Use the Content-Aware Tracing Tool in Photoshop (2021+)
Photoshop’s Content-Aware Tracing Tool can quickly find and trace object edges in high‑contrast photos. You’ll enable the tool, trace and add to a shape, fine‑tune with Auto Trim and the Detail slider, and clean up points. Then you’ll turn paths into selections, masks, or exportable Illustrator paths.
Step-by-step instructions
Enable the Content-Aware Tracing Tool
On macOS: Photoshop → Preferences → Technology Previews. On Windows: Edit → Preferences → Technology Previews.
Check Enable Content-Aware Tracing Tool → OK.
Restart Photoshop to activate the tool.
Open an image and choose the tool
Go to File → Open and choose a high‑contrast photo.
In the toolbar, click‑and‑hold the Pen tool and select Content‑Aware Tracing Tool.
In the Options bar, set Fill to None, choose a Stroke color (e.g., purple), and set Weight to 10 px for visibility.
Auto‑trace edges
Zoom in (Cmd/Ctrl +) to see edges clearly.
Hover over an edge until it highlights, then click to trace around the object.
If tracing stops, set Path Operation to Add (the middle icon in the Options bar), then click additional edge segments to add to the same shape.
Refine detection with Auto Trim and Detail
Turn on Auto Trim in the Options bar to keep the path close to the edge.
Increase the Detail slider to reveal more detectable paths in low‑contrast areas.
Make shorter clicks near the last good segment if the tool doubles back or guesses incorrectly.
Tweak with the Direct Selection Tool
Press A to switch to the Direct Selection Tool.
Click anchor points and adjust handles to clean up corners and curves.
If you created multiple shapes, Cmd/Ctrl‑click to select them together and adjust or combine as needed.
Use or export your path(s)
Right‑click the path and choose Make Selection to create a selection for masking or edits.
Click Add Layer Mask in the Layers panel to cut out the background with your traced path.
Optionally, export vectors via File → Export → Paths to Illustrator… (choose Work Path).
