- Selection tools
- The Rectangular Marquee tool
- The Elliptical Marquee tool
- Single Row or Single Column Marquee tool
- The Lasso tool
- The Polygonal Lasso tool
- The Magnetic Lasso tool
- Feather the edge (make it soft and fuzzy)
- Modify your selection
- The Quick Selection tool
- The Magic Wand tool
- The Pen tool
- The Crop tool
- Transform commands
- Free Transform
- Transform menu options
Feather the edge (make it soft and fuzzy)
A soft-edged or feathered selection is useful for special effects and for subtly blending a foreground image into a background. Feathered edges also enable you to create a montage of different images that blend seamlessly together.
To make a feathered selection, choose your selection tool, then set an amount in the “Feather” field in the Options bar. Experiment with a 5 px feather, and then with a 20 px feather. You’ll notice that the selection has rounded corners, your visual clue that a feather is being used.
Add a feather after you’ve made a selection
If you need to feather a selection after you’ve drawn it, do this:
- From the Select menu, choose Modify > Feather.
- In the little dialog that appears, enter the amount of feathering you want to apply. There’s no preview, so you have to guess how much “Feather Radius” to use.
Adjust a feather after you’ve made a selection
Not only can you add a feather after you’ve made the selection, this dialog lets you adjust the settings and preview them before committing.
- In the Options bar, click the “Refine Edge...” button (circled below), which brings up a dialog.
- In the Refine Edge dialog (below, left), set a Feather amount.
- Choose how you want to preview the results: Single-click the View well in the “View Mode” section of the dialog (below, right).
- Make your adjustments and click OK.