Outlining Objects

I am having problems outlining objects in Photoshop 5.5 without them looking jaded and choppy. Is there any way to do this without it looking so unprofessional? The reason for outlining an object is to change the background. Thank you!

Stacy,
If you've got the anti-aliasing button checked on your Options Palette and you image is of a decent resolution, and you still think the edge is bad, then I'd try one of these:

Enter a small number in the Feather: box. This won't give you as precise an outline, but will feather, or fade the selection (where you draw your outline) by a few pixels. That should give it a softer look.

If you don't like that, draw your selection as normal, then when you paste what you selected on it's own layer, do all of the following from the Select Menu: Load the shape's selection. Choose Modify: Border and enter a value of a few pixels. Then use the Gaussian Blur Filter to blur the edge just slightly. Optional: you can feather the border a little after selecting it to fade the blur.

To see the latter one in action check out the tutorial, Blending Edges on a Composite Photo. You're Welcome!!