Photoshop Masking- Advanced ( Part 2 )

In some instances it is easier to select the background than it is the foreground object. In this example, the black background was easy to select with the Magic wand tool. Then, after selecting the background, select the opposite of the currently selected object, by choosing Select > Inverse.

This is one of those concepts in Photoshop that can take you to the next level of sophistication. Beginning people would work very hard selecting each individual leaf. Advanced users would see that the background would be MUCH easier to select, and then inverse the selection.

Different tools can also be combined to create more sophisticated selections as well. For example it might be easier to loosely select the three seeds with the lasso tool without worrying of some of the black surrounding it. Then, using the Magic Wand tool with the Subtract From icon chosen in the Options bar, clicking in the black area to subtract it, shrinking the selection to only the three seeds.

After spending time making a more complex selection, selections can (and probably should) be saved. This will enable their use at a later time or with another program that accepts alpha channels. To save a selection choose Select > Save Selection. To use a saved selection, choose Select > Load selection. Selections are stored as alpha channels and can be viewed and manipulated with the Channels palette.

The edges of selections can also be softened by adding a Feather. The larger the number entered in the Feather dialog box, the softer the edge. In this example, a feather of 5 was added to the illustration on the left and the background deleted. In the illustration to the right, a feather of 25 was added and the background deleted. Note: When using selections in conjunction with a layer mask, I prefer to blur the mask rather

than add a feather to my selection because the blur is interactive and easier to see when the correct amount is chosen.

Once a selection has been created with any of the above tools, the selected object can be isolated from its background by adding a mask. (The object must be on a layer – if the object is on the Background, double click the background in the Layers palette to convert it into a layer.) To add a mask, select Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal Selection or Hide Selection depending on whether the object or the background was selected. Adding a layer mask is more flexible because it only hides the information that you don’t want. This allows you to still edit the mask to reveal or hide any of the information on the layer at any time. For more information on layers and Layer Masks see the PDF document titled MaskingConcepts.psd.