Elliptical Marquee Tool

The Elliptical Marquee Tool is the companion to the Rectangular Marquee Tool, specialized for creating oval and circular selections. It is essential for selecting round objects like planets, lenses, buttons, and faces, as well as creating soft vignette effects and radial gradients.

Understanding the Elliptical Marquee Tool is key to mastering non-rectangular selections in Photoshop. Its modifier keys work similarly to the rectangular version, but with a circular geometry that often requires more precision for natural-looking results.

Where to Find It

The Elliptical Marquee Tool is nested under the Rectangular Marquee Tool in the toolbar. Click and hold the Rectangular Marquee icon (or right-click it) to reveal the flyout menu, then select the Elliptical Marquee Tool. You can also cycle between them by pressing Shift+M.

How to Use

• Draw an ellipse: Click and drag across the canvas to create an elliptical selection. The selection is defined by the bounding box you draw.
• Create a perfect circle: Hold Shift while dragging to constrain the ellipse to a perfect circle.
• Draw from center: Hold Alt (Option on Mac) to draw the ellipse outward from its center, which is helpful for centering selections on a specific point.
• Move during creation: While still holding the mouse button, press and hold the Spacebar to reposition the entire selection without changing its shape.
• Fine-tune after creation: Use the arrow keys to nudge a completed selection by 1 pixel at a time for precise placement.

Settings & Options

The Options bar for the Elliptical Marquee Tool includes:

• Feather: Softens selection edges — especially useful for elliptical selections intended for vignettes or soft spotlight effects.
• Anti-alias: Enabled by default; smooths the jagged edges of the selection for a more natural appearance.
• Style: Normal for freeform ellipses, Fixed Ratio for specific proportions (e.g., 16:9), or Fixed Size for exact pixel dimensions.

Pro Tips

• For perfect circular selections around an object, first place a circular guide or use the ruler to measure the center point before drawing from center.
• Apply a generous feather (10–30px) to an elliptical selection, then invert it (Ctrl+Shift+I) to create smooth vignette darkening around the edges of a portrait.
• Use the Elliptical Marquee to create radial gradient fills — make a circular selection, then use the Gradient Tool with a radial gradient for a spotlight effect.

Common Mistakes

• Not enabling Anti-alias: Turning off anti-alias can result in jagged, pixelated selection edges that look amateurish when composited.
• Incorrect selection alignment: Without drawing from the center, you may struggle to center the selection on a round object — always use Alt+Shift (Option+Shift) for centered circles.