Once you have an image open, double click on the background layer in the layers palette and click okay. This will change the layer from background to layer 0. Make your selection by drawing the shape with a lasso tool, or command/control clicking on the shape if it is on another layer. Once you have a selection in the shape you want, go to the image layer and click on the icon on the bottom of the layers palette that is second from the left. The icon looks like a rectangle with a circle inside it. This will create a layer mask. You will se a small black and white mask in the layers palette. When you click on the mask icon, you can edit it with any drawing tools (brush, eraser, blur etc.) and see the effects on your image. Clicking on the link icon between the image and mask icons in the layer palette will allow you to move the mask independently of the image.
This will give you an image in the shape of your selection with a transparent background which can be imported into InDesign as a .psd file and retain the masking and transparency effects. QuarkXpress will recognize the paths when placed as a layered tiff. For other applications you'll need to create a clipping path.
To make a clipping path, command/control click on the layer mask icon to load the selection. In the path palette click on the middle icon on the bottom or in the flyout menu select "Make Work Path..." Save the path by selecting "Save Path..." from the flyout menu or double clicking on Work Path in the palette. From the fly-out menu choose "Clipping Path..." and select the path you just saved. Save the file as a Photoshop .eps. This will give you a shaped image that can be imported or placed in other applications.
You can create a mask with soft/fuzzy edges but these will be lost when using a clipping path or paths in QuarkXpress. To keep soft edges flatten your image and but it as the bottom layer on your layout program (you'll have a shaped image in a white box) or import your .psd into InDesign.
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