This is part 7 of a series of 10 masking techniques that I will be explaining. The color range dialog box is a superb tool. It helps us select similar color pixels inside an image. You can select any range of colors within seconds! This tool is like the magic wand tool however it creates a much smoother selection by factoring in transparent pixels.
Makes a selection based off of color.
Good for: Good for: Almost anything with high contrast with background. Simple hair.
Settings
Select: The type of selection you will make
Detect faces: detects skin tones, this is especially useful for selecting ultra red skin and toning it down.
Localize Color Clusters: will focus in a specified range of pixels from where you click
Fuzziness: will maximize the selection if increased
Range: will increase the range of color selection
Selection/Image:
Selection preview: lets you preview the selection you made
invert: Select the opposite of the selection made
load: loads a color range preset
save: saves a color range preset
new/add/subtract: tools that allow you to create a new mask or add/subtract from an existing one
Technique
Open the color range box. Select > Color Range
Click on color pixel that you would like to select in the document. This will select a portion of pixels.
To complete the selection simply holy SHIFT and drag across the colors that you want to select. This should accurately select the are you want. Adjust using the fuzziness and range sliders.
Click OK when you are satisfied with the selection you made.
Create adjustment layers with masks from the selection you made and adjust the colors.
Technique
To fix skin tones. Go to the Select pull down menu and choose skin tones.
Make sure detect faces is checked.
Click OK once you are happy with the selection.
Click on the Hue/Saturation adjustment and choose 'Reds' and then you can desaturate the reds in faces.
Tips
The larger the range the more area will be selected.
Fuzziness brings in more pixels as well.
This is best used for selection specific colors and modifying them after.
Click the canvas first, then hold shift, this tool works best in combination with other masking techniques
Sample
So there you have it. If I was not clear enough or I missed something let me know in the comments below!
Do you have any questions? comments? tips? I would be happy to hear from you! Get in touch through michaeljphotography.ca contact form. I would appreciate your follow @Jonssononline Did you learn from my post?
This is part 6 of a series of 10 masking techniques that I will be explaining. The pen tool, seemingly the least interesting of the masking tools, however, it is very precise, easy to use and has a few surprises. This one is kind of a 2 part-er. We will also be going over a part of the pen tool that you probably never bothered to play with. The magnetic option, set using the freeform pen tool.
Good for: Most man made objects. anything solid with straight and rounded edges
Settings
Type: Allows you decide what you will be creating
path: adds the selection you made to the paths panel, you must save your path if you are making more than one or it will be overwritten
shape: has fill and stroke
Make:
selection (creates marching ants selection for further refinement)
mask (creates a mask on the current layer)
shape (creates a shape)
Path Operations: dictates what will happen to existing paths if you make a new path
Path Alignment: aligns the different paths you made to what you set here, for multiple shapes only
Path Arrangement: brings individual paths forward or backward, for multiple shapes only
Gear:
rubber band: allows you to see the anchor handle points
Auto Add/Delete: If checked, you can click on a path and it will add an anchor point or you can click on an anchor point and it will delete it.
Align Edges: Align vector shapes edges to pixel grid, for multiple shapes only.
Technique
Click a point on the canvas to activate the pen tool path, typically i will start on a corner of the object i want to mask.
On the second click, if necessary, hold down the left mouse button and drag to create rounded edges.
Continue around the object until you reach the start of the path.
Click on the first point in order to close the path. To make a selection click on the word 'Selection..." in the settings above. From there you can refine and create the mask.
Tips
To subtract an anchor point you can just click on an existing point, you can do this mid selection.
To add a point just click on any path, you can do this mid selection.
To move the position of an anchor point hold CTRL for a springloaded direct selection tool.
To round paths hold down the alt key to use the convert point tool.
You can save a path by naming them in the paths panel.
Sample
Here is the freeform pen tool. This tool has a great hidden feature -the magnetic option. I will teach you what you need to know about this tool without wasting too much of your time!
Settings
Most of the settings here are the same as with the regular pen tool, I will go over the different settings. Read above see what the other settings do
Gear:
Curve fit: set between 0.5 to 10 pixels, this dictates the amount of error that Photoshop allows when trying to fit your cursor movement to a path. The higher this value the less anchor points will be made, but also the selection will be slightly less accurate
Magnetic option: works like the magnetic lasso, it snaps to the edge of your element as you move around it, either click once then move around or click and hold and drag around, whatever is more comfortable.
Width specifies how close to the edge (1–256) the tool must be before it detects an edge.
Contrast (1–100) specifies how much contrast must be between pixels for the tool to see the edge.
Frequency (0–100) specifies the rate at which the tool lays down anchor points.
Technique
Click a point on the canvas to activate the pen tool path, typically i will start on a corner of the object i want to mask.
From there you can just move around the object that you would like to select, if you prefer you can hold down the button if it more comfortable.
If any mistakes are made simply click backspace to delete the last point made.
Double click or click on the first anchor point in order to close a path.
Tips
When deleting points using the backspace button you should be following the path backwards as you press it or it will recreate the path
To create perfectly straight segment press and hold down ALT, when you let go it will go back to the magnetic pen tool.
This tool is best utilized when using the a pen tablet
This tool is better than the magnetic lasso tool because it gives you the option to modify your path before you make it into a selection.
Sample
So there you have it. If I was not clear enough or I missed something let me know in the comments below!
Do you have any questions? comments? tips? I would be happy to hear from you! Get in touch through michaeljphotography.ca contact form. I would appreciate your follow @Jonssononline Did you learn from my post?
This is part 5 of a series of 10 masking techniques that I will be explaining. The magnet lasso tool is a great tool for making near perfect selections while just having to loosely hover around the object you want to select. This post will show you the ins and outs of this handy tool. Make sure to check out the video as well!
Good for: Objects, Simple hair.
Settings
Feather: Creates a feather around the selection you finalize
Anti-alias: Makes sure that the lines are smooth
Width: specified how close to the edge (1-256) the tool must be before it detects the edge
Contrast: Specifies how much contrast (0-100)must be between pixels for the tool to see the edge you want
Frequency: Specifies the rate (0-100) at which the tool lays down anchor points
Tablet Pressure: Use this option for pen tablets, pressure will dictate the width.
Technique
Click a point on the canvas to activate the magnetic lasso tool, typically i will start on a corner of the object i want to mask.
From there simply drag along the edges of your selection, modify the width and contrast as needed for best results
Continue around the object until you reach the start of the path.
Either double click or click on the first point in order to close the path. A selection will be made.
To subract from your selection (ie. get rid of holes in a selection) hold the ALT key, this brings up the spring loaded subtract from selection magnetic lasso tool, then click on your starting point and let go of ALT, it will stay on this tool until you close the selection. simply use the tool the same way the remove the parts you dont want
Tips
Press CAPS LOCK in order to get a brush icon that will show you the radius in which the tool is trying to detect edges. This makes the tool much easier to use.
Press SPACEBAR to select the spring loaded hand tool in order to move around the canvas
press [ and ] in order to increase and decrease the width of the tool
press BACKSPACE to remove the last point that was made in the path
Sample
So there you have it. If I was not clear enough or I missed something let me know in the comments below!
Do you have any questions? comments? tips? I would be happy to hear from you! Get in touch through michaeljphotography.ca contact form. I would appreciate your follow @Jonssononline Did you learn from my post?
This is part 4 of a series of 10 masking techniques that I will be explaining. The magic wand tool, the most interesting of the bunch. While flexible, this one is not my absolute favorite to work with. For the best results with this tool you should be constantly tweaking the settings as you make your selection. Because I feel this tool is a little trickier, I will be including my very own, very first video tutorial. Let me know what you think and where I can improve! Note that you will learn this tool best by utilizing both the written and video tutorials that I provide here.
Good for: Hair. natural elements. Selecting abstractly for creative masking. Also for anything with high contrast. Selecting specific common pixel colors quickly. Settings
Selection:
new selection (default)
add to selection (springloaded key: Shift)
subtract from selection (springloaded key: Alt)
intersect selection (springloaded key: Shift+Alt)
Sample Size: (3by3, 5by5, 11by11, 31by31, 51by51, 101by101) The numbers represent the area of pixels you will be selecting each time you click the magic wand tool. You decide on which depending on the variety of pixel shades you want to be affected by the magic want tool.
Tolerance: The pixel you click determines the base color. The number set here will determine the number of levels lighter / darker considered in the selection.
Ex: the default tolerance of 32 means that the Magic Wand will select 16 levels lighter and 16 levels darker
Anti-alias: smooths edges
Contiguous: This means it will select pixels that have common borders touching each other only
Sample All Layers: When this is checked it will treat all your layers as if they were on one.
Technique
Once you finish deciding what you want to select, click in the area to see what the default settings select. Then you begin adjusting your setting to make sure that you wont select undesired areas. Lower the tolerance, raise the sample size, etc. Sometimes this will take a bit of guess and check.
The next step is to add to the selection that you started. Hold down the SHIFT key to use the 'add to selection' setting then click again on a different shade of pixel than the first, but make sure its close. Here you will see your selection starting to form. If necessary raise or lower the tolerance/sample size as necessary.
To subtract selection from undesired areas hold down the ALT key to use the 'subtract from selection' setting. Generally keep a low tolerance and high sample setting to clean up any areas i do not want to select.
If you see little foreign pixels scattered in a certain area you can remove them using the rectangle or ellipse selection tools (also using the ALT key to subtract from selection). In a future blog post I will show you how you can use selection tools together.
Refine your edge
Tips
Between every click of the wand you should be adjusting your settings to achieve the best results. The best way to understand this is to open up Photoshop and play with it!
Start with large areas and then move to smaller/tighter areas with more constricting settings.
Using the contiguous setting will really help in certain situations. Do you want to select pixels in a confined area or across the whole image?
Always zoom in to different areas of the image to make sure you have a quality mask.
Always explore the options you have in refine edge. you will usually find areas that you can improve.
Sample
So there you have it. If I was not clear enough or I missed something let me know in the comments below!
Do you have any questions? comments? tips? I would be happy to hear from you! Get in touch through michaeljphotography.ca contact form. I would appreciate your follow @Jonssononline Did you learn from my post?
This is part 3 of a series of 10 masking techniques that I will be explaining.The refine edge tool is not a tool that selects, rather, it is a supporting tool that improves the final result of other selections you make. Depending on your needs, this can clean up rough edges, generate great selection for hair or clean up color fringing.
Good for: Hair. Cleaning up masks for any selection you make with any other tool.
Settings
Edge Detection: This setting will help you with tricky situations such as hair. Check the 'smart Radius' field and then bring up the radius. It will focus in on the small details that are hard to tackle. You can use the edge detection brush to zone in on areas you want affected by the radius. Here is a quick 2 minute video demonstrating the edge detection brush. Thanks @MADEdesignsHD.
Adjust Edge
Smooth: This slider will smooth out your selection
Feather: This slider will add feather to your selection
Contrast: Sharpens the selection by giving the edges higher contrast
Shift Edge: Shift the selection in or out
Output: Fairly straightforward, decide which output that you want to use. If you notice color fringe on the edges then check "decontaminate colors" before you hit OK.
Technique
Use any of the selection tools to make a rough selection.
Go to the refine edge dialog box.
Smooth out your selection using the adjust edge options. As you make adjustments you can preview the selection will look on the canvas. generally you want to smooth out any selection that you have made.
Output as a selection (only go to step #5 if there is hair in your selection, otherwise you can output as new layer with mask)
Go to the refine edge dialog box once again, this time with the aim of selecting hair.
Use the edge detection smart radius and edge detection brush to take care of the hair selection
Output once again except this time choose new layer with mask.
Tips
You can find this dialog box in the settings of most selection tools.
Always explore the options you have in refine edge. you will usually find area that you can improve.
It is recommended that you use the refine edge feature twice, once for the main selection and one for hair
So there you have it. If I was not clear enough or I missed something let me know in the comments below!
Do you have any questions? comments? tips? I would be happy to hear from you! Get in touch through michaeljphotography.ca contact form. I would appreciate your follow @Jonssononline
This is part 2 of a series of 10 masking techniques that I will be explaining.The quick selection tool is the greatest selection tool if you are looking for speed. This one is definitely my most used and favorite selection tool. However this tool does not make selections to 100% satisfaction on its own. The rough edges it leaves can be cleaned up using the Refine Edge settings.
Good for: Well defined hair. Any subject that has a high contrast with the background.
Settings
hard brush
auto enhance checked
sample all layers is optional depending on the job
refine edge to be used after
Technique
Simply 'paint' inside of the desired area that you want to select. you will quickly see the tool works its magic!
If you accidentally select outside of the desired area, hold ALT for a spring loaded subtract selection tool. You can also select the quick subtract tool from the setting above. 'paint' away the areas you don't want to select
After you are happy with your selection use the Refine Edge setting to make the selection better. I will be discussing the Refine edge tool in a later blog post!
See my post about Refine Edge Settings to learn more Tips
The tool is very flexible and will sometimes select areas that you are not interested in selecting. As you use this tool it becomes smarter, the more you paint with it the more it understands what selection you want. Photoshop will remember areas you do not want to select and when you begin to select the desired areas the tool will be more focused. Play with it and see what i mean.
For those having trouble with a selection. Copy the original layer and then make sure the new layer is selection and use curves (CTRL+M ) to create more contrast between what you want to select and what you don't want to select. When you are finished make a selection on the altered layer. when you are finished apply the mask to the original layer.
You can also use dodge and burn tools to achieve the same goal. I will cover this in a future blog post.
Quick Sample
So there you have it. If I was not clear enough or I missed something let me know in the comments below!
Do you have any questions? comments? tips? I would be happy to hear from you! Get in touch through michaeljphotography.ca contact form. I would appreciate your follow @Jonssononline
This is part 1 of a series of 10 masking techniques that I will be explaining.The background eraser tool is a very quick, highly functioning tool. The one problem is that it does just what it says. Erases, not masks! Not to worry, I will show you how to use this handy tool effectively to create a sharp mask. I wish there were a background mask tool... Good for: Touching up hair masks. Any subject that has a high contrast with the background.
Settings
soft brush
sampling: Once
Limits: Contiguous
Tolerance 50-100
protect foreground checked
Technique
Duplicate original layer.
Sample the color you want to protect (hold down ALT to use spring-loaded color sample tool)
Erase the background touching the color you selected, the tool is quite flexible in terms of protecting similar colors.
If you would like a non destructive element to work with:
ALT + left click the thumbnail of the result to get a selection.
Copy original layer then mask the new layer with the selection.
Tips
Works best when you do not let go of the brush until you are finished with a particular section.
To refine the result you should make the eraser size smaller and work in the tiny areas individually.
Protect faint colors from the background that bleed onto your subject.
Quick Sample
Before After
So there you have it. If I was not clear enough or I missed something let me know in the comments below!
Do you have any questions? comments? tips? I would be happy to hear from you! Get in touch through michaeljphotography.ca contact form. I would appreciate your follow @Jonssononline
