How to select all white in photoshop Selecting in Photoshop using the Color Range command. A brief algorithm on how to use the Color Range

"Color Range" is very easy to use if you know how it works (which of course you will know after reading the article!):

Choice of options

At the very top of the dialog box there is an option "Select" (Select), with which we can choose where to take color samples from. There are two options - take samples from the image or use a ready-made set of colors pre-installed in Photoshop.
By default, the Sampled Colors option is set, as shown in the picture above.

The "By samples" parameter determines that we will independently select samples in the image. In order to select areas with similar colors, just click on the desired area in the image, and Photoshop will select all similar pixels within the specified range (hence the name of the tool).

If you click on the "By samples" option, a list of different options will open:

For example, we can select all pixels of a particular color (red, yellow, blue, etc.) by simply selecting that color from the list. Or, we can quickly select the brightest pixels in the image by selecting the "Highlights" line, or the darkest pixels by clicking on the "Shadows" line. These additional features may come in handy in certain situations, but the first choice is usually used.

Working with the eyedropper tools

In order to select areas of similar colors when using the "Magic Wand" in the image, simply click on the desired place with the cursor. When using the "Color Range", you should also click on the desired area with the cursor, which will take the form of an eyedropper. In fact, this tool provides three types of eyedropper tools for use - the main one to make the initial selection, the second one - the plus eyedropper - an add to selection tool, and the third one, the minus eyedropper, to subtract from the selection. The pipettes are on the right side of the dialog box:

To switch between these tools, you can click on the icons, but it's better to use another method. The main eyedropper is selected by default, and we can temporarily switch to other tools directly from the keyboard. To switch from the main eyedropper to the add eyedropper, simply press and hold the Shift key. To access the subtractive pipette, press and hold Alt.

Selecting a preview window

At the bottom of the dialog box there is a window with a preview of the areas of the image selected after clicking the eyedropper. The preview window displays our selection as black and white image. If you are familiar with the principle of displaying a layer mask, then the preview window works in exactly the same way. Fully selected areas are shown as white, while unselected areas are displayed in black. In my case on this moment nothing is selected, so my preview window is currently filled with black.

As we'll see later, the Color Range tool can't select all but only a subset of these pixels in an image, which is why it gives us a better, more natural result than the Magic Wand.
In addition, there are areas in the preview window filled with different shades of gray, these are transition areas, or, blurs, we will consider them below.

Feather selection border

After we click on a certain color in an image with the eyedropper, Photoshop selects all the pixels in that image that have the same color, but along with them, it additionally selects pixels that are slightly lighter or darker than the sample. But exactly how much lighter or darker should the sample be for the pixels included in the selection? We need a way to tell Photoshop an acceptable selection range, and pixels that fall outside this range because they are too light or dark than the sample, they will not be included in the selection.

Both "Magic Wand" and "Color Range" give us a way to specify the valid value of this range.
In the Magic Wand, we use the Tolerance option found in the Options Bar. The higher the tolerance value, the wider the range of pixels included in the selection becomes.
For example, if we leave the Tolerance at its default value of 32 and click on a color in an image, Photoshop will select all pixels that have that color, as well as all pixels that are brighter or darker within 32x. levels. Increasing the tolerance value to 100 means that we select every pixel that is within 100 brightness levels lighter or darker than the color we clicked on with the mouse cursor.
And if the tolerance is set to 0, then this means that only those pixels that have exactly the same color as the sample will be included in the selection.

The Color Range dialog box has a similar option to set an acceptable range, only here it's called Scatter instead of Tolerance, and has a big advantage over the Tolerance in the Magic Wand tool. The higher the Spread value is set, the more brightness levels are included within the tolerance. By default, "Scatter" has a value of 40, which means that all pixels in the image that have exactly the same color as the area (sample) that we clicked with the eyedropper will be selected, as well as all pixels that have a brightness within 40 units lighter or darker than the sample. Any pixels that are 41 or more levels lighter or darker in brightness will not be included in the selection.

And now about the advantages of the "Color Range" over the "Magic Wand". If we set any "Tolerance" value in the "Wand", applied the tool, and then made sure that we did not get the selection we needed, then all we can To do this is to cancel the selection, enter a different "Tolerance" value, and then re-apply the tool, and so many times until the desired result is obtained.. That is, when working with the "Wand", only trial and error is applicable.
In "Range", unlike "Tolerance", the parameter "Scatter" can be changed after after we clicked on the image! To change the "Scatter" we just need to drag the appropriate slider to the right or left. The preview window will display a preliminary selection area, so there is no need to use the famous poke method:

We have reviewed the main points of the working window of the tool. The practical application is described in the next material of this cycle.

I invite you to immerse yourself in amazing reality again software Photoshop.
Today in our lesson we will study another fascinating topic that will simply turn our photography into something extraordinary and interesting.

We will talk with you about how to make a selection of one color in this program.

Sometimes in the editing process it becomes necessary to emphasize a particular object in the image. Let's try and do just that.

In order for our workflow to be a success, the first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with the theoretical part.

To highlight one color, you need to use tools such as "Color Range".

In this lesson, we will use Photoshop CS6 for editing. We take the Russified version, which has many differences from previous software series.

There is another toolkit that bears a strong resemblance to Color Range, its name is "Magic wand".

We remember that this option was used in the first series of Photoshop, so there is no secret that at this point in time, developers have released fresher and more powerful tools to the software market. big amount functions. Thus, for these reasons, we will not use the magic wand in this lesson.

How to highlight one color

In order to activate "Color Range", first of all, open the subsection "Isolation"(see screenshot above), which is located in the top toolbar of Photoshop.

Once you see the menu, we must select the line with the above toolkit. It happens that setting characteristics can become too complicated and too confusing, but if you look closely, this process is not difficult.

In the menu we find "Choose", where it is possible to set the color scheme, which is divided into two types: a standard range of ready-made equipment or a similar set of colors that are obtained from the object of our editing itself.

The characteristic is made as standard "According to samples", which means that now you yourself will be able to make one or another choice of colors from the corrected image.

To select a pair of areas with the same set of colors, you just need to click on the desired part of the photo. After such manipulations, the Photoshop program itself will select similar dots / pixels in the part of our photo you specified.

It is important to know that in the lower area of ​​the window with the characteristics of the range of colors you can see in the preview mode of our photo, which at first glance seems completely black.

Note that the surfaces that we selected in full will turn white, and those that we did not touch will remain black.

The application of the range of colors is due to the action of the eyedropper, three types of which are located in the same window with characteristics, but on its right side.

Recall that after clicking with a pipette on the selected color in the image, the program independently selects pixels in the photo, which has a similar color range, as well as those shades that are either slightly darker or have a lighter color.

To set the intensity level range, use the "Scatter" option in editing. You move the slider in the desired direction in the usual way.

The higher given value, the more shades of the selected color will stand out in the image.
After pressing the button OK, a selection will appear on the picture covering the selected shades.

With the knowledge that I shared with you, you will quickly master the Color Range toolkit.

Well, I propose to once again plunge into the fascinating world of Photoshop. In the previous tutorials, we fixed some flaws, small and not so much, that can ruin a really good shot. For example, you have already learned how to get rid of the shadow in the photo, remove unnecessary objects and much more.

This time, a rather interesting topic will also be considered, which allows you to make a photo interesting and unusual. It's about how to select one color in Photoshop. Remember, it often happens that in the picture you really want to highlight some object, interior detail, etc., so that it immediately catches your eye. You will now learn how to do this.

Key Aspects

In order for the practice to go smoothly, a little theory will not hurt. To select a single color, a tool such as the "Color Range" is suitable. In this lesson, as in most of the previous ones, I use Photoshop CS6, and Russian-language, but it will be radically different only with the very first versions.

Another tool similar to Color Range is called the Magic Wand. However, given that it was used in the first version of Photoshop, there is nothing surprising in the fact that tools have appeared more modern and more accurate. That is why I will not use the magic wand in this case.

How to highlight one color

Note that at the bottom of the color range options window there is a preview of the image, which initially looks completely black. However, fully selected areas will end up as white, while unselected areas will end up as black.


The use of the color range is carried out by means of an eyedropper, three variations of which are located in the same window with parameters, with right side. Let me remind you that after clicking on a certain color in a photo with an eyedropper, Photoshop selects all the pixels in this image that have the same color, as well as those whose color is slightly darker or lighter. To set the range of color intensity, use the Scatter option by simply dragging the slider in one direction or another. And if you want to radically change the color of an object, then here's how to do it.

I think, having the base that I described in the article, you can quickly learn how to work with the Color Range tool, which allows you to select one color in graphics editor Photoshop.

Beautiful and unusual highlight element by color effect on photos. simple, in just three steps, learn and try!

We open photograph, in which we will highlight color(Ctrl+O).

Next, open selection menu >> color range(Select >> color range). In the window that appears, click on the color that we want to select. Then move the indicator left or right until only the required area is selected. If on your photos many similar shades, try to keep the number of unnecessary elements to a minimum.
We press OK.

Copy the layer (Create a new layer) and create a vector mask (Add vector mask). This mask is needed in order to separate our dedicated part from the rest photos.

Now make the bottom layer black and white with gradient(in one of lessons this method was used, which not only does, but also). Choose Image > Adjustments > Gradient Map.

If you notice that in some places, there are colors that should not be (in my case, the color remained on the lips, arms and legs, as there was closely related color), choose eraser tool(Eraser Tool or button E) and erase what is not needed in the mask layer.

Ready! Here is the end result:

In Photoshop, we have two very handy and powerful commands that allow you to quickly select areas of the same color or close colors in a drawing. These are the Magic Wand and the Color Range command on the Select menu.

The magic wand acts, in general, in the same way as a bucket of paint or magic eraser, only it does not fill areas of a certain color with a different color or transparency, but selects them. That is why the settings of the magic wand (see Fig. 1.40) are so similar to the settings of a bucket (Fig. 1.16) or a magic eraser.

Rice. 1.40. Magic wand settings

The tool works in a quite predictable way: you click it at some point, the magic wand analyzes the color of this point and fills all adjacent areas of this color. If there is no check mark in the Contiguous box (adjacent), suitable areas are filled throughout the image.
Our main parameter for setting up this tool is, of course, Tolerance. It is by choosing the amount of deviation from the main color that you can influence the area and appearance of the resulting selection.
Figure 1.40 also shows that the buttons for adding to selection or excluding from selection are also present here. It’s not visible from the picture, but take my word for it: the same can be done using the Shift (add to selection), Alt (exclude) and Alt-Shift (intersect) keys: click on the picture, look at what is highlighted - it won't be enough! They also clicked with a "shift" - better, but also not enough. Clicked again - bust. Then, aiming better, we click with the “alto” ...

If you need to select thin and precise lines (which do not happen in photographs, but are full in drawings), it is better to disable the Anti-aliased (smoothing) option. Otherwise, instead of a line with a thickness of one pixel, the program will select a line with transitions with a thickness of three pixels. It's great, of course, but not that.
The Select > Color Range (Alt-S > C) command provides an alternative. selection by color, in some ways even more convenient than a magic wand. On fig. 1.41 shows its dialog box. In the center you see a reduced copy of the entire picture (and if something was selected in the picture earlier, then only the selected part).

Rice. 1.41. Color Range command

To select the color that the command will highlight, you must click on the point of interest to you, either on this reduced copy or on the drawing itself1. The cursor here has the shape of an eyedropper.
If you have chosen incorrectly, you can click the pipette until you get exactly where you aimed.
But that is not all! In one operation, you can select several colors, which means you can select an area of ​​\u200b\u200ba rather complex color (I’m not talking about the shape). If you click on the picture or its copy with the Shift key, then the new color is added to the list of selected ones, and with the Alt key it is removed from the list (you can also use the eyedropper buttons - with plus and minus). This feature, enhanced by the immediate display of the selected area on the screen, makes the Color Range command especially handy.
It is only necessary to include this immediate display. It is activated by clicking on the Selection circle in the bottom switch. And then instead of the original photo, the areas that the team is going to select (in white) will be shown, and everything not selected will remain black (see Fig. 1.42).
It is even more convenient to use the Ctrl key, which temporarily switches us from one display mode to another.

Rice. 1.42. Add a new color to the selection with an eyedropper

The Selections Preview list will allow us to see only the areas designated for selection on the drawing itself in the main program window. Here we can ask the program to paint over them with black, white, gray, etc.
When I selected the sea around the helicopter, some of the color areas were too small to hit with an eyedropper on a small copy. Whereas on the original I got into them without difficulty.
The Fuzziness parameter is similar to the Tolerance parameter of a magic wand - it sets color tolerances. But plus, partial transparency of colors is added to this, far from the one you hit with the pipette. By choosing this parameter, I quickly got rid of small unselected areas of the sea.

When you click on the picture itself, you also change the first color. And by clicking on the thumbnail in the dialog box, you keep the first color unchanged.

Pay attention also to the Invert setting. A checkmark here will reverse the selection procedure. Everything will be selected except for areas of the selected color. So, in my picture, even if I want to highlight not the sea, but the helicopter, it will be easiest for me to select the sea, because it is more or less blue, and the helicopter is spotty, motley, with shadows, highlights, with color transitions. I'll select the sea, mark the line Invert, and when I press OK, the helicopter will still be selected (see Fig. 1.43).

Rice. 1.43. Helicopter selection by inverting the sea selection

Small selection defects - fragments of the sea that do not fall within the specified range of colors or, on the contrary, randomly selected details of the helicopter - can be easily removed with any manual selection tool. For example, stretching a rectangular frame with the Alt or Shift key. Or circling with a simple lasso with the same modifier keys.