Photoshop - Working With Your Saved Selections

In a previous tutorial we see how easy it is to save selections in Photoshop. We also learned that saving selections really create “channels”, information about your selection that Photoshop saves and uses.

Once you begin working with selections and channels wonderful new possibilities appear. A very favorite is saving with alpha channels which lets you extract object and images then blend them together seamlessly in a single image you create.

Some exercise creating channels and seeing the options available with these saved selections is the best way to discover what this will add to your creative flow. Pick an image that will be easy to work with, one with a nice contrast between foreground and background. Make a selection, let’s just say you choose the foreground, then click on the channels tab, click on the circular icon second from the left, ‘save selection as channel’. Name the channel something meaningful for you and this selection.

We want to save a selection then reuse it, so for the simplicity of this exercise, save your file, perhaps with a new name, then exit. Reopen the file that you saved and click on the channels tab. See the new channel that you created and saved. Now, under the select menu, choose ‘Select->Load Selection’ this opens a pop up menu with your document name and a pull down field labeled ‘channel’. In our case, there is only the single channel we just created but you could create as many as you like. When you do create and save many selections as channels, this pull down will present them all as a previously saved selection to reload.

Choose your saved channel and see that the very same selection boundary you defined before is now reactivated. Having selections saved as channels means you can do things, do things like apply an adjustment to a selection providing special treatment.

This is a great way to add a glow to an object, light, or reflection. This is a great way to blend shapes with your drawing and a great way to provide special treatment to individuals. With a saved selection, you can reload and use for an individual or shape, then move this same selection so you know you are using the exact same selection boundary for both applications. If you provide a tint to a background, a shine to your individual it is easy to mirror or apply the same effect elsewhere.

Saving selections, learning to use channels is one of the most eye opening features in Photoshop that will continue to provide possibility and endless ideas for your creations.