forestgnome
New member
Sure, it's probably first-grade easy, but I can't find the tool to put a simple black border around my images in PS Elements II. Help much appreciated.
borders on images
- Thread starter forestgnome
- Start date
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There are many ways to do this, but this is the way I've always done it. I have no idea about PS Elements since I've always used regular PS, but I imagine this process should be the same.
Make a copy of your image layer
Image > Canvas size (make sure to keep it anchored in the center)
Add the number of pixels you'd like the border to be
Fill the background layer with whatever color you'd like the border to be
Flatten image
That will give you a basic solid color border around your photo.
If you'd like an additional thin white border just around the image, before flattening simply select the image layer's transparency (ctrl-click on it in the layers palette) and Edit > Stroke
Choose your color/width
That would give you a thin border within the larger border.
Make a copy of your image layer
Image > Canvas size (make sure to keep it anchored in the center)
Add the number of pixels you'd like the border to be
Fill the background layer with whatever color you'd like the border to be
Flatten image
That will give you a basic solid color border around your photo.
If you'd like an additional thin white border just around the image, before flattening simply select the image layer's transparency (ctrl-click on it in the layers palette) and Edit > Stroke
Choose your color/width
That would give you a thin border within the larger border.
blaze
Active member
This is from "Photoshop Elements 2: Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks" by Denis Graham, Mike Wooldridge, and Kelly Ewing, page 70 - "Frame Your Pictures." This series of steps is illustrated... since I can't provide the illustrations I'll add a few extra notes in parentheses.
Give this a try and PM me if you have trouble. I am on Elements 5 now so I am unable to reproduce this technique directly... I do not (unfortunately) see "Foreground Color" in my list of available frame types.
I believe you might be able to pick a foreground color right off of your image using the Color Chooser, instead of using the slider (step 2 above). So say, if you have a predominantly green image, you could choose a shade of green right from your image and so have a frame color that matches and accentuates the green in your image.
I am definitely not an Elements expert... these books (I have another one on Elements 5) have been very handy to me.
On another Elements note, I believe Elements 8 is out now, so Elements 7 can be had pretty cheap on Ebay... I see quite a few out there with a current price < $50.
Jonathan
- Click the Foreground Color box. The Color Picker dialog appears.
- Click and drag the slider to set the foreground color (for a black frame you'd set it to black)
- Click OK. Elements sets your foreground color to your chosen color.
- Click Window (they are referring to the Window menu).
- Click Effects (this is an item in the Window menu).
- Click here and select Frames (by "here" they mean the drop-down menu in the Effects window).
- Click a Frame Effect (you want Foreground Color)
- Click Apply. Elements automatically generates the frame around your image.
Give this a try and PM me if you have trouble. I am on Elements 5 now so I am unable to reproduce this technique directly... I do not (unfortunately) see "Foreground Color" in my list of available frame types.
I believe you might be able to pick a foreground color right off of your image using the Color Chooser, instead of using the slider (step 2 above). So say, if you have a predominantly green image, you could choose a shade of green right from your image and so have a frame color that matches and accentuates the green in your image.
I am definitely not an Elements expert... these books (I have another one on Elements 5) have been very handy to me.
On another Elements note, I believe Elements 8 is out now, so Elements 7 can be had pretty cheap on Ebay... I see quite a few out there with a current price < $50.
Jonathan
I figured that there had to be an easier way than I suggested. I've been using PS for a long, long time, and that's the way we used to have to do it. It works, so I've never felt the need to see what Adobe has added over the past five or six versions. 
