Selections and Compositing Flashcards
7 cards from real ACE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Selections and Compositing flashcards as text
What does increasing the 'Feather' value in the Options bar before drawing a Marquee selection do?
Answer: Creates a soft-edged transition at the selection border
Feathering creates a gradual fade at the selection border, so any edits or deletions blend softly rather than creating a hard cutout.
Which tool option allows the Quick Selection tool to automatically subtract from an existing selection as you drag?
Answer: Holding Alt/Option while dragging
Alt/Option+drag switches the Quick Selection tool to subtraction mode on the fly, removing the painted areas from the current selection.
A luminosity mask targets pixels for selection based on their brightness values. Where in Photoshop can you create a luminosity mask most directly?
Answer: By Ctrl/Cmd+clicking the composite RGB channel in the Channels panel
Ctrl/Cmd+clicking the RGB composite thumbnail in the Channels panel loads a selection weighted toward the brightest pixels, which is the definition of a basic luminosity mask.
In Select and Mask, what does the 'Smart Radius' checkbox do?
Answer: Automatically adjusts edge detection radius based on the complexity of the edge
Smart Radius lets Photoshop vary the detection radius dynamically — wider near complex edges like hair, narrower near clean geometric edges.
What happens when you apply Select > Modify > Contract to a selection?
Answer: The selection shrinks inward by the specified pixel amount
Contract shrinks a selection uniformly inward, useful for pulling a selection away from the edges of a subject before deleting or masking.
Which compositing technique uses the luminosity of one layer to control the visibility of layers beneath it in a group?
Answer: Knockout blending option
The Knockout option punches through layers within a group, using the top layer's content to reveal layers below or the background based on whether Shallow or Deep knockout is set.
When painting a layer mask with a soft brush, which foreground/background color combination will reveal the layer content in the painted area?
Answer: White foreground
On a layer mask, white reveals (makes pixels visible) and black conceals — painting with white exposes the layer's content in that area.