Clipping Path is one of the Photoshop’s Image Masking Tools

Image masking is one Photoshop technique that is heavily used for product catalogs. Photoshop has several image masking tools available for a user’s varying needs. You have Quick Mask, Magnetic Lasso, Magic Wand, and the Pen Tool. Different tools all aiming for the ‘object against a white background’ effect that you’d find in any photo stock or image bank.

Image masking is the process of marking the background around the object that effectively instructs the Photoshop software to print only what’s inside the selection and ignore everything that’s outside. Simply put, image masking is isolating an object, extracting an object or eliminating a background. Call it as you like but each phrase describes one objective and that is taking a photo and isolate an object in it from the rest of the picture.

1. Clipping Path
The last technique we will discuss is clipping path. We will be using the Pen Tool to create a path that outlines your object. The created path is then used to create a selection for a layer mask.

In using the Pen Tool, make sure that “paths” and not “shape layer” is selected. Use the Pen Tool to draw a path around your image. You can adjust the curve of the path by clicking the anchor point and drag it to exactly fit the curve edges of your object.

2. Quick Mask
Quick Mask is fairly easy and a huge-time saver tool. Quick Mask mode lets you use brush, pencil, paint bucket, etc. tools to paint an "inverse selection" using shades of grey and black. (Black identifies parts that won't be selected; white identifies parts that, when selected, will have some level of transparency.) When painting the background with black using a brush, notice how the area turns pink. The pink area is the masked area. You can change the foreground color to white when you want to “paint back” parts of the object.

3. Magnetic Lasso
The Magnetic Lasso detects and snaps to the edge of the object, creating points, as you drag your cursor along the object’s outline. If a point is created at the wrong place, you can simply press backspace. If you want to deliberately create a point, left click precisely where you want the point. When you have made an outline around your object, click the first point you made and automatically a selection is made around your object. On the Magnetic Lasso option, you can control how close you need to stay at the edge of the image as you drag the cursor by altering the “lasso width” option. The “frequency” option lets you control how often points are made. The “edge contrast” lets you fine tune the edge detection.

4. Magic Wand
Magic Wand is a convenient technique especially suited for images with a high contrasting object and background. When you’re dealing with a solid color for a background with high contrast against the object, the first attempt will almost be perfect. You just click outside the object using the Magic Wand and press delete and viola the background is removed. (Tolerance level is set to 50)

Source: http://www.lazymask.com/image-masking-tutorial.html

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