Edge Sharpness in Photos

[tbear]

I'm doing a large group of photos for a jewelry store using a digital camera. After I insert the picture in PS I want to extract the piece of jewelry using the magic wand and some other techniques from Russell Brown of Adobe PS. How can I get the edges of the piece so that it has softer edges and is not jagged on a black background. After I extract it you can see the ragged edges against the black background.
Thanks to all in advance.

 

[blueark]

I would suggest staying away from the magic wand for this. Look for the Extract filter in Photoshop (it may be under Filter or Image menu, depending on what version you have). There is also a background eraser tool, if your images are relatively simple.

 

[tbear]

Blueark,
I have found a tutorial from Russell Brown of Adobe at

http://www.russellbrown.com

that uses the Extract tool. It is called Advanced Extract and is a Quick Time deal. But can you not set the edge sharpness etc. before you extract or use the magic wand. Seems to me I've seen it somewhere so you don't get the ragged edge or does the Extract tool take care of that. I am using PS 7.0.1.
Thanks for your anwser.
Terry

 

[blueark]

The Extract tool doesn't leave ragged edges, unless your image is like that to begin with. You basically draw a rough outline around the edge, fill the bits you want to keep, and preview to see if it's what you want. If the background is similar to some of the shadows used, there may be some areas of confusion that may need manual touching up. It's best to duplicate a layer before using it. Also, you may need to use the history brush if things don't go to plan.

Alternatively, if time isn't an issue, you could draw a path around the object. But don't use the magic wand: it has it's uses, but this probably isn't one of them.