■ View, Show, Selection Edges. This
command hides the “marching
ants” selection marquee; the selec-
tion is still there but hidden. This is
useful when you need to compare
the selection to the surrounding
area while making changes.
Remember to restore the marquee
by choosing View, Show, Selection
Edges again or you might forget
that there is a hidden selection.168 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TODIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
tip
Press Ctrl+Shift+I to
invert the selection. This
shortcut will come in handy
as you gain more experi-
ence.HIDING THE CRAWLING ANTS
At times the selection marquee can be a distraction, and you might prefer to work without
it. You can temporarily hide the selection marquee by choosing View, Show, Selection
Edges, or just press Ctrl+H (xH for Mac). You can make the marquee reappear by choosing
View, Show, Selection Edges again.Feathering and Antialiased Selections
Ordinarily, pixels are either completely selected or completely unselected. A few
selection tools, however, create partially selected pixels. Partially selected pixels are
extremely useful in editing. For example, a narrow zone of partially selected pixels
at the edge of selection will create soft gradations between the edited and unedited
areas. Soft gradations make your edits appear to be a natural part of the picture.
The following exercise will show you how feathering blends edited areas into an
image. Figure 11.20 is the subject.
Feathering and antialiasing are available options. In the Feather box, you enter a
number; the width of the feathered zone will be several times this number. Other
selection tools offer similar options. You can also feather any selection after it is cre-
ated.
Images with no antialiasing and no feathering stand out immediately after any
changes are made (see Figure 11.21). Antialiased selections are surrounded by a one-
pixel-wide ring of partially selected pixels. Feathered selections have a border from
one pixel to whatever value you enter for the partially selected pixels (see Figure
11.22). The width of the border can even be big enough to let you create such fea-
tures as vignettes.