12 Replies to Tips and Ideas for Using Templates, Frames, and Photo Edges:

1. 

   Clarke

   September 2, 2011 at 12:36 pm

   Diana did a wonderful job with this topic…I went through every bit of it! Readers might take notice that Mike Rodriquez did a great video on May 23,2011 which suplements this article entitled “Moving one Image into another image”. As regards the “place” command. I would like to know if there is any way this can be used to place files that are already open those thumbnails appear in the project bin. The big disadvantage I have with the “place” command is that you can only apparently place files from the hard drive, where the thumbnails make it difficult to see and select the file. Nice job Diana Clarke

   • 

     Diana

     September 2, 2011 at 8:57 pm

     Thanks for your comments, Clarke. Sorry to say, the Place command only works by opening the photo through the Place dialog. If your system is running Windows 7, you may select the size of the thumbnail. Here’s a screenshot of the control where you change the size:

     http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1YyhQUOqo9qsRLwB6VfjpjBKbTWm

   • 

     George

     December 29, 2011 at 1:50 pm

     I always start my projects from the Organizer, so I, too, do not get the opportunity to transform my images without hitting Ctrl-T.

     But when I thought about this, I realized that I often need to resize my imported images so that their resolutions match, therefore, the ability to import the images as Smart Objects would not be helpful.

2. 

   HUDSON

   September 7, 2011 at 7:49 pm

   Awesome, useful article. You helped solve some problems that I was having in developing effective framing.

   I was curious as to where did you find the old wooden frame in the mountain picture?

   • 

     Kelly

     September 7, 2011 at 11:42 pm

     Hi Hudson,

     That frame is from a photographer at iStockphoto.com. You can see it here: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-1597940-grungy-wooden-frame.php?st=8048dbe

     All of the rest of the frames are by Diana.

     • 

       HUDSON

       September 8, 2011 at 1:13 pm

       Thanks for the info…again, great article!

3. 

   Diana

   September 8, 2011 at 8:03 pm

   Thanks for your nice comments, Hudson. :-)

4. 

   Jim

   September 23, 2011 at 4:17 pm

   I am confused trying to create a beveled frame and getting results close to quality of Diana’s picture. Part of my confusion; “Create wide and narrow strokes on separate layers.” Using the brush or pencil tool? Should strokes form a rectangle or square? Should the boxes be progressively smaller to all fit together? Should the Bevel Layer Style be applied to each layer individually or after all layers are completed?

   Thank you for your assistance.

   • 

     Diana

     September 24, 2011 at 4:33 pm

     Hi Jim,

     Sorry for the confusion. The Stroke command is on the Edit menu.

     Start with a new blank file and in the “New” dialog box, enter the dimensions you want for your frame, set the resolution to 300 ppi if your’re going to be printing it (or 72 ppi if it’s for the web) , at the bottom, select Transparent for the Background Contents.

     With your first try at this, you may want to stick to three layers of strokes until you see how it comes together and how the width and position of the strokes work out.

     To apply a wide stroke for the base of your beveled frame, press Ctr-A to select all (which will put the marching ants around the whole perimeter. Go to the Edit menu and click Stroke (Outline) Selection. In the “Stroke” dialog, enter a pixel width, pick a color, and for Location, click Inside. For a 300 ppi image, you’ll probably want around 100-150 px stroke to start with, depending on the dimensions of your frame. This will put a wide border around the edge of the canvas. Press Ctrl-D to deselect (to get rid of the marching ants)

     For the subsequent strokes, you’ll need to use the Rectangular Marquee tool. And, to help you line up your stroke an even distance from the edge, it helps to turn on the Grid… from the View menu, click Grid. To change the increments of the Grid go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid.

     Create a new blank layer above the Layer 1, and using the Rect Marq tool, start dragging from the upper left corner one grid square (or so) away from the edges, then drag to the lower right corner an equal distance away from the edge of the canvas. Then go to Edit > Stroke again and enter a smaller pixel amount. If you made your first stroke 150 px, 75 px might be good for the second stroke. You might want to use a coordinating color for the second stroke as you won’t be able to see the 2nd stroke you make if it’s the same color as the first, unless you toggle the visibility of Layer 1 off by clicking the eye beside that layer.

     Repeat with another selection and stroke inside and smaller than the 2nd stroke on its own later above the others. If you used 150 px and 75 pix for the first two strokes, 35 px should work well for the third. Turn off the Grid when done.

     Lastly, go to each layer and apply a bevel. I used the Scalloped bevel, and then the Simple Inner bevel on the top layer, in my example above, as I remember. When you apply a layer style such as the bevel, a small fx icon appears in that layer. Double click on that icon to open the Style Settings dialog and drag the Size slider to adjust the bevel for the size of stroke you used. Repeat for the strokes on the other layers.

     Hope this helps.

     Diana

5. 

   Diana

   September 24, 2011 at 4:42 pm

   By the way, if you haven’t been there yet, the page where you can download my frames, templates, and edges I used as examples in the magazine article, you can find them here:

   http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/magazine/download-frame-it/

   Diana

   • 

     Jim

     September 25, 2011 at 5:00 pm

     Diana,

     Thank you for an excellent explanation on making beveled frames. I followed your instructions and was very pleased with the results.

     Keep up the good work!

     • 

       Diana

       September 25, 2011 at 10:12 pm

       You’re very welcome…. glad it worked out for you.

       Diana

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