How to Refine Edge Using Adobe Photoshop without Losing Quality

May 25, 2022Ashley Mae

This guide will show you how to refine edges in Photoshop. The digital photo is made up of pixels. That provides an opportunity to edit a part of it, such as removing the background. The problem is that it is difficult to make perfect selections. Fortunately, the professional photo editor equips everything you need to fine-tune the selection, like around the hair. If you are annoying the background noise around the main object, let's handle it right now.

Part 1: How to Refine Edge in Photoshop
Part 2: Best Alternative to Photoshop to Refine Edge
Part 3: FAQs about Refining Edge in Photoshop

Part 1: How to Refine Edge in Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop includes a wide range of selection tools, like Marquee and Magnetic Lasso. When it comes to refining edges in Photoshop, there is the Refine Edge Tool. To get better results, you can follow the steps below.

Step 1:

Open the desired image in your Photoshop, and make a selection with Marquee, Lasso, or Magic Wand tool.

Step 2: Prepare and edit the photo

Right-click on the selection, and choose the Refine Edge option on the context menu. Then the Refine Edge dialog will pop up, and there is a range of options.

Step 3:

Click and expand the downward icon next to the View option, and decide the view of the selection. Marching Ants, for example, shows the standard selection with the image still visible. The Overlay will add a mask to the background. You can try each of them until you get the desired one.

Step 4:

Tick the checkbox next to Smart Radius, which can dramatically affect the appearance of the edge. Then adjust the Radius slider until the edge becomes soft enough.

Step 5:

Move to the Adjust Edge section and there are four options:
The Smooth option will smooth out the jagged edges.
The Feather option makes the edges of the selection natural.
The higher the Contrast option, the harsher the edge.
The Shift Edge slider controls the size of the selection. By default, it is zero, and a negative value makes the selection smaller.

Step 6:

Locate the Output section. The Decontaminate Colors option allows you to remove the color fringes that are created by the contrast between the object and color background. Then pull down the Output To option and select how to use the refined edge in Photoshop.

Step 7:

At last, click the OK button on the dialog to confirm the changes and output the selection.

Part 2: Best Alternative to Photoshop to Refine Edge

may wonder if there is an easier way to get the same effect. The answer is Aiseesoft Free Background Remover Online. First of all, as an online app, it does not ask you to install any software when refining image edges. More importantly, the app is completely free of charge. Unlike other web photo editors, this tool won't add watermarks to your images. Here are the steps to remove background and refine edges.

Step 1:

Access https://www.aiseesoft.com/online-bg-remover/ in your browser to open the home page. Click the Upload Portrait button to upload the image that you want to edit. It supports popular image formats, like JPG, JPEG, PNG, and GIF. If the image is very large or your internet connection is poor, it might take a while.

Step 2:

After image uploading, you will be presented with the main page. By default, the app will remove the background using an AI engine. If you want to refine the edge in the Photoshop alternative manually, select Erase, adjust the Brush Size, and draw on the original image. The result will be displayed in the Preview panel in real-time.

Step 3:

When you get the desired result, click the Download button and follow the instructions to save it to your hard drive.

Part 3: FAQs about Refining Edge in Photoshop

Where is Refine Edge in Photoshop 2021?

Unlike most of the tools in Photoshop, the Refine Edge Tool is not located on the left side of the window. To access it, you first need to make a selection, right-click on the selection, and choose Refine Edge on the list.

Why cannot find Refine Edge in Photoshop CC?

Firstly, the Refine Edge Tool cannot be found on the left toolbar in Photoshop CC. It is only available after you make a selection. Moreover, make sure that the selection is activated; otherwise, the tool won't work.

Can I fix edges in Photoshop?

There are several tools to fix and smooth edges in Photoshop including the Refine Edge Tool. Moreover, you can soften edges with channels too.

Conclusion

This guide demonstrates how to refine edges in Photoshop for beginners. Although Photoshop is a professional photo editor, it equips too many features and tools. Following our guide, you should learn the Refine Edge tool. Moreover, we also posted an alternative way, Aiseesoft Free Background Remover Online, to get the same effect without technical skills. More questions? Please leave your message below.

What do you think of this post?

1
2
3
4
5

Excellent

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (based on 181 votes)Follow Us on

How to Refine Edge Using Adobe Photoshop without Losing Quality

Part 1: How to Refine Edge in Photoshop

Part 2: Best Alternative to Photoshop to Refine Edge

Part 3: FAQs about Refining Edge in Photoshop

Support

Get Our Newsletter