TWO-STEP PROCESS For Better Cut-Outs! – Select and Mask Workspace in Photoshop
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- 0:00 Introduction
- 2:18 Select and Mask View Modes
- 2:54 Maka a Selection in Select and Mask
- 3:20 Automatically Select One Subject in a Two Subject Photo
- 4:08 STEP 1: Global Refinements Adjustments
- 6:17 Why You Shouldn't Do It In One Step.
- 6:55 Output Settings
- 7:12 How Edge Detection Works
- 8:59 STEP 2 - Refine Edge Tool for Hair
- 11:01 Minimum Filter to Contract the Mask
- 12:04 Final Thoughts
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
Select and Mask workspace in Photoshop turns a rough selection into a clean cutout by refining the body edges and the hair edges in two separate passes.
In this tutorial, you will learn the TWO-STEP PROCESS to cut out anything in the Select and Mask Workspace in Photoshop!
You will learn to extract a foreground from a background using the Select and Mask workspace.
This will be a mini crash course on select and mask, but also, as an explanation of my masking workflow.
You will learn what all tools and sliders in the select and mask workspace in Photoshop, what they do, and how to use them properly to make professional masks.
Note: The video was recorded in Photoshop 2020, version 21.2. Every tool in this tutorial still works the same way in the current version of Photoshop.
Note: If you use an older version of Photoshop without the Select and Mask workspace, you can still follow along. The same Smooth, Feather, Contrast, and Shift Edge sliders are available in the classic Refine Edge dialog box.
Key Takeaways
- Select Subject gives you a fast starting selection, but it is not the final mask.
- Making one adjustment for the body and a second one just for the hair produces cleaner edges than doing it all in one pass.
- The Smooth, Feather, Contrast, and Shift Edge sliders change the mask, not the image, so it is safe to push them and check the result.
- Shift Edge contracts or expands the mask and is the main way to remove fringing along a cutout.
- The Refine Edge tool works by manually painting where Photoshop should look for hair, not by painting the hair itself.
- Running the Minimum filter on a layer mask shrinks it slightly, which is another way to pull in stray edge pixels.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Select and Mask View Modes
- Make a Selection in Select and Mask Workspace in Photoshop
- Automatically Select One Subject in a Two Subject Photo
- STEP 1: Global Refinements Adjustments
- Why You Shouldn’t Do It In One Step
- Output Settings
- How Edge Detection Works
- STEP 2 – Refine Edge Tool for Hair
- Minimum Filter to Contract the Mask
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to open the Select and Mask workspace and switch between its view modes.
- How to use Select Subject and the Object Selection tool to start a selection.
- How to refine body edges with the Global Refinements sliders.
- How to refine hair edges separately with the Refine Edge tool.
- How to remove fringing with the Minimum filter.
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2020 (version 21.2 or later) or the current version of Photoshop
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Set View mode to Onion Skin | O | O |
| Set View mode to On White | T | T |
| Zoom tool | Z | Z |
| Undo | Ctrl Z | Command Z |
Select and Mask View Modes
With any of the selection tools, you can go to the Options bar and click on the Select and Mask button.
On the Properties panel, set the View mode to Onion Skin or press O (Windows) or O (macOS).
With Onion Skin, it shows the selected pixels full opacity and the unselected pixels show at your desired transparency.
Make a Selection in Select and Mask Workspace in Photoshop
To start selecting, click the Select Subject button on the Options bar. The Select Subject command uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automatically detect the subject and create a selection around it. For a closer look at this button, see Select Subject in Photoshop.
Automatically Select One Subject in a Two Subject Photo
If you are working with a photo containing two subjects but only want to select one subject, start by enabling the Object Selection tool from the Toolbar.
On the Options bar, set the Mode to Lasso and freehand a loose selection around your preferred subject. Upon releasing the mouse, Photoshop will utilize the same AI to create a smart selection around the subject.
STEP 1: Global Refinements Adjustments
To better view, the selection’s edges, change the View mode to On White or press T (Windows) or T (macOS).
Then, set the Opacity to 100%.
On the lower half of the Properties panel, is where you’ll find the Global Refinements. You can use the Smooth, Feather, Contrast, and Shift Edge sliders to fine-tune the edges’ appearance.
The Smooth slider controls the smoothness and the sharpness of the edges.
The Feather slider controls the blurriness of the edges.
The Contrast slider controls by darkening the dark pixels and brightening the bright pixels. To see the results better, you can change the View mode to Black & White when adjusting this slider.
The Shift Edge slider controls the edges by contracting or expanding it, and it also helps remove the white outlines that are also called “fringing.”
Why You Shouldn’t Do It In One Step
With the View mode switched to On White, select the Refine Edge brush tool from the Toolbar. Click-and-drag around the edges of the hair.
Upon release, you’ll see how the hair strands along the edges of his silhouette are more defined. But the adjustments made on the Global Refinements are also applied onto the hair, controlling the feathering and smoothness in areas where it shouldn’t.
Note: That is why it’s crucial to make a second adjustment that only focuses on the hair.
If your background is busy instead of solid, see Advanced Hair Masking In Photoshop for techniques that handle it.
Output Settings
Undo the recent step and scroll down along the Properties panel to find Output Settings.
Set the Output To option to Layer Mask.
Press OK to exit the window.
That step prompts Photoshop to apply the changes you made on the Global Refinements and apply a Layer Mask.
Click on the Layer Mask thumbnail to go back and work on the subject’s hair.
On the Properties panel, click on Select and Mask.
Once again, select the Refine Edge tool, then click-and-drag along the edges of the subject’s hair to start extracting the hair details with a better appearance this time.
How Edge Detection Works
With the Refine Edge tool selected, you can see its controls in the Properties panel.
Check the box for Show Edges and increase the Radius. You will see how it concentrates on the outline of the subject and shows you where the refinement occurs for smaller details such as hair strands.
If you check the box for Smart Radius, you will notice a varied thickness along the edges, which may not give you the best results. Therefore, uncheck the Smart Radius and reset the Radius to 1px so you can see where the mask’s edge is.
STEP 2 – Refine Edge Tool for Hair
With the Refine Edge tool active, you can start painting over the subject’s hair just by following along the edges. In a simpler term, it’s as if you’re telling Photoshop where it needs to refine the edges.
Warning: A bigger Radius value can damage the quality of your image. It can also include parts of the subject that do not need refinement.
With the hair extracted, you can fine-tune it with the Brush tool. Use it as a regular Brush tool by “painting in” the areas that need to show.
You can also switch between adding and subtracting from the selection by clicking on the icons on the Options bar.
Minimum Filter to Contract the Mask
Click on the Layer Mask thumbnail.
Choose Filter > Other > Minimum to control the fringing that is visible along the edges of the subject. You’ll see its effect if you dramatically increase or decrease the Radius value.
The Preserve has two options: Squareness and Roundness.
Roundness serves best for living creatures as they have rounded edges, and Squareness serves best for inanimate objects since it sets straighter edges.
Once your mask is ready, you can place the subject into a new scene by matching its color and light. See How To Blend Images Together In Photoshop for the technique.
And that’s exactly how you can do it in a two-step process that will simplify your workflow anytime that you have to select and mask workspace in Photoshop!
Frequently Asked Questions
The Select and Mask workspace is a dedicated space for turning a selection into a clean mask. It gives you view modes, edge refinement sliders, and the Refine Edge tool in one panel.
Choose any selection tool, then click the Select and Mask button in the Options bar. You can also start directly inside the workspace without making a selection first.
Select Subject uses Artificial Intelligence to detect the main subject in a photo and build a starting selection around it automatically. The result is a good starting point, not a finished mask.
The Global Refinements sliders that clean up body edges are too strong for fine hair strands. Undoing those adjustments and refining the hair separately with the Refine Edge tool gives sharper results.
Shift Edge contracts or expands the mask. Contracting it is the usual fix for fringing, the thin white or colored outline left around a cutout.
The Minimum filter, found under Filter > Other > Minimum, shrinks a layer mask by a set radius. It is another way to pull in stray edge pixels after the Select and Mask workspace.
No. The Select and Mask workspace has been in Photoshop since the CC 2017 release, and even older versions have the same sliders in the classic Refine Edge dialog box.
Conclusion
The Select and Mask workspace turns a rough selection into a clean mask by handling body edges and hair edges in two separate passes.
Once your subject is cut out, you can place it into a new background and match its color and light so it looks like it belongs there.
Comment on the video if you run into an edge case this two-step method does not fix.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Next, learn how to match a subject into any background in Photoshop.
