Top 5 Most Powerful Photoshop Selection Tools

Whether you're a veteran of Photoshop, or you're just starting to dip your toe in those complex waters, making selections is something you'll need to be au fait with. So, here are the five best tools for doing so. 

I, by the very nature of my role here and as a professional photographer, consume a lot of content on the topic. This content ranges across just about every facet of the industry, but one common area is Photoshop. It is, for all intents and purposes, an infinitely powerful piece of software that has spawned careers for people who master it. YouTube is full of people who have done just that, and almost every retoucher, graphic designer, and Photoshop guru I have ever seen shares a hatred for one task: selections.

Basic selections are straightforward enough these days, and though they might irritate beginners, it has been getting easier and easier as the years roll on. However, complex selections, which easier than they used to be, are still teeth-grindingly time-consuming and finicky. My philosophy with Photoshop whenever I encounter something I'm unsure of how to achieve is this: if it's too difficult, there's an easier way I haven't found yet. Well, selections are somewhat of an exception to that rule, and so you're better off mastering them.

In this video, Aaron Nace of PHLEARN takes you through five powerful selection tools, each used for slightly different applications. Whether you're cutting something out of a background or masking hair (the overlord of hated selections), there is going to be something of use in this tutorial.

Rob Baggs's picture

Robert K Baggs is a professional portrait and commercial photographer, educator, and consultant from England. Robert has a First-Class degree in Philosophy and a Master's by Research. In 2015 Robert's work on plagiarism in photography was published as part of several universities' photography degree syllabuses.

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