Photoshop Basics: How to Deselect in Photoshop

How to deselect in Photoshop is a basic, but essential, skill. The Select Tool on Photoshop allows the users to choose specific areas of an image. These selected parts of an image may be edited, zoomed, or deleted.

Basic Photoshop is a much-needed skill in photography. Image Source: Pixabay

Understanding Select tools

Keeping a good understanding of the Select tools is necessary to master Photoshop. Also, having a clear understanding of which select tools to use will also give ample knowledge of how to deselect in Photoshop. Here are the basic Select Tools available in Photoshop:

Marquee Tools:
- Rectangular Marquee Tool: This is the most basic selection tool in Photoshop. Simply click on the select icon on the toolbar (a dotted box). Then, click and drag on the canvas.
- Elliptical Marquee Tool: This is similar to the Rectangular Marquee tool and it has the same function. The only difference is that it selects in a circular or elliptical form, instead of a rectangular portion of the image.
Lasso Tools:
- Lasso Tool: This is a free-form or free-hand selection tool provided by Photoshop. What this means is that the user has the option to select specifically which parts of the image will be selected, regardless of size or shape. The steps are the same, select the lasso icon (a tied rope image) on the toolbar. Then, click and drag on the canvass for the selection. This type of selection does not have a specific shape and the points around the selection outline are not necessarily collinear.
- Polygonal Lasso Tool: The difference between a marquee tool and a lasso tool is the fact that users could choose the location of the edges (including how many edges) the selection has. The Polygonal Lasso tool allows a user to select points that are linear to each other. It is similar to a marquee tool but the user can select actual location and number of points.
Magic Wand Tool: This kind of selection allows only specific parts of the image to be altered while keeping the entire unselected image intact. This tool uses the shape or even color of an image against its general background. Sometimes, it allows for the detection and selection of objects within an image (say, a tree against a background, or an animal against a background)

Easy: How to Deselect in Photoshop Using the Mouse

One Pro-tip for all Photoshop users is the fact that deselecting using the mouse cursor does not happen. Other Softwares allow de-selecting objects by clicking outside of the canvas. However, this option does not work in Photoshop. The great thing is there are multiple options for how to deselect in Photoshop.

Moderate: How to Deselect in Photoshop Using the Tool Bar

One easy way on how to deselect in Photoshop includes using the Toolbar. The first thing to do is to ensure that the window which contains the selection is currently active. To know this, there is a selection outline or a dotted line surrounding objects selected. The next thing is to click on Select on the Main Menu. When a drop-down menu appears, click on Deselect. After this, all the active selections in the image are deselected or deactivated.

Advanced: How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Another way on how to deselect in Photoshop would be to use keyboard shortcuts. Here are a few of the simple and basic ones:

To deselect all parts of the image: Simply press CTRL key (Windows) + letter D key. Or, press the COMMAND key (Mac) + letter D key. Through this, all the active selections on the entire image are deselected.
To deselect portions of a selected area: This is simply done by holding on to the ALT key (Windows) or the OPTION key (Mac) while dragging the selection outline.
To deselect all parts of the image outside of an intersected area: This is done by holding down the SHIFT + ALT keys (Windows) or SHIFT + OPTION keys (Mac) while dragging the selection outline.

Technical: Other Deselection Techniques

There are different ways to use the Subtraction tool for deselection. For instance, a user can accidentally include certain pixels or objects in a selection. However, these images are not necessary for the selection. These may be subtracted from the said selection.

Here are steps on how to use Subtract from Selection:

Once an object or area from an image is selected, go to the Options Bar and click Subtract From option from the selection options.
Use the Rectangle Tool or Lasso tool to draw around the part of the selected image which would be subtracted from the selection.
Another way to do this is to first press and hold the ALT key (Windows) or OPTION key (Mac) while dragging which parts of the selected image should be subtracted from the selection.

In case you want to select all parts of the image outside of your selection, the Select Inversion tool would be helpful. Here are ways on how to Invert Selection:

After selecting an area, object, or part of an image, choose Select from the Options Bar and then click on Inverse.
Another way to do this is to press the CTRL key (Windows) and Letter-I key or COMMAND key (Mac) and the Letter-I key.