Inside Photoshop® CS

Basic Selections 101 with Lab

As I just said, Photoshop has a large number of different tools whose only purpose is to define the part of the image upon which we want to work. The area that is defined is called a selection, and all the tools that you use to make the selections are known as selection tools. If you are new to Photoshop, don't let the large number of selection tools with their strange-sounding names overwhelm you. We are going to learn this one step at a time, beginning with a look at what a selection actually is.

The concept of selection is something we work with all the time—perhaps without knowing it. If you have ever used a stencil, you have used a selection. The stencil enables you to apply paint to one part of the material ...