Daniel Scott
@dan
In Photoshop, the Magic Wand tool is a powerful way to make a selection from images. Combined with Generative AI, we can effortlessly select and change specific parts of our image. Let's learn how the Magic Wand works in five easy steps!
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Follow along with this lesson! Download the photos used in this project. Background image by Jean-Philippe Delberghe and shoe image by Luis Felipe Lins can be found at Unsplash.com.
If this is your first time using the Magic Wand, you can locate it in the dropdown menu of the Quick Select tool.
Click and hold on Quick Selection tool to find the Magic Wand tool.
With the Magic Wand in hand, click on the areas or objects you want to select. For this example, we will choose the background because it is a solid color and is easier to set.
Make a selection using the Magic Wand tool.
As you can see in this image, a slight difference in the shades of blue makes up the background. We can choose the Add to Selection icon at the top and continue clicking on the areas we want to add to our selection.
Click Add to Selection to grab more of the image.
We must invert our selection since we want to select the shoe in this image. However, you may wish to adjust the background, and you can skip this step. To select the shoe, click Select and choose the Inverse option.
Choose Inverse option to grab the subject of your image.
Now, we have just the shoe (and shoelaces) selected. You can tell by the marching ants around the object.
Ants Marching by Dave Matthews Band is a great song!
We have several options available to us when masking a selection in Photoshop. One way is to click Select and choose Select & Mask. In this screen, we can make adjustments to improve our mask selection. My Advanced Photoshop course teaches you more about the Select and Mask functions.
The other way to make a mask is by clicking the Add Layer mask icon at the bottom of our Layers panel.
Click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Properties panel.
Now, we have just our object on a transparent background. It's magic!
For this exercise, we will put this shoe on a different background. As you can see in this image, I have my new background image open in a separate Photoshop window.
The subject of the image is now isolated.
I can Click-Hold-Drag the shoe from one window to the tab of my new background window and Drop in place. Adjust your image by resizing, rotating, moving, and more!
Place your object on a new background.
Get creative and change the color after you have your object in place. Simply add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer and move the sliders. My Photoshop Essentials course teaches you how with a few short videos.
Get creative with your new image!
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See you in class! – Dan
Ready for more? Become a BYOL member!
Explore 30+ Essentials and Advanced courses in Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, Webflow, and more. Enjoy personalized support, earn certificates, connect with other creators and tackle exciting community challenges.
START YOUR LEARNING JOURNEYUnlimited access to ALL content
Instant access to all of our courses and exclusive content while you're a member.
Priority advice and support
Ask us anything! Our amazing Teaching Assistants are here to support you
Certificates of achievement!
Celebrate and share the milestones in your learning journey
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