How to Make a Transparency or Alpha Channel from any Image or Layer in Adobe Photoshop

The Simple Control-Select RGB Channel Method: @ 1:31 in the Video - https://youtu.be/HwCBsUTZ7Mk?t=93

sGrey Color Profile: https://adobe.ly/2MlFlEF

Greyscale Test Image: https://adobe.ly/31Ug1w4

Portrait Photo Image by Alexander Krivitskiy from Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/photos/portrait-girl-studio-female-woman-4499841/

This is a quick-tip tutorial video showing how to make a transparency selection or alpha channel mask from the luminosity or greyscale of any image or layer in Adobe Photoshop.

First I show a pre-requisite for getting the exact levels selection by having an sGrey profile set to your Greyscale and Spot color settings rather than the default 20% Dot Gain profile.

Then I show the methods for creating the transparency selection mask in order of easiest to more difficult. Some things depend on whether you have multiple layers in the document, and the easiest method if you have a flat layer is to just Control-Select the RGB Channel and then create a new solid color fill layer, which will take the selection and give you a new mask channel when making the layer.

The rest of the video goes over the method using Calculations, and also how you can get "warnings" from photoshop if the image is too dark (below 50% grey), even though there is still a selection, the selection will not be visible as the "marching ants" outline. The selection is always decieving, as it tends to only show where the 50% grey point is and not the fact that all the values of the greyscale are now a transparency selection.

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