Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

By Greg Bowden

Chapter 2

Selecting Parts
of Images

Guided Computer Tutorials

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© Greg Bowden

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First published 2009

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 Chapter

2
Selecting Parts of Images
An important feature of any graphics program is its ability to select parts of images. This
might include separating a image from its background or removing a background. In
this chapter you will learn how to select parts of images using a variety of different tools.

Loading a Sample Image

A sample photo will be opened and some editing carried out on it.
1 Load Photoshop or close the current file.
2 Display the FILE menu and select OPEN.
3 Access the PScs4 SUPPORT FILES folder.

4 Open the CHAPTER 2 folder and

select the CAT.JPG image

5 Select OPEN and the CAT.JPG image

should load.

6 Press CTRL+0 or COMMAND+0 to set the size of the image window so that it fills the
screen.

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Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

The Editing Tools

Photoshop offers numerous ways of selecting parts of a drawing. Some of them are the
basic, such as the EDIT MARQUEE TOOL and the LASSO TOOL, however, some are much
more powerful, such as the QUICK SELECTION TOOL and the MAGIC WAND TOOL.

The Edit Marquee

There are two main edit marquees, one is rectangular and the other is an oval.

A The Rectangular Marquee Tool

1 Move the pointer over the EDIT

MARQUEE TOOL (the top left tool)
in the TOOLS panel, hold down
the mouse button and the edit
marquees should be displayed.

2 Select the RECTANGULAR MARQUEE

TOOL.

3 Drag a frame around the cat’s head.

NOTE: A frame of ‘marching ants’ is added to the screen to highlight

the selection. This selected area can be moved, copied,
rotated, resized, transformed and adjusted.

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 Selecting Parts of Images 2

4 Click on the MOVE TOOL (the top

right tool in the TOOLS panel) and
drag the selected area. Just the
selection is moved.

5 Press CTRL+Z or COMMAND+Z (or select UNDO MOVE from the EDIT menu) to
return the selected area to its original position.

B The Elliptical Marquee Tool

1 Click and hold on the EDIT

MARQUEE TOOL again and select the
ELLIPTICAL MARQUEE tool.

2 Click outside the selection area to

deselect it then drag a frame around
the cat’s head. This time the selected
area is an oval.

NOTE: When you select the EDIT MARQUEE tool you can press
SHIFT+M to toggle between the RECTANGULAR MARQUEE
and the ELLIPTICAL MARQUEE.

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Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

3 Select the MOVE TOOL again and

move the selection. It is an oval.

4 Press CTRL+Z or COMMAND+Z to undo the move.

5 Select the ELLIPTICAL MARQUEE

TOOL again, click outside the
selection, hold down the SHIFT key
and drag a frame around the cat’s
head. The area will be a circle.

NOTE: The SHIFT causes the ellipse to be a circle. If you hold down
the SHIFT key and drag the RECTANGULAR MARQUEE TOOL, a
square selection area is drawn.

Deselecting Objects
When you select an area on the screen it remains selected until you select another area.
To turn a selection off:
Press CTRL+D or COMMAND+D and the selection should be removed.

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 Selecting Parts of Images 2

The Lasso Tools

The LASSO tools allow you to make more detailed area selections. There are three
LASSO tools. The normal LASSO TOOL that you may have used in paint programs before,
the POLYGON LASSO TOOL and the MAGNETIC LASSO TOOL.

A The Lasso Tool

The LASSO TOOL allows you to select freehand areas of an image.

1 Click and hold the mouse button on

the LASSO TOOL in the TOOLS panel
and the three LASSO TOOLS should be
displayed. Select the LASSO TOOL.

2 Drag an area around the cat and,

when you reach the starting point,
release the mouse button.

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Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

3 Select the MOVE TOOL and drag the

selected area.

4 Press CTRL+Z or COMMAND+Z to undo the move.

5 Deselect the area by pressing CTRL+D or COMMAND+D.

B The Polygon Lasso Tool

The POLYGON LASSO TOOL allows you to select sections of an image by dragging
straight lines to form a polygon.

1 Click and hold the mouse button

on the LASSO TOOL and select the
POLYGON LASSO TOOL.

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 Selecting Parts of Images 2

2 Move the cursor to the top left of the

cat, click the mouse button to set the
start point and drag a horizontal line
to the right side of the cat.

3 Click the mouse button to set the

second polygon point and drag a
line down to the base of the tale.

4 Click the mouse button to set the

third polygon point and drag a
diagonal line to below the cat’s right
paw.

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Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

5 Click the mouse button and keep

dragging lines until you get back
to the starting point. A small circle
is added to the pointer when you
reach the starting point. Click the
mouse button to complete the
selection.

6 Press CTRL+D or COMMAND+D to deselect the area.

NOTE: The MAGNETIC LASSO TOOL is one of the more difficult

Photoshop tools and it will be covered when you are a little
more experienced with Photoshop.

The Quick Selection Tool

There are a number of ways to accurately select an object within a photo. One of them
is to use the QUICK SELECTION TOOL. Once you select the object you can place the
selection on another background or on a white or transparent background. Let’s remove
the cat from its current background and place it in another photo.

A Selecting the Cat

1 Click and hold the mouse button

on the tool below the MOVE TOOL
in the TOOLS panel and select the
QUICK SELECTION TOOL.

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 Selecting Parts of Images 2

2 Click on the arrow next to BRUSH

in the OPTIONS BAR, set the brush
DIAMETER to 20 and click again on
the arrow to close the panel.

3 Press CTRL+ or COMMAND+ a few times to zoom the screen so that the cat fills the
screen.

NOTE: CTRL- or COMMAND- zooms the view out.

4 Click just above the left eye and

the left side of the head then drag
around the cat to select all of it.

NOTE: The QUICK SELECTION TOOL is not perfect and it has trouble
selecting areas where the colour of the cat is close to the colour
of the background. For example, at the lower left side and
between the tail and front legs.

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Learning Adobe Photoshop CS4

B Adjusting the Selection

The program needs some help to get the selection of the cat more accurate. Areas of the
background can be subtracted from the selection and areas of the cat not selected can
be added to the selection.

1 Click on the SUBTRACT FROM

SELECTION TOOL in the OPTIONS
BAR.

2 Click and drag around the area

between the front paws and the
tail to remove that area from the
selection.

3 Click on the ADD TO SELECTION

TOOL in the OPTIONS BAR.

4 Click and drag around any parts of

the cat that have been missed by
the selection.

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