Using Photoshop selection tools

Having trouble deciding how to select part of your image? Adobe Photoshop gives you several tools that help you target just the areas you need to select. In this tutorial, you'll learn about the best way to use each of the selection tools.You can practice with the eagle image, located in the Photoshop CS/Samples folder.

1. Use the Magic Wand tool to select the background of the image.

Since the eagle in our image has a well-defined shape, and since the colors in the eagle are different than the green background, we can select it using the Magic Wand tool. Select the Magic Wand tool, and then click anywhere in the green background. The green area is surrounded by a marquee and is now editable. Try dragging a paintbrush over the whole image to see how the eagle is protected.

2. Invert your selection.

Because our background was so easy to select, we'll invert the selection so that just the eagle is selected. Choose Select > Inverse. You'll see the selection border change so that the eagle is surrounded. This is an easy method to make a selection when you have an image like the eagle. You could now work with the eagle without disturbing the background of the image. For now, choose Select > Deselect so we can try out another tool.

3. Use the Elliptical Marquee tool to select the eagle's eye.

Select the Elliptical Marquee tool, and then drag to draw a selection border around the eagle's eye. To reposition the selection border while you're drawing it, hold the spacebar and drag the selection border into a new position. To move the selection border after it's created, click anywhere inside the border and drag.

4. Use the Magnetic Lasso to select the eagle's beak.

Select the Magnetic Lasso tool (located in the toolbox with the Lasso tool), and then click and drag around the beak. The Magnetic Lasso tool makes free-form selections easier because it traces around an object. It works best when you have a clearly defined edge, like the eagle's beak. The tool places anchors while you drag (you can remove anchors while you're dragging by pressing the Delete key). To finish the selection border, click the starting anchor point (or double-click). Try moving the beak using the Move tool. Choose Edit > Undo to return the beak to its correct position. Then choose Select > Deselect to deselect the beak.

5. Add to a selection.

Select the Marquee tool, and make a rough selection of the eagle's body. Once you've made a selection, you can add to the selection border without having to start over. Select the Magnetic Lasso tool, and click the Add to Selection icon in the options bar. Refine your selection by dragging around the outside of the eagle (you'll notice a small plus sign below the tool pointer). Release the mouse. The selection border now includes the area you selected with the Magnetic Lasso tool.