Photoshop® CS4 All-in-One For Dummies®

Chapter 3. Modifying and Transforming Selections and Paths

In This Chapter

• Adding and subtracting from a selection

• Using the Select commands

• Feathering selections

• Moving and cloning a selection

• Transforming pixels, selections, and paths

If you're like me, you may find it tough to get the perfect selection the first time around. I mean, all you need is one too many cups of coffee, and that Lasso tool seems to take on a mind of its own. That's okay. Photoshop is way too benevolent to leave you hanging with a mediocre selection. A multitude of techniques are available to modify and transform your selections. You can add or remove pixels from your selection, scale your selection outline, smooth out jagged edges, or switch what's selected for what isn't. Knowing how to clean up and modify your selections helps you to nail your desired element with precision.

If you haven't already thumbed through the first two chapters of Book III and gotten a good grasp of how to create selections by using the mighty Photoshop Tools panel, go ahead and browse those chapters now.

Achieving Selection Perfection

Although the selection tools, such as the Lasso, Quick Selection, and Magic Wand tools, usually do a pretty fair job of capturing the bulk of your selection, making a really accurate selection often requires another sort of tool — concentration. Give your selections a little extra attention, and you'll be ...