Selection - Quick select
There's two ways to use the Quick Selection Tool. One is to simply click on different areas of the image just like we would with the Magic Wand, and just as I did a moment ago to begin my selection. The more common way, though, is to click and drag over the area you need to select as if you were painting with a brush. As you drag, Photoshop continuously analyzes the area, comparing color, tone and texture, and does its best job to figure out what it is you're trying to select, often with amazing results.
To add to my initial selection, then, I'll simply click and drag along the left edge of the sweater. The area I drag over is added to the selection. As long as I keep the cursor inside the sweater and don't drag over the sky or the trees in the background, only the sweater itself gets added:
Figure 1: Using the quick select tool makes it easier to select element that are similar within an image.
If I do accidentally extend my cursor into the background area, the background gets added to the selection as well, which isn't what I want. If that happens, press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) on your keyboard to undo it and try again.
Figure 2: As you can see, all of the sweater above is now selected
A bit later on, we'll see how to remove unwanted areas of a selection with the Quick Selection Tool, but a good habit to get into here is to not try to select everything in a single drag. If you do, and you make a mistake and need to undo it, you'll undo everything you've done. Using a series of short drags, releasing your mouse button between each one, is a better and safer way to work.
Resizing The Cursor
If you have a large area to select, you may want to increase the size of the cursor so you won't need to drag as much (I know, us Photoshop users can be a lazy bunch sometimes). Likewise, selecting smaller areas often requires a smaller cursor. The Quick Selection Tool's cursor can be resized quickly from the keyboard the same way we'd resize a brush. Press the left bracket key ( [ ) to make the cursor smaller or the right bracket key ( ] ) to make it larger. Typically, a smaller cursor will give you more accurate results.
I'll increase my cursor size a little and continue dragging over the pumpkins and the wheelbarrow to add them to my selection. With the Quick Selection Tool, Photoshop was able to do a pretty outstanding job of selecting my main subject for me
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