Make a more accurate selection in photoshop

[bleeblu]

I'm not sure whether it's my not so great camera or it's my photoshop technique that's at fault here. Below is an image I'm just playing around with and I am not liking how the outer parts of the branches were not selected. I am using a single channel and adjusting it with levels to separate the trees from the sky. I adjust the levels about three or four times.

Is there a more effective way of doing this?

 

[KmH]

What version/release level of Photoshop are you using?

What tool/function/feature are you doing the selection with?

 

[Bossy]

I usually use color range and/or refine mask edge. You can brush out the background stuff in CS5

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[Big Mike]

CS5 has a greatly improved 'Refine Edge' tool. Trying to mask/cut out trees like this, is still going to be a very hard task though.

 

[bleeblu]

What version/release level of Photoshop are you using?

What tool/function/feature are you doing the selection with?

I'm using CS5. I'm not sure how to answer your second question. I go to channels and select the color that has the most contrast between the trees and sky. I duplicate it and go to levels and try my best to make the trees pitch black and sky white. I change the levels a few more time for more accuracy. Then I click load selection and choose my duplicate layer and load it. It'll make the selection and then I add a white mask to the sky and fills it in.

I've never heard of refine edge. I'll give that a try sometime.

 

[Big Mike]

Yes, after you have your basic selection, click refine edge and it opens up a whole new dialog, it's pretty powerful.

Also, you might check out Topaz Remask. It's a great plug-in for masking, although the 'refine edge' in CS5 seems to be very similar.

 

[KmH]

What version/release level of Photoshop are you using?

What tool/function/feature are you doing the selection with?

I'm using CS5. I'm not sure how to answer your second question. I go to channels and select the color that has the most contrast between the trees and sky. I duplicate it and go to levels and try my best to make the trees pitch black and sky white. I change the levels a few more time for more accuracy. Then I click load selection and choose my duplicate layer and load it. It'll make the selection and then I add a white mask to the sky and fills it in.

I've never heard of refine edge. I'll give that a try sometime.

Refine edge is an option in a selection tool's Tool Options panel. http://tv.adobe.com/search/?q=refine+edge

CS5 has a handfull of different selection tools and masking techniques that can be used.

Investigate the CS5 feature called "Color Range". http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-evangelists-russell-brown/the-secret-life-of-color-range/