Can I constrain what is selected with the magic wand tool?

[DigitalChickster]

I'm not sure how to explain this, but basically, I'm wanting to select people in an image to add a layers mask to "remove" the background. I do a rough selection, then zoom in to refine it. Sometimes I have large patches of color that would be easy to select with the magic wand tool... but it seems to select (or deseldct all sorts of other parts of the image when I do this. I have adjusted the tolerance to no avail. Is there a way to "tell it" (set a preference?) to only select that color in that area? Is there a way to get better control of what is selected with the magic wand tool? I'm guessing not, but thought I'd ask. Thanks.

I'm on an iMac running Photoshop CC.

Thanks!

julie

[JJMack]

Contiguous and tolerance constrains the magic wand somewhat. Look at the tool option bar.

[Barb Binder]

but it seems to select (or deseldct all sorts of other parts of the image when I do this

In additional to setting options like Tolerance and Contiguous in the Options bar as per JJMack^^, are you aware you can hold the Shift key to add to a selection and the Alt/Opt to subtract?

This may also help: The Magic Wand Tool - Photoshop Selections

[DigitalChickster]

Yes, I am aware of that... I use those all the time! I just can't seem to control the magic wand, so I tend to avoid it when I'm doing really intricate selections. I just thought if I COULD control it better, it might be useful. I will try the Contiguous setting. That's one I didn't know about. Thanks, everyone!

[Barb Binder · Accepted solution]

Oh, that's good. The Magic Wand is a very basic selection tool: there are lots of better options out there. When you have time you might want to explore Color Range, Quick Mask and Select and Mask, to name a few. It's also very normal to combine several techniques and tools to get the desired result. Happy selecting!