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How to Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool for Angular Selections

4 min read

Why the Polygonal Lasso Tool Belongs in Your Editing Toolkit

Some objects in your photos have clean, straight edges — a favourite picture frame on the wall, a handwritten birthday sign, or the front of your childhood home. Selecting these with the regular Lasso Tool feels awkward because you're dragging a wobbly line when you really need crisp, straight segments.

That's exactly what the Polygonal Lasso Tool in Photoshop Elements is built for. It lets you click point-to-point, creating perfectly straight lines between each click. The result is a precise selection around angular subjects — no shaky hands required.

Whether you want to brighten just the windows of a building, swap out the sky behind a rooftop, or isolate a rectangular sign from a busy background, this tool makes the job simple and satisfying.

Finding the Polygonal Lasso Tool in PSE

Open your photo in Advanced mode so you have full access to the toolbox. Look for the Lasso Tool icon on the left-hand toolbar — it looks like a small lasso loop.

  1. 1Click and hold on the Lasso Tool icon.
  2. 2A fly-out menu appears with three options: Lasso Tool, Polygonal Lasso Tool, and Magnetic Lasso Tool.
  3. 3Select Polygonal Lasso Tool.

Once selected, your cursor changes to a small lasso with a tiny polygon shape, signalling you're ready to click your way around straight edges.

Step-by-Step: Selecting an Angular Object

Let's walk through a real-world example — say you photographed a handmade birthday banner at your grandson's party and want to isolate it from a cluttered background.

  1. 1Open the photo in Photoshop Elements and switch to Advanced mode.
  2. 2Choose the Polygonal Lasso Tool from the toolbox fly-out.
  3. 3Click once at one corner of the banner to set your starting point.
  4. 4Move your cursor to the next corner and click again — a perfectly straight line connects the two points.
  5. 5Continue clicking at each corner, working your way around the entire banner.
  6. 6When you return to your starting point, a small circle appears next to your cursor — click to close the selection.
  7. 7Marching ants now surround your banner, ready for whatever edit comes next.

Tips for Cleaner Selections

  • Zoom in first. Press Ctrl + Plus (Windows) or Cmd + Plus (Mac) to get closer and place your clicks with precision.
  • Add more points on curves. If your subject has a slightly rounded corner, add several clicks close together to approximate the curve.
  • Undo a point. Made a click in the wrong spot? Press the Backspace key (Windows) or Delete key (Mac) to remove the last anchor point without starting over.
  • Cancel the selection entirely. Press Escape to abandon your current selection if you need a fresh start.

Practical Family Photo Ideas

Once you're comfortable with the Polygonal Lasso Tool, you'll spot uses for it everywhere:

  • Brighten a building facade from a vacation shot while leaving the sky unchanged.
  • Select and copy a rectangular photo hanging on the wall in an old family snapshot, then enlarge it for a closer look.
  • Isolate a welcome sign at a wedding venue so you can adjust its colour or remove distracting tape marks.
  • Cut out a book cover from a shelf photo to create a reading-list collage.

Because PSE lets you combine tools, you can refine your selection further with Select → Feather to soften the edges, or switch to Select → Modify → Smooth if the corners feel too sharp after pasting.

Combining with Other Selection Tools

Not every subject is purely angular. Maybe you're selecting a gazebo that has straight railings but a rounded roof. Here's how to combine efforts:

  1. 1Start with the Polygonal Lasso Tool and select the straight-edged sections.
  2. 2Hold Shift and switch to the regular Lasso Tool to add freehand curves to the existing selection.
  3. 3Alternatively, use Select → Modify → Smooth to round off any jagged corners once the selection is complete.

Photoshop Elements gives you flexibility — no single tool has to do everything alone.

Saving Your Selection for Later

If you spent time creating a careful selection, don't let it disappear when you close the file:

  1. 1With your selection active, go to Select → Save Selection.
  2. 2Give it a descriptive name like Birthday Banner.
  3. 3Click OK.

Next time you open the same image, choose Select → Load Selection, pick your saved name, and the marching ants reappear instantly.

Continue Learning

Ready to explore more selection techniques in Photoshop Elements? These guides will expand your skills: