I want to take an image then select a color for deletion. Basically I have an image on a black background and I want to be able to delete all the black hues on the image and leave it transparent so all that is left is the image that was on the black background. Is there a way to do this 'cuz I've searched in vain for a way to do so. Thanks!

I'm not sure what you eventually want to do with it but did you try to select out the image, using the magic wand or polygon lasso( point to point) then in Layer, select new, layer via cut? Then you could just delete the backround layer and do what you want with the image.

Yeah but when you use the wands even when you follow a shape as close as possible you still get the "cutout" syndrome. You still do not get feathered soft edges like the image on the background has. I want to remove hues completely leaving a transparency in it's place. This way there would be nothing but the image I want left on the page with no residual hues present. Corel Knockout can do this but I don't have it.

Hou could try Select/Color Range, and play around with the fuzziness, then invert the selection, and make a new layer via cut as Lioness said. But the magic wand is going to probably work at least as well, unless you are trying to select something like the sky between th eleaves of a tree, that isn't continous. Hold down the shift key to add to the selection with th emagic wand, and don't confuse it with the lasso, which I think you did.

Okay I'll give it a try , maybe I did mistake it for the lasso. Just seems like there would be a way with Photoshop to just delete hues completely. And leave all others in the spectrum untouched.

1.for an accurate extraction use the "extract" utility (image>extract ; or alt + ctrl + x). Experiment. 2.The magic wand has a tolerance that you can adjust, which is quite useful. 3. the magnetic lasso also has a tolerance. try that. after you have the proper region selected, use select>feather to soften the edges before to clear/cutout. These are the methods I use a dozen times a day, daily, and the reslts are flawless. One suggestion, photoshop is a powerful editing tool with unlimited strength, as long as you're willing to learn it; shortcuts save time but don't often yield results as accurate or attractive as doing it the right way, which usually means the hard way. But at least by not using shortcuts you gain more creative control.

Once you have the area selected, then right clicking should opun a pop-up menu. Feather is the third selection(Like VooDooUterus mentioned above). There is also the Erase, Background Erase and Magic Erase you might want to try. Back to the cut and new layer method, you can also right click on the layer in the Layer-channel-path sub window to adjust the blending options.

Hi, have you considered using the alpha channels? If the background is black, it should be relatively easy to inspect them, choose the one offering the best contrast, copy it, and use it to make a selection. Using levels/curves on this copied channel can also help. If there are blemishes/faults inside the bit you want to keep, correct same with one/any of the painting tools. Using an alpha channel to store the masking info gives you the flexibility of going back to do small corrective touch-ups as well as global changes like max/min/blur etc if needed. You've also still got the mask should you need same for other jobs, say drop shadow or stroking. Changing colour mode can sometimes help in tricky situations.

Select color range or the magic wand can come close, but you'd be surprised how much of whatever color you want is also in the other objects in the picture. Me, I zoom in very deep and use the lasso tool. It's painstaking, but it works. Once I get the things deleted I want, I go around the cut edges with the blur tool to blur it lightly. Can't say what other folks do. But that's worked for me since like, Photoshop 4. Once you get a method of working, I guess you rarely change it.

I experimented using all your combined advice and I ended up just using Illusion to do what I needed. I used the non-degradable Targa format and composited the layers I needed to achieve the effect I was looking for. I did learn a bit more of Photoshop by using all your advice though , thanks guys!