Practical Photoshop - UK (2020-03)

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SELECT SUBJECT
If the aim is to select
a subject, like the bird here,
begin the selection by
pressing the Select Subject
button (or using the new
Object Selection Tool). This
feature utilizes artificial
intelligence to analyze the
image, figure out what the
subject is, and isolate it
with a selection. It’s rarely
perfect, but it can be a great
time-saver. Here it gives a
rough starting point, which
we can improve upon using
the Quick Selection Tool.

2

THE QUICK SELECTION TOOL

The Quick Selection Tool

works like a brush and – like

all brushes in Photoshop

• you can resize the
  brush tip using the ] and [
  bracket keys. As you paint
  over an image, the Quick
  Selection Tool seeks out
  similar tones and contrasting
  pixels, snapping onto the
  edges of shapes and objects
  in the scene. Press Q while
  you painting to toggle the
  Quick Mask view, which
  shows a pink overlay like this
  to make selection easier.

3

ADD AND SUBTRACT

You can add, subtract

or intersect using these

buttons in the toolbar. By

default it’s set to Add, so

you can simply paint to build

up a selection. Inevitably

at some point, the Quick

Selection Tool will pick up

an unwanted area, so hold

Alt as you paint to subtract

this part. As you add and

subtract, the tool actively

learns the tones and

details you’re attempting

to include or exclude,

making it more effective.

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