that makes Photoshop stand out from other editors.
Don’t forget to share this article with whoever you think might be interested in reading it. Thank you and see you next time :).