how do i crop around specific things in images in photoshop?

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quick question for you and other farkers, how do y'all cut out images so clearly?

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I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll tell you what I do (keep in mind that I'm OCD, so it can be very time consuming to get it "right")...

First and foremost - I make a duplicate layer of the original image layer (OI) and a duplicate layer of the original background (OB)layer. I then put the OI below the new background layer copy and turn it and the OB off so I can't screw them up. Then I fill the new background layer some obnoxious lime green or hot pink so that I will be able to see the edges I'm creating cleanly.

OK - time to go to work...
I try to find the highest res image possible. Sometimes I use the magic wand (with shift held down) to select the background or the object to layer by cut. That only works when the object is clearly defined with hard edges from the background. A lot of times I use the select circle (the one that's a rectangle by default) while holding shift to slowly select the object to it's edges and then the lasso to manually do the parts I miss. Often I "select inverse" to get little things that are hard to grab.... Then I copy my selection and turn off the old layer. Now I can see it against that solid neon green background. I get a hard edged eraser, zoom in and clean it up manually.

A word of warning - My methods can lead to a condition I like to call "going pixel-blind" - but when unblurred vision returns, you'll be happy with the results.

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Sweet! Try adding motion blur(5/10/15 or so) for the one on the right in the back.

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I'll give it a shot in the next day or so. If I open Photoshop tonight, it's gonna be to play with the fire truck.

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