I usually use the lasso. But instead of feathering, which doesn't give me an accurate sharp cut, I wait until the thing is completely finished then zoom in large and use the blur tool to just soften the edges.

"White is a bad background color, because it's very difficult to seperate (sp?) the highlights of the figure from the background. For this reason, black is also a bad choice due to the shadows."

Black is bad, yes, but white works IF you use magic wand tool to select rather than select by color. I also use a neon green for bg color.

The lasso tool works best for me, but most people dislike the amount of work involved. Many people use masks, but I dislike masks myself.

Talent is God's gift to you. Using it is your gift to God.