~How to Frame your Photos w/PS~

Adding frames to your photos. I've been asked how I add the frames onto my photos so I thought I might put up a quick tutorial here for anyone who is interested. You need photoshop or at least that is what I will use for this. Open your photo and do all the level adjustments, sharpening, resizing etc. untill you are satisfied that you have a finished product. I usually make my photos between 500 and 600 Pixels inheight, for posting to the internet or sending in email.

 

So to begin have your photo in this size range! You can use the following process for larger photos but you will have to increase the values accordingly.

 

Ok you have a finished photo open in PS (photoshop) approx 600 Pixels in height!

 

Go to Image/Canvas Size set the right hand format box to pixels if it already isn't.

Click on the little square box at the bottom and pick the colour that you wish to start with. Black say :)

Now ADD four pixels to the height and the width box and select OK.

You will notice a black edge 4 pixels wide has appeared around your image. If you go to image/Image Size you will notice it has increased accordingly. Altough the image isn't any larger, just the canvas size has increased which your image is sitting on,

 

Next I repeat the process: Image/Canvas Size but this time I will add say 40 pixels to both my width and height. Again go to the little box at the bottom. Click it and pick a different colour then your previous selection! Say White and hit Enter or OK

Now you will notice an even larger box, in your selected colour has appeared around your previous border! Yep it's 40 pixels wide.

In this manner you can select according to your preference how wide you want to make your border (matt) for your image!

 

OK now the FRAME!

Again go to Image/Canvas Size, this time add 20-30 pixels to your width and height boxes. Open your colour pallete (little Box) and pick any colour, IMPORTANT make sure it is not similar to your previous colour this time. We will discard this colour in a minute! Ok I picked Black again (my previous was white) Hit enter and you will see a black 20 pixel wide border surround your previous white border. At this point you must have a flattened image to proceed. Under Layers if flatten Image is selectable click on it, otherwise you are ok. Now take the Magic Wand tool. And click inside the 20 pixel wide Black border you just created. It will now be highlighted. Go to the layers menu and select, New fill Layer -Solid Colour. The colour fill box now appears, sellect OK and your colour pallete box will instantly appear! Now pick your frame colour. As you select a colour it will be shown on your (new fill layer) border so you can play with this until you are satisfied it compliments your image. When satisfied Click OK and your outside border will change to that colour

OK, If your layers pallete isn't open, go to the PS Window menu and click on Layers. In the Layer Pallete you will see you have created a Colour Fill Layer which should be highlited above your background layer. Good ok now in the highlited (Colour Fill) in the layers pallete you will see two larger Icons. Right Click! on the left larger icon and a menu appears. Select Blending Options and the Layer Styles box will appear :) Start at the top left of your Layers Styles box and check the drop shadow box, then Inner Shadow, outer Glow, Inner Glow, when you check Bevel and Emboss and contour you will see the 3d effect of a frame created. Pooof it's that easy lol...

You can play with the individual settings for all the different styles in the styles pallete and come up with whatever pleases you the most.

Gradient overlay is another one I sometimes use in framing. Goof around with them, thats what i do ;) But the above should give you a good starting point.

One last thing before saving your file. You might want to flatten the image again first. Go to Layers menu and near the bottom click flatten image. Now save it your done ~ Hope this helped~ Rgds Nova

Done