Photoshop 2022 Refine Edge Brush Not Working Well

Question

Since updating Photoshop to the most recent version I have had nothing but issues with the Refine Edge Brush. I have used it numerous times to mask and cut out backdrops in the past, and up until recently it was very helpful. But I have been trying to mask out and change the backdrop color for some headshots I took recently, and the brush has made the mask worse when I try to use it. I have watched multiple videos on using the tool once your subject is selected, and in every tutorial I have noticed the brush functions so much differently for me than in the videos. I have also poured through multiple discussions in this community and changed many of my system preferences and there has still been no change. Please help! I am begging!

Trevor.Dennis · Answer

I am reasonably sure that resetting Preferences has fixed that for me. You can never be 100% sure with subjective functions like Refine Edge, but it did appear to go from the Refine Edge brush having no effect that I could see, back to working as I'd expect. There are more options nowadays like Refine Hair and Refine Mode switching between Color Aware and Object Aware. There have also been times when I thought (assumed) that I had the Refinee Edge brush selected, whereas it was the Quick Select tool.

One thing that I am sure of is that Select & Mask works a lot better than it did a few years ago, as do several other Photoshop tools. Things like Select Subject has gone from being amazing to spookily like magic, so if things are not working for you, there's a better than average chance that Photoshop has got its knickers in a twist again. The downside of Sensei is that I am sure I am having to reset Preferences more than I ever had to.

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