How to be an ace in selections ?

#1

hi,
im a newbie at ps. im using cs2 and i have some question regarding selection.

my knowlege at ps i get from total training for adboe ps. i watch the series in different version they published and. i can say that i know what every tool does and how i suppose to select but when it come for me to do so, i allways messing it up and it turn out terrible and thats why although i familiar with ps for a few year , i kinda give up after i fail to execute the thing total training tought me.

the thing is , that when you watch that series you work with their photos and they tell you what to do , but when i get my own image i never know what is the best tools.

for example the alpha channels , if its not obvious i switch to the quick mask tool that is not so precise. also im having difficulty with image that have hair or they have same color as their background.

anyway, the question is , how do i practice my selection skills, i know that the obvious answer is just practice on all kind of image, but thats the kind of thing i did till now , which make me give up.

i think (and you can correct me if i wrong) that one of the important thing at ps , is to be able to make excellent selection.

any tips regarding that ?

thanx

#2

You are correct, Practise is the key, and training can only teach you so much, from what you’ve learnt you must be able to apply it to a given situation, and if you cannot, in my opinion the training is useless…

I recommend using the pen tool for your everyday selections, because you have greater control over the quality of the selection, and each and every individual anchor is editable, and you can feather the selection to allow for smooth edges.

For hair, I suggest you buy Photoshop Creative Issue 37 online, it’s slightly expensive but the issue itself has a massive tutorial on channel masking, and they, in detail, cover how to select wavey and stray hair… Good luck and I hope this helps.

[www.photoshopcreative.co.uk](Photoshop Creative website)

#3

There is a GREAT book for making selections (also can be purchased on DVD with the lesson presented in video):

Photoshop Masking and Compositing by Katrin Eismann.

The title may be a bit different on DVD, Might be called advanced masking and compositing or something similar.

#4

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