Select Start: Selection Techniques

Photographer: Matt Kloskowski  Exposure: 1/160  Focal Length: 70mm  Aperture Value: ƒ/8

This chapter is actually named after the band Select Start, because the name of the song that came up when I searched on the iTunes Store for the word “Select” was their song, titled “She’s Not a Hottie Hotty,” but I thought that “She’s Not a Hottie Hotty” would make a weird name for a chapter on how to make selections. I listened to “She’s Not a Hottie Hotty” and it actually wasn’t bad, but I really thought the song could use more references to making selections and fewer references to b-double-o-t-y. Okay, I have to be honest, I only listened to the free 30-second preview of the song, and I didn’t actually hear the word “booty” perse, but seriously, what song that includes the word “hottie” doesn’t have the word “booty” in there somewhere?

I mean, how many words are there that rhyme with hottie that aren’t used regularly by a toddler (made ya stop and think for a moment, didn’t I?). Anyway, Select Start (the band’s name) is really a pretty good name for the chapter, because we start with teaching you how to make simple selections, and then take you through Elements’ most important selection techniques, because being able to easily select and adjust just one particular area of your photo is really important. Once you’ve mastered selections, the next logical step is to learn how to break down people’s names rap-style, like Fergie (F to the E-R-G-I-E), but if you just wondered, “Why would the Duchess of York talk like that?” we have any entirely different problem.