One of the most essential Photoshop skills? Making precise selections.
Whether you’re cutting out a product, isolating a subject, or applying effects to just part of an image—mastering selection tools is non-negotiable.
Photoshop 2025 gives you a powerful arsenal to do this, and in this blog, we’ll walk through the four key selection tools you’ll use almost daily: Marquee, Lasso, Magic Wand, and Object Selection.
1. Marquee Tool (M)
The Marquee Tool is your go-to for basic geometric selections.
Types:
- Rectangular Marquee Tool
- Elliptical Marquee Tool
- Single Row / Single Column Marquee (1-pixel-wide selections)
Use It For:
- Cropping areas
- Adding borders
- Filling shapes
- Measuring proportions
How to Use:
-
Select the tool or press
M - Click and drag to draw a shape
- Hold Shift to make a perfect square or circle
- Use Alt/Option to draw from the center
2. Lasso Tool (L)
The Lasso Tool allows freehand selection—perfect for rough shapes or when your hand is more accurate than a pixel grid.
Types:
- Lasso Tool – Draw freely like a pen
- Polygonal Lasso Tool – Click to connect straight-line points
- Magnetic Lasso Tool – Follows object edges intelligently
How to Use:
-
Select Lasso Tool (press
L) and click-drag around an object. - For polygonal selections, click point-to-point.
- For Magnetic Lasso:
- Click once on the edge
- Move cursor along the edge
- Click to lock anchor points, then double-click or press Enter to finish
Use Magnetic Lasso on high-contrast edges for best results!
3. Magic Wand Tool (W)
The Magic Wand Tool is ideal for selecting areas of similar color—like a white background or blue sky.
How to Use:
-
Select the Magic Wand Tool (press
W) - Click the area you want to select
- Adjust Tolerance (in the top bar):
- Low tolerance = selects colors very similar
- High tolerance = selects a wider range of similar shades
- Contiguous: Checked = selects touching pixels only
- Sample All Layers: Selects based on visible content from all layers
Pro Tip:
Use Magic Wand + Select and Mask to refine edges for smoother cutouts.
4. Object Selection Tool (W) (also part of the Quick Selection group)
Introduced and improved in recent versions, the Object Selection Tool uses AI to detect and isolate subjects.
How to Use:
-
Select the Object Selection Tool (
W) - Choose Rectangle or Lasso mode in the top bar
- Draw around the object you want to isolate
- Photoshop’s AI will auto-detect and select it
Best Use Cases:
- Isolating people, animals, products, etc.
- Works even in cluttered scenes
- Great starting point for masking or cutouts
New in 2025:
- Faster edge detection
- Multi-object awareness
- "Hover & click" AI previews with Shift+Hover (in some GPU-enabled setups)
Selection Tips for Better Accuracy
| Task | Best Tool Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Select sky or solid color | Magic Wand Tool |
| Trace an irregular object | Lasso or Polygonal Lasso |
| Cut out a product/person | Object Selection Tool |
| Create a centered ellipse | Elliptical Marquee + Alt |
- Add to selection: Hold
Shift - Subtract from selection: Hold
Alt(Windows) orOption(Mac) - Intersect selection: Hold
Shift + Alt(orShift + Option)
You can also refine edges by going to:
Select → Select and Mask
This lets you smooth, feather, or shift edges for precision.
BONUS: Combine Tools for Best Results
Often, a single tool won’t do it all.
For example:
- Start with the Object Selection Tool
- Clean up with Polygonal Lasso
- Fine-tune edges with Select and Mask
This combo approach gives you professional results in minutes.
Summary at a Glance
| Tool | Shortcut | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Marquee Tool | M | Boxes, circles, clean geometric areas |
| Lasso Tool | L | Freehand and precise tracing |
| Magic Wand Tool | W | Selecting solid colors/backgrounds |
| Object Selection | W | AI-based subject detection |
