Earlier this year, Photoshop rolled out a new Select and Mask tool to replace Refine Edge. Both ultimately serve the same purpose, with Select and Mask leaning heavily towards a user-friendly algorithm-based approach to selecting elements from photos.

However, it was the sheer accuracy of Refine Edge that users adored the most because elements could be manually isolated with expert precision.

Select and Mask offers more of a quick and easy cookie cutter take on Refine Edge. It snaps to selected objects by analysing colours and can be a real time saver when done right, which unfortunately, is often not the case. Nate Dodson from TutVid takes a look at the Select and Mask vs. Refine Edge debate in his latest opinion video:

“What is wrong with Select and Mask? Why doesn’t it seem to work like we all wish it would? Are you not using it right, or is it just a broken tool? The answer is that it’s probably a little of both. The tool is deeply flawed in a number of ways and can be incredibly frustrating to work with, but there are some tips and tricks to be able to work with Select and Mask a little more effectively.

In this video I’ll compare four different photos head-to-head cutting out the subject with Select and Mask and then cutting out the subject with Refine Edge. I really want to love Select and Mask, but it breaks my heart over and over again. It’s just not quite where it needs to be for a professional application. It shows great promise, but I really wish Adobe had left the Refine Edge command in place. At least we could pick or choose what works best for us in that case. All things considered, my hope is that this tool will get better and better as new versions of Photoshop arrive.

Written Photoshop tutorial: http://bit. ly/2ghIvLk"

It’s worth noting that while inconvenient, Adobe hasn’t completely erased Refine Edge from Photoshop, a YouTube commenter noted that to reactivate the feature you can Hold Shift, go into the Select menu and choose Select and Mask.

2016-12-1 03:00