Image border

[Ghoste]

Is there a way to put borders around photos on PS or do I need a plug-in. I see poeple that post photos that have like a black and white frame around the photo. Anyone know where I can download the plug-in if I need it? Thanks.

 

[Digital Matt]

Select the color you want for your border and make it your background color, then go to image/canvas size, check relative, and then add the amount of pixels you want the height and width.

 

[john3eblover]

I must be a complete idiot, but i am having more trouble with these borders, and it is frustrating the crap out of me.

I can get the basic white border by making a new layer, going in and changing the canvas size, etc. I got that down. What i can't seem to figure out is how to make a border that has about a pixel width of black, then some white, then black again. I got it to be black once, but i can't do it again.

If i make the layer a solid color like black, why won't it let me make that the background? How can i do this????

HELP!

 

[Meysha]

I would just do the steps three times... and change the colour each time.

So the first step you would have selected black, then made the border 1px wide.
2nd select white then make the border a bit wider.

That's what I've done sometimes. There might be an easier way.

Another way,
Make the border as wide as you want it to finish up as and all black (for example) then get your rectangular select tool and select a slightly smaller box. Then hold down Alt and select yet again a smaller box. (Pressing Alt subtracts from your selection). Then you can just 'fill' this selection with whatever colour you want.

 

[john3eblover]

I would just do the steps three times... and change the colour each time.

So the first step you would have selected black, then made the border 1px wide.
2nd select white then make the border a bit wider.

That's what I've done sometimes. There might be an easier way.

Another way,
Make the border as wide as you want it to finish up as and all black (for example) then get your rectangular select tool and select a slightly smaller box. Then hold down Alt and select yet again a smaller box. (Pressing Alt subtracts from your selection). Then you can just 'fill' this selection with whatever colour you want.

i'd do it 3 times in a row if i could get the border to be black. I can't seem to do that at all though. If i do a solid color layer, it fills the whole picture, and i can't send that layer to the background cause it won't let me. and when i do just a regular layer, it doesnt give me black as an option...so i only do white usually

 

[Meysha]

If i do a solid color layer, it fills the whole picture, and i can't send that layer to the background cause it won't let me.

Ahhh. I see what you're doing. You've created a new layer and you want that layer to be the "frame" layer. I've always just added the frame to the background (the actual pic) and just saved my framed version as a crappy JPEG and I keep my real picture is PSD format.

If you want to keep the Frame as its own layer, you're going to have to do a couple of extra steps. Here's how I would do it. (I made up a nice little tutorial) btw this is a much longer and harder way than just putting it on the same layer as your picture.

SCREENSHOTS TOWARDS BOTTOM OF THREAD. Sorry I accidentally deleted them from my photobucket account

Hopefully this made sense.

 

[mentos_007]

Woooow Meysha!!! I have never known it is sooooo easy!!!! I always did my frames manually.. painting all the lines with a brush and so on... resizing image buahahahaha and it is sooo obvious! Thanks for sharing, and thanks for screenshots

 

[john3eblover]

thanks a TON Meysha, i think this will help a lof of us noobies out :-D

 

[Meysha]

No problem. I practically lived (and still do sometimes) off tutorials made by other people for a long, long time. So I'm more than glad to help someone else!

 

[Dollface]

There is another way, if you just want one colour background.

In the "Canvas size" option, just select 10 "percent" for each option, width & height, and your canvas size will be 10% bigger than your image size - therefore creating a border.

This is how I have done mine, and then I have recorded a macro to run for vertical & horizontal and to re-size and place my name in the bottom righ and then save to a particular folder.. Makes life a little easier when going through 200 odd pics per show...

 

[john3eblover]

whoa. recording a macro? you mean i don't have to do it all manually each time? please, tell me how!

 

[Meysha]

1. Open up a picture you want to put a frame on.
2. Click on the actions tab (usually behind the history tab or somehwere over there.)
3. Click on the little Create new action button (next to the rubbish bin)
4. Give the action a name and hit enter
5. Straight away it will start recording the action (macro).. So now just do all the moves you want it to do to create the frame, Then hit Stop. TA DA!

This is why it's great to use percentages - because it'll work on any picture then.

Oh just a hint. I'd incorporate a save or a snapshot into the macro as well. And maybe even a close. You can always turn these steps off next time you want to run it by just unchecking the little boxes.

 

[AudioInjectedSoul]

Hehe, I did it another way.

1. Select the Marquee tool.
2. Drag round the place you want the border to start if you get me.
3. Go to Select - Inverse.
4. Go to filter and put what you want on there.

Thats what I do if I want to put a filter on..

-Steve-

 

[mentos_007]

hmm I followed Mayshas tutorial and something I'm doinf wrong. When I hit my "action" that I had already recorded, it does not work properly on all shots. I used percentage. Sometimes the layers are in a wrong order... hmmm

 

[Meysha]

I personally don't like the instructions above for creating the frame. It's too messy with the extra "Frame" Layer.
Just make a duplicate of your background and then put the frame on that layer. Then if you want your original picture again without the frame, you've still got it on your original layer.
Maybe the action has trouble remembering the change in the layer position? I don't really use actions all that much because everything I do is so varied.