5. Making Selections

Photoshop Elements offers many sophisticated options for enhancing and retouching your image. Those options include colors, filters, resizing tools, vignettes, and all sorts of special effects. But before you can start tinkering, you need to learn how to make selections. Once you select a specific area of an image, you can change its color, copy and paste it into another image, or change its size and rotation.

You can also use selections to create a protective mask for specific portions of an image. It’s easy to select one area of an image, apply a change to the entire image, and keep the selected area untouched.

In this chapter, you learn about all of Photoshop Elements’ selection tools and when to choose one tool over another. You also learn how to use these tools in tandem to make the quickest and most accurate selections, depending on your specific needs.

About the Selection Tools

Often, you’ll want to make changes and adjustments to just a portion of an image. For example, you may want to eliminate a distracting element in your photo, change the color of a specific item in a photograph, or adjust the brightness of the background. Photoshop Elements gives you a wide variety of selection tools from which to choose.

The selection tools are all grouped together near the top of the toolbar (Figure 5.1). You make rectangular and elliptical selections using the marquee tools. When you select a marquee tool, the selection area is indicated by a row of moving dots, like the sign outside a movie theater; hence the name marquee tools (Figure 5.2).

Figure 5.1. Access additional tools by right-clicking the selection tools in the toolbar.

Figure 5.2. A selection border is represented by a row of moving dots, called a marquee.

You select free-form, or irregular, areas using the lasso tools (Figure 5.3). These include the regular Lasso tool; the Polygonal Lasso, which is great for selecting areas that include straight sections; and the Magnetic Lasso, which can select the edge of an area based on its color or tonal values.

Figure 5.3. Each of the three lasso tools works best in a particular situation.

The Magic Wand lets you select areas with the same (or similar) color or tonal value. This is probably the most difficult tool to master, but with a little practice it allows you to make selections that would be difficult to make with any of the marquee or lasso tools (Figure 5.4). For example, if your photo displays a field of yellow poppies, you can select all of them at once, rather than having to select each individual flower.

Figure 5.4. The Magic Wand lets you select areas based on color.

The selection tools work well on their own, but often the area you want to edit includes all sorts of angles and edges. In these situations, you can use the tools in combination to expand and change the selection area.

You can also expand or contract a selection area using the same tool with different settings. For example, the Magic Wand allows you to alter the range of your selection by adjusting the tolerance using the options bar (Figure 5.5).

Figure 5.5. The Magic Wand also lets you set the tolerance, or range of colors selected.

When a photo includes an object surrounded by a large background area, it’s often easier to select the background and then invert the selection to select the object. Once the selection is made, you can copy and paste it into another composition or make any other changes (Figure 5.6).

Figure 5.6. Here, the white background was selected with the Magic Wand, and then the selection was inverted to capture the clown.

With a selection area made, you can add to or subtract from the selection. You’ll often find it easier to use one tool to make your initial selection and then edit the selection area using another selection tool (Figure 5.7).

Figure 5.7. Here, the Elliptical Marquee tool was used to select the clown’s head, and then the Lasso tool was used to deselect the clown’s mouth.

The Selection Brush allows you to make selections by simply dragging across any area or object in an image. Like the lasso tools, it works especially well for selecting irregular areas. Unlike the other selection tools, you actually “paint on” the selection using any of the brush shapes available in Elements’ vast collection of brush sets (Figure 5.8). This method of selection affords you great control and flexibility.

Figure 5.8. The Selection Brush can be used in either Selection or Mask mode.

The Magic Selection Brush works in much the same way as the Magic Wand tool—selecting areas based on similar color and tonal values. What distinguishes the Magic Selection Brush from the other selection tools is the method you use to make the selections. By painting a series of scribbles and dots on the image, Photoshop Elements then creates a selection area based on the color or tonal values below the painted marks (Figure 5.9).

Figure 5.9. When you “paint” through an area with the Magic Selection Brush, any pixels similar in color or tonal value to those you brush over will be selected.

Using the Marquee Tools

The Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee tools are the easiest and most straightforward selection tools to use. With these tools, you can select rectangular or oval (elliptical) areas. You can also select a perfectly square or circular area. You’ll often want to move a selection area (or marquee) to align it perfectly, and Photoshop Elements offers a couple of quick and simple ways to make these kinds of adjustments.

To make a rectangular or elliptical selection

1. From the toolbar, choose either the Rectangular Marquee tool (or press the M key) or Elliptical Marquee tool (M again) (Figure 5.10).

Figure 5.10. Simple geometric selections can be made with the Rectangular or Elliptical Marquee Tool.

The default setting on the options bar creates a new selection (Figure 5.11). See “Adjusting Selections” later in this chapter for more information on other options when creating selections.

Figure 5.11. The default setting on the options bar creates a new selection.

2. Click and drag to choose the selection area (Figure 5.12).

Figure 5.12. After selecting one of the marquee tools, just click and drag to make a selection.

Tips

• You can create a perfect circle or square selection using the marquee tools by holding down the Shift key as you drag (Figure 5.13).

Figure 5.13. To select a perfect square or circle, hold down the Shift key while dragging.

• You can draw the marquee from the center outward by holding down the Alt key (Figure 5.14).

Figure 5.14. To draw a selection from the center outward, hold down the Alt key.

• To toggle between marquee tools, press the M key. In fact, this works for any tool with hidden tools—simply press the keyboard shortcut key repeatedly to toggle through all of the choices.

• To select all pixels on a layer, press Ctrl+A. This creates a selection around your entire image window, and is useful when you want to make universal color corrections or add special effects to your image.

To reposition a selection border

1. Once you’ve made a selection, with the New selection icon active, position the pointer anywhere inside the selection area.

The pointer becomes an arrow with a small selection icon next to it (Figure 5.15). Note that if the Add to, Subtract from, or Intersect with icons are active, the pointer indicates that choice and the selection can’t be moved.

Figure 5.15. To move the selection area, position the pointer within the selection boundary.

2. Click and drag to reposition the selection area.

The pointer arrow changes to solid black as you move the selection (Figure 5.16).

Figure 5.16. Drag the selection border to a new location.

To reposition a selection border while making a selection

1. Click and drag to create the selection area.

2. While keeping the mouse button pressed, press the spacebar.

3. Move the selection area to the desired location and release the spacebar and mouse button (Figure 5.17).

Figure 5.17. To move the marquee during a selection, just press the spacebar while holding down the mouse button and adjust the border’s location.

Tip

• You can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move a selection in 1-pixel increments. Holding the Shift key moves the selection in 10-pixel increments.

Selecting Areas Using the Lasso Tools

Use the lasso tools to select areas with irregular shapes. The standard Lasso tool lets you draw or trace around an object or area in a freehand manner, much as you would draw with a pencil. This method takes patience, but with practice you can make highly accurate selections with it.

The Polygonal Lasso tool is useful for selecting areas that include straight edges—and you can toggle between the freehand and straight-edge mode when your object includes both irregular and straight edges.

With the Magnetic Lasso tool, you trace around an area, and the tool automatically “snaps” the selection border to the edge of an area based on differences in color and tonal values in adjoining pixels. For this reason, the tool usually works best on high-contrast images. Experiment with the settings on the options bar to get the best results

To select with the Lasso tool

1. From the toolbar, choose the Lasso tool (or press L).

2. Keeping the mouse button pressed, drag all the way around an object or area in your image (Figure 5.18).

Figure 5.18. Select any area by tracing around it with the Lasso tool.

When you release the mouse button, the open ends of the selection automatically join together (Figure 5.19).

Figure 5.19. When you release the mouse button, the ends of the selection automatically join together.

Tips

• Normally, if you lift the mouse button during a selection, the selection area will automatically close. To prevent this, hold down Alt while you make your selection.

• You may find that making lasso selections is easier with a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet, if you own one.

To select with the Polygonal Lasso tool

1. From the toolbar, choose the Polygonal Lasso tool (L).

2. Click points along the edge of the object to create straight-line segments for your selection (Figure 5.20).

Figure 5.20. The Polygonal Lasso tool creates a border made of straight-line segments.

3. Click back at the original starting point to join the open ends of the selection.

You can also Ctrl+click or double-click anywhere on the image to close up the selection.

Tips

• Be warned; the Polygonal Lasso tool can sometimes slip out of your control, creating line segments where you don’t want them to appear. If you make a mistake or change your mind about a line selection, you can erase line-segment selections as long as you haven’t closed the selection. Just press the Backspace or Delete key, and one by one the segments will be removed, starting with the most recent one.

• To use both the regular Lasso and Polygonal Lasso tools together, hold down the Alt key when using either tool to toggle between the two modes (Figure 5.21).

Figure 5.21. For selection with both freehand and straight lines, press Alt to switch between the regular Lasso and Polygonal Lasso tools.

To select using the Magnetic Lasso tool

1. From the toolbar, choose the Magnetic Lasso tool (L).

2. Click on or very close to the edge of the area you want to trace to establish the first fastening point (Figure 5.22).

Figure 5.22. To start a selection border with the Magnetic Lasso tool, click the edge of the area you want to trace to create the first fastening point.

3. Move the pointer along the edge you want to trace.

The Magnetic Lasso tool traces along the selection border to the best of its ability and places additional fastening points along the way (Figure 5.23).

Figure 5.23. As you trace with the Magnetic Lasso tool, it places additional fastening points along the edge of the selection.

4. If the selection line jumps to the edge of the wrong object, place the pointer over the correct edge and click the mouse button to establish an accurate fastening point (Figure 5.24).

Figure 5.24. Sometimes the Magnetic Lasso tool jumps to another edge (left). To correct the path, just click the correct edge to bring the border back to the right location (right).

5. To close the selection line, click the starting point, or do one of the following:

• Ctrl+click.

• Double-click anywhere on the image.

• Press Enter.

Tip

• Press Alt+click to use the Polygonal Lasso tool while the Magnetic Lasso tool is selected. Press Alt+drag to use the Lasso tool.

To set Magnetic Lasso tool options

1. Select the Magnetic Lasso tool.

2. Set any of the options visible on the options bar (Figure 5.25).

Figure 5.25. Look at the options bar while the Magnetic Lasso tool is selected; you’ll find options that are unique to this tool.

• Width sets the size of the area the tool scans as it traces the selection line.

You can set this option to a value from 1 to 40 pixels. Wide widths work well for high-contrast images, and narrow widths work well for images with subtle contrast and small shapes that are close to each other (Figure 5.26).

Figure 5.26. The Width option lets you set the width of the edge that the tool looks for to determine the selection edge.

• Edge Contrast establishes the amount of contrast required between shapes for an edge to be recognized and traced.

This option is indicated by the percentage of contrast (from 1 to 100 percent). Try higher numbers for high-contrast images, and lower numbers for flatter, low-contrast images (just as with the Width option).

• Frequency specifies how close the fastening points are to each other.

For Frequency, enter a number from 1 to 100. In general, you will need to use higher frequency values when the edge is very ragged or irregular (Figure 5.27).

Figure 5.27. The Frequency option lets you determine how closely the fastening points are spaced.

• If you are using a stylus tablet, you can select Stylus Pressure to increase the stylus pressure and so decrease the edge width. That’s right: With the button enabled, pressing harder on the stylus will yield a smaller, more precise edge.

Making Selections by Color

The Magic Wand and Magic Selection Brush tools allow you to make selections based on a selected color or tonal value. These tools can seem truly magical—or wildly unpredictable—at first. When you select an area of an image with either tool, it selects all of the pixels within a color or tonal range close to the pixel you’ve initially selected.

The Magic Wand tool provides options for setting tolerance (the number of color or tonal values included in the selection), anti-aliasing (smoothing), contiguousness (whether the pixels need to be connected to that first selected pixel), and whether to include all layers in the selection.

The Grow and Similar commands, found in the Select menu, can be used with the Magic Wand to expand the selection area. The Grow command expands the range of adjacent pixels, and the Similar command expands the selection based on the pixel colors.

Although the Magic Selection Brush doesn’t offer the options available with the Magic Wand, it will often make an accurate selection based solely on the areas you mark with the brush.

To use the Magic Wand

1. From the toolbar, choose the Magic Wand (W) (Figure 5.28).

Figure 5.28. The Magic Wand icon is located just below the Lasso tool on the toolbar.

2. On the options bar, choose whether to create a new selection, add to or subtract from an existing selection (Figure 5.29). The default setting on the options bar creates a new selection.

Figure 5.29. The Magic Wand options bar.

3. Select the tolerance (a range of pixels from 0 to 255) to establish how wide a tonal range you want to include in your selection.

The default tolerance level is 32 pixels. To pick colors or tonal values very close to the selected pixel, choose lower numbers. Entering higher numbers results in a wider selection of colors (Figure 5.30).

Figure 5.30. The Tolerance setting determines how wide a range of colors is included in the selection.

4. If you want your selection to have a smooth edge, select Anti-alias.

5. If you want only pixels adjacent to the original pixel to be included in the selection, select Contiguous (Figure 5.31).

Figure 5.31. Choose Contiguous if you want the selection to include only adjacent pixels. Uncheck the box if you want to select similar colors throughout the image.

6. If you want the selection to include pixels on all the layers, select Sample All Layers (see Chapter 8 for more on working with layers).

7. Click a color or tone in the image. Based on your settings, a group or range of pixels will be selected.

Tip

• When you make your original selection with the Magic Wand, it takes a color “sample” from your image. You can adjust the sample size with the Eyedropper tool. The options bar lets you sample 1 pixel, or the average of a 3-by-3-pixel area (9 pixels total), or a 5-by-5-pixel area (25 pixels total). Whichever option is active determines how the Magic Wand establishes the sample color.

To expand the selection area

1. From the toolbar, choose the Magic Wand tool.

2. Click a color or tonal value in the image.

3. From the Select menu, choose Grow to expand the selection of adjacent pixels. Each time you select Grow, the selection is expanded by the tolerance amount displayed on the Magic Wand options bar (Figure 5.32).

Figure 5.32. In this example, the tolerance is set to 50 pixels, with Contiguous unchecked for the first two Grow commands. To fine-tune the selection, the Contiguous box is checked, and the tolerance is reduced to 20 pixels.

Tip

• You can also access the Grow command by right-clicking after you have made a selection with the Magic Wand. A contextual menu appears in the image window, which includes the Grow and Similar commands plus a number of other useful selection options (Figure 5.33).

Figure 5.33. After making a selection with the Magic Wand tool, right-click to access selection options.

To include similar colors

1. From the toolbar, choose the Magic Wand.

2. Click a color or tonal value in the image.

3. From the Select menu, choose Similar to expand the selection of nonadjacent pixels. The selection is expanded by the tolerance amount set on the Magic Wand options bar (Figure 5.34).

Figure 5.34. Choose Select > Similar to add pixels to your selection.

To use the Magic Selection Brush

1. From the toolbar, choose the Magic Selection Brush (F) (Figure 5.35).

Figure 5.35. The Magic Selection Brush tool.

2. On the options bar, check that New Selection is chosen (Figure 5.36).

Figure 5.36. Buttons in the options bar supply different functions for the Magic Selection Brush.

3. Again in the options bar, choose a brush size. The default brush size is 13 pixels.

4. In the image window, click, or click and drag in the area where you want to make your selection.

When you release the mouse button, the selection area appears (Figure 5.37).

Figure 5.37. Painting through an area with the Magic Selection Brush creates a new selection.

5. To add to the selection, choose the Indicate Foreground button in the options bar, and then click (or click and drag) in an area outside the current selection (Figure 5.38).

Figure 5.38. To add to a selection, paint in additional brushstrokes.

The Indicate Foreground button is selected automatically once you’ve made your first selection.

6. To subtract from a selection, choose the Indicate Background button, and then click (or drag) inside the selection area (Figure 5.39).

Figure 5.39. Use the Indicate Background button in the options bar to delete a portion of a selection.

Using the Selection Brush Tool

The Selection Brush tool lets you brush over areas to make a selection. The brush options are very similar to the normal Brush tool, allowing you to choose from a wide range of brush styles and sizes. So once you become familiar with one of these brush tools, you should feel pretty comfortable with the others.

The Selection Brush works a bit differently than the other selection tools. When you’re in Selection mode you simply click and drag through an area of your image to create a free-form, brushed selection. And unlike the other selection tools, the Selection Brush includes a Mask mode, which allows you to create a “protected” or unselected area. To work more easily with masked areas, you can control the opacity and color of the mask overlay. The two modes can also be used together with great results. You will often find it easier to make your initial selection, and then change to Mask mode to make final adjustments to your selection.

To make a selection with the Selection Brush

1. From the toolbar, choose the Selection Brush (A) (Figure 5.40).

Figure 5.40. The Selection Brush tool is located on the toolbar.

2. From the Mode menu on the options bar, choose Selection (Figure 5.41).

Figure 5.41. To make a selection, choose the Selection option.

3. Choose a brush style (Figure 5.42) and then enter values for the brush size and hardness.

Figure 5.42. You can choose from a wide variety of prebuilt brushes.

You can either enter specific values for the size and hardness, or drag the sliders (Figure 5.43) until you get the size and hardness you want.

Figure 5.43. The brush size can be set from the options bar.

4. Drag the brush tool over your image to make a selection (Figure 5.44).

Figure 5.44. To make a selection, just “paint” over your image with the Selection Brush.

5. To expand your selection, brush on the edge of the selected area (Figure 5.45). To make a selection in another portion of your image, click and drag away from the original selection.

Figure 5.45. You can expand the selection by brushing around and through the original selection.

6. To subtract from your selection, choose the Subtract from selection button in the options bar, and then click and drag through any portion of the selection (Figure 5.46).

Figure 5.46. Use the Subtract from selection button in the options bar to remove areas of your selection.

Tips

• Remember that the Selection Brush tool works with any brush you can select from the Brushes palette. You can make some interesting selections and masks by choosing a brush shape from one of the specialty brushes sets.

• A quick way to change the size of the Selection Brush is to press the bracket keys on your keyboard: [ to reduce size and ] to increase size.

To make a mask with the Selection Brush

1. From the toolbar, choose the Selection Brush.

2. From the Mode menu on the options bar, choose Mask (Figure 5.47).

Figure 5.47. To make a mask, first select the Mask mode option.

3. Choose a brush style and then enter values for the brush size and hardness.

4. Set the overlay opacity with the slider, or enter a percentage in the text box (Figure 5.48).

Figure 5.48. The opacity of your mask overlay can be set with the slider or entered into the text box.

5. Set the overlay color by clicking the Overlay Color box in the options bar, and then choose a color from the Color Picker (Figure 5.49).

Figure 5.49. The mask overlay color can be changed from the default (red) to any color using the Color Picker.

The default color is red, so if your selection area is also red it may be hard to see. Just choose a color that works best for each image.

6. Drag the brush tool over your image to make a mask (Figure 5.50).

Figure 5.50. When you paint with the Mask option on, the area becomes filled with the mask overlay.

As soon as you select another tool, the mask overlay area changes to a selection border. The area is protected from any changes you apply to the image (Figure 5.51). If you want to modify the mask, select the Brush Selection tool again. The mask will automatically appear over the image, and you can continue to paint in additional masked areas.

Figure 5.51. In Mask mode, you paint a mask through any areas that you do not want to be selected.

Tip

• The mask overlay is a very handy tool for inspecting your selections and can be used with any selection tool. Whenever you have an active selection, just click the Selection Brush tool and select the Mask option to see the masked area. When you’re done viewing it in Mask mode, choose Selection from the drop-down menu.

To adjust a selection using a mask

1. From the toolbar, choose the Selection Brush, and make sure you’re in Selection mode.

2. Choose a brush style and enter values for the brush size and hardness.

3. Drag the brush over a selection area to establish a quick, rough selection (Figure 5.52).

Figure 5.52. You can use a large brush size to quickly rough out your original selection.

4. Change to Mask mode to see the mask overlay (Figure 5.53).

Figure 5.53. When you change to Mask mode, the selection area becomes a mask.

5. Fine-tune the edge of your mask, adjusting the brush size and hardness as necessary (Figure 5.54).

Figure 5.54. In Mask mode, it’s easy to see where the edge of your selection needs to be adjusted.

6. To remove areas of the mask, press the Alt key while using the Selection Brush in Mask mode.

7. When you’re satisfied with the mask, choose the Selection mode on the options bar.

Tip

• You can also use the Add to selection and Subtract from selection buttons in the options bar to modify your selection mask. To remove areas of your mask, choose the Add to selection button. To add areas to your mask, choose the Subtract from selection button.

Adjusting Selections

You can probably tell by now that creating selections usually involves a little fine-tuning to get things just right. For example, imagine you’re using the Magnetic Lasso tool to trace the outline of a face, but then realize you didn’t include the ear in your selection. Rather than start all over again from scratch, you can simply add to or subtract from your selection until you’ve included every part of the image you want. Photoshop Elements even lets you select the intersection (or overlapping area) of two independent selections. This feature offers a creative solution for constructing interesting selection areas that would be difficult to create with a single selection tool.

To add to a selection

1. Make a selection in your image with any of the selection tools.

2. With the selection still active, do one of the following:

• If desired, select a different selection tool, then click the Add to Selection icon (Figure 5.55) on the options bar. If the Add to Selection icon is already highlighted, skip to step 3.

Figure 5.55. To add to the current selection, either click the Add to Selection icon on the options bar, or hold down the Shift key while making another selection.

• Hold down the Shift key, and, if desired, select a different selection tool.

A plus sign appears, indicating that you are adding to the current selection.

3. Make a new selection in your image. If you want to add to your existing selection, make sure your new selection overlaps the original. If you want to create an additional selection, make sure you click outside of your original selection. The new selection area is added to your first selection (Figure 5.56).

Figure 5.56. In this example, two selections are combined to form a single selection.

To subtract from a selection

1. Make a selection with any of the selection tools.

2. With the selection still active, do one of the following:

• Select the Subtract from Selection icon on the options bar and, if desired, choose any of the selection tools (Figure 5.57).

Figure 5.57. To subtract from the current selection, either click the Subtract from Selection icon on the options bar, or hold down the Alt key while selecting the area you want to subtract.

• Hold down the Alt key.

A minus sign appears, indicating that you are subtracting from the current selection.

3. Drag the pointer through the area you want to subtract.

The area you defined is removed from the selection (Figure 5.58).

Figure 5.58. In this example, a pie-shaped cutout is left where the rectangle selection has been subtracted.

To select the intersection of two selections

1. Make a selection with any of the Marquee or Lasso selection tools.

2. With the selection still active, do one of the following:

• Select the Intersect with Selection icon on the options bar and create a new selection that overlaps the current selection (Figure 5.59).

Figure 5.59. To create an intersection of two selections, click the Intersect with Selection button on the options bar.

• Hold down Alt+Shift and create a new selection that overlaps the current selection. An X appears, indicating that you are selecting an area of intersection.

3. A new selection area is formed based on the intersection of the two selections (Figure 5.60).

Figure 5.60. In this example, only the area of intersection remains.

To deselect the current selection

• From the Select menu, choose Deselect, or press Ctrl+D.

To reselect the last selection

• Choose Select > Reselect, or press Shift+Ctrl+D.

To delete a selection

Do one of the following:

• From the menu bar, choose Edit > Cut, or press Ctrl+X.

• Press Backspace/Delete.

When you delete a selection, the portion of the image within your selection disappears entirely, leaving a hole in your image (Figure 5.61). If you accidentally delete a selection, choose Undo from the Edit menu or press Ctrl+Z.

Figure 5.61. When you delete a selection, the selected area disappears, and your current background color shows through.

To hide a selection border

• From the View menu, uncheck Selection, or press Ctrl+H.

Sometimes, after you’ve made a selection, you will want to temporarily turn off the selection marquee to edit the image without the selection border obscuring your view. Be sure to press the same keyboard shortcut to display the selection once you’re done—otherwise, you might lose track of where your selection is.

Tip

• You can deselect an entire selection at any time by pressing the Esc key.

Softening the Edges of a Selection

When working with selections, you will often want to smooth or soften the edges of your selection before copying and pasting it into another image or layer. Anti-aliasing smoothes out the jagged edges of a selection by creating a gradual color transition along the edge (Figure 5.62). You will generally want to leave the Anti-aliased option on to leave nice smooth edges on your selections. This is especially true if you are creating a composite (combination) image by copying and pasting selections from a number of photos.

Figure 5.62. Anti-aliasing automatically smoothes a selection edge by adding pixels that blend the color transition.

Feathering blurs the edges of a selection. You set the amount of blurring on the options bar in the Feather box. Unlike anti-aliasing, which affects just the very edge of a selection, feathering creates a more dramatic, soft transition or halo effect around an image. Depending on the image selection, you may want to experiment with different feathering settings, because some detail is usually lost around the edges of a feathered selection.

To smooth jagged edges with anti-aliasing

1. From the toolbar, choose any selection tool other than the Rectangular Marquee tool.

The Rectangular Marquee tool’s edges are composed of straight right angles, so no anti-aliasing is necessary. A rectangle selection’s edge can still be softened with the Feather option.

2. Select Anti-alias on the options bar.

You must have anti-aliasing active before making your selection.

3. Make a selection using the desired tool.

4. Cut or copy and then paste the selection into a new file.

The resulting selection edge is automatically smoothed, with no jaggies (Figure 5.63).

Figure 5.63. Select Anti-aliased on the options bar before you make a selection to create a smooth edge, even on curved shapes.

To feather the edge of a selection

1. From the toolbar, choose from any of the Marquee or Lasso tools.

2. On the options bar, enter a value for the feather radius (from 1 to 250 pixels).

3. Make a selection.

The resulting edge appears blurred, based on the number you entered for the Feather option (Figure 5.64).

Figure 5.64. To get the vignette effect shown here, use the Elliptical Marquee tool to create a border. Choose Select > Feather, and enter a radius of around 25 pixels, then choose Select > Inverse to select the background. With white selected as the background color in the toolbox, press Ctrl+Backspace to complete the effect.

Tips

• Unlike with anti-aliasing, you can apply feathering after you make a selection. With your selection active, from the Select menu choose Feather (Alt+Ctrl+D), then enter a feather radius.

• You can also apply feathering effects to your image by applying the Vignette effect, available in the Effects palette. For more detail, see “To apply effects” in Chapter 9, “Filters and Effects.”

Modifying Selection Borders

You can make subtle—or not so subtle—changes to a selection border with four options found on the Select > Modify menu. The Border command lets you change the width of the selection border. The Smooth command smoothes out a jagged or irregular selection edge. To increase the size of a selection, use the Expand command. To reduce the size of a selection, use the Contract command.

To change the width of the border

1. Make a selection in your image with any of the selection tools.

2. From the Select menu, choose Modify > Border.

3. Enter a value for the border width.

The selection border changes based on the number you enter (Figure 5.65).

Figure 5.65. The Border command lets you control the width of a selection border. In this example, a white fill is applied to a 10-pixel border (left) and a 30-pixel border (right).

To smooth the edge of a selection

1. From the Select menu, choose Modify > Smooth.

2. Enter a value for the radius of the smoothing effect.

The radius values range from 1 to 100 and define how far away from the current edge the selection will move to create a new, smoother edge.

To expand or contract the selection area

1. From the Select menu, choose Modify; then choose Expand or Contract.

2. Enter a value for the number of pixels you would like the selection to either grow (expand) or shrink (contract) (Figure 5.66).

Figure 5.66. You can expand or contract the size of a selection border from the Modify menu.