Deselect part of a selection

[Nerdio]

Sorry, but this seems such a simple question.

If I have a selection in Photoshop which selects two distinct areas how can I modify the selection to remove the one area I don't want selected? For example, I use Select Subject and it selects a flower and a stray separate leaf. The selection is quite correct, they are both in focus so arguably the subject. I want though to remove the leaf from the selection. How do I do this without deselecting the flower as well?

Sorry if this is such a dumb question.

TIA

[Kenneth Kawamoto]

One way is to go to Select and Mask... where you can paint off the unwanted selected area

[jane-e · Accepted solution]

@Nerdio 

A second way is to hold down the Alt key (Windows) and use any Selection tool to subtract from a selection (Option key for macOS). The Shift key plus any Selection tool will add to a selection.

A third way is to enter Quick Mask "Q" and paint, then exit Quick Mask.

A fourth way is to save the selection and paint in the alpha channel to edit the saved selection.

Jane

[Sameer K]

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. That is a great question. Let me see if I can clarify that for you.

There are more than a few ways or approaches you can take to achieve the results you are expecting.

There are a variety of Selection tools in Photoshop, and apart from just using tools like 

• Rectangular Marquee Tool.
• Elliptical Marquee Tool.
• Lasso Tool.
• Polygonal Selection Tool.
• Magnetic Lasso Tool.
• Magic Wand Tool.
• Quick Selection Tool.

And there is a variety of techniques too like using Channels, Paths, the Pen tool & a lot more.

Most selection tools have options in the tools bar menu to add to selection, subtract from selection & intersect with selection.

You are using Select Subject, which evaluates the elements of the image and gives you are a selection. You can use any of the tools mentioned above or just the Lasso tool &  press ALT (Win) or Opt (macOS) to change the mode to subtract from the selection.

Check these series of tutorials to learn and create precise selections: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/how-to/selection-tools-basics.html

We hope this helps,

Thanks!
Sameer K

[Kuji Fox]

I'm not 100% sure but when I have unwanted areas selected I can select and mask off the areas I didn't or did want included. There is a quick mask option which is alt q for windows where you can remove unwanted area's to be selected.