Photoshop selecting tools question...

_Whimsical_

So at the moment I'm in the process of trying to prepare some product photos. Basically it's trying to "cut" products out of snap shot photos and place them against a white background. So far it's going well but oh lord is it painstaking as there are lots of curves and uneven textures. I'm using a combination of the main selecting tools in PS, quick selection tool,magnetic lasso,that other one similar to the lasso(?) and then I'm touching up around the edges by painting in selection and erasing it using the selection mask to make it perfect. Does this sound right/normal ?Sometimes I'd be quicker by printing it out,cutting it with a scissors and sticking it on a white card.

Is this how other people go about selecting things in photoshop or am I overlooking some easier quicker option here? Is it generally painstaking?

gloobag

You need to use the Pen tool/Paths to get the most accurate selection. It'll still take a while though. You can also try using one of the RGB channels to create a mask. A quick search of Google/YouTube will provide you with plenty of tutorials on both of these techniques I'd imagine.

KevinGossRoss

It is generally better to shoot it on a white infinity curve so that you don't have to select the product. But if you get a flow going with the pen tool it can go quite quickly.

OldGoat

Try using Select>Color Range and then using Refine Mask to grow/shrink and feather the edge. Depending on the source material it can be a nice quick and clean selection.

ScumLord

Learn to use the pen tool effectively. You can draw a better outline and then turn it into a selection (or a mask) by going through refine edge.

The quick selection tool has gotten pretty good when used with refine edge. Many of the pros seem to be promoting it's use these days.

Over all if it's taking you longer to edit the photos than it did to take the photos it may be worth retaking the photos on a white background and editing those photos instead.