Let's say that you are photographed in nature and a stranger gets into the frame. Or do you want to change the background, clothes, add some objects to the picture. This is quite easy to do if you know how to select an object in Photoshop. Then with this object you can perform some specific actions.
Much depends on what background the object is on. Although the developers drew attention to the tools necessary for highlighting, some of them will be easy to use for beginners, but others have complex settings. Photoshop has a huge amount of tools. The chosen method depends on the type of object: something simple (like a banana) or something more complicated (like hair).
Method of selection No. 1: "Magic wand"
This is the easiest way. But it is effective only in 1 case: the selected background is solid, or the object is solid against an empty background.
Example: your picture is on a white background. It can be snowy peaks or just a white wall, something light and so on. In this example, cutting an object is very easy. To do this, you simply use a tool called the Magic Wand. An example of its use in the photo.
To do this, first make sure that your image is in a layer - right-click on the background layer.
Select "From the background" (as shown in the photo), then the Magic Wand tool (in the toolbar), click on the background.
Select "Add to selection", change the tolerance to 32 and check that the "Smoothing", "Adjacent pixels" and "Sample from all layers" boxes are checked, as shown in the photo.
A tolerance of 32 will select any pixels up to 32 shades darker or brighter. A higher tolerance will increase the size of the selection, and a smaller one will accordingly reduce it.
And the result can be seen in the photo below.
The background has become transparent, and the object can be moved around it.
Selection Method No. 2: Pen Tool
Suitable for curved objects with hard edges. An example in the photo below.
Select the Pen tool, then click, drag it towards the edge and release.
Continue to drag the tool around the edge of the object until the dots meet. Now you can change the line by clicking on the anchor points and moving them. You can also adjust the angle of these points.
Once you're done, right-click on it and select "Create Selected Area" as indicated in the photo below.
Now the object can be moved anywhere.
Method of selection No. 3: quick mask
Here is another method for removing an object in Photoshop. It allows you to quickly paint over an object, and then do something with it.
Procedure:
- Open the photo.
- Find the tool called “Brush” and click on it.
- Look at the vertical panel, at the bottom you will see an icon called “Quick Mask”. You need to click on it (see below in the photo).
- Do not forget to switch the color palette so that the top (main) is black and the bottom (background) is white.
- Now paint over the objects you want to select. If you paint over, then take the eraser and erase it.
- The image will turn red.
- After the selection is completed, you need to click "Quick mask" again.
- Red will be removed, and you will see a dashed line, it shows the boundaries of the object.
- To select only the object, click "Invert".
Now you know how to select an object in Photoshop using a quick mask.
Selection Method No. 4: Color Range
Suitable in cases where the background is contrast. For example, a splash of water, as in the photo below.
Go to the "Selection" menu, find the "Color Range".
Use the color selection button, click on the object.
In the example, carps stood out in the photo, so a red color was selected, and you need to click on the carps, respectively. Once you’ve made your selection, click OK. Next, copy the image and move it.
Isolation Method No. 5: Rapid Isolation
An example of quick selection is shown in the photo below.
Right-click on the Brush tool to display the panel (see the photo below). You can reduce the size of the brush to select small parts. Hold the Alt key to add or subtract from the selection. When you make a choice, go to the "Select" menu, click "Refine Edge".
This is a great example of how to select an object in Photoshop. You can also customize the sliders. You should get something like the picture below.
Reducing objects in Photoshop
Suppose you want to place an object that is too large in the photo. Hence the question: how to reduce the object in Photoshop?
Example: the pasted one does not fit the background - it exceeds its size. Initially, you should figure out how to select an object in Photoshop, then you can reduce it. To do this, right-click on the object that is inserted.
A drop-down menu will drop out, select "Free Transformation" there. If you click this item, a frame appears around a specific object, which will have markers in the corners and in the middle. Now you need to hold down any marker with the left mouse button, as well as the Shift button, drag the marker. Using the button will not change the aspect ratio.
Take your time, see if you like the size of the object. As soon as it suits you, release the mouse. Now you can click somewhere so that the frame disappears.
Delete objects
What to do if you are far from an ideal photographer, sometimes there are objects on the picture that are not needed there at all (starting from people accidentally or even specially caught in the frame, ending with bottles, cans of beer and others).
First you need to know how to select an object in Photoshop.
There are two ways to solve the problem. One of them is a content-based fill. Having selected a specific object, you need to click "Edit", after which a window pops up where it says: "Fill with content”.
An example is below in the photo.
The program will fill the area with pixels similar to the space surrounding the object. This method is used if the item is not very large.
Method 2: stamp
The use of this tool is as follows: the area lying next to the object is copied, and thus objects can be painted over.
Another way: crop
In some cases, it’s easier to crop the image than trying to clear it. This will help “Crop”. After the canvas size has changed, click 2 times for the changes to take effect.