Tutorial #3: How to add a photo to your frames

Here's how to add a photo to the Thrift-Store Picture frames.

Open your frame file and the photo you want to use. For this first example I chose a rectangluar frame with a rectangular opening. Make sure you open a frame from the .png file folder and not one of the jpegs.

 

Now, drag your photo image to the picture frame file window (you can either go to your Layer's Palette and drag the "Background" layer over to the picture frame file, or just click and hold on the photo image and drag from there.)

 

Now you will drag your photo layer underneath your frame layer. Go to your Layer's Palette and drag "Layer 1" underneath "Layer 0".

 

Now you will scale the photo down to fit the opening of the frame. Hit Ctrl T (on a PC) or go Edit>Free Transform. Grab one of the corners with your cursor and while holding the shift key, drag so that you are reducing the photo in size.

 

Move your photo around until it fits your frame opening and then hit "Enter" when you're done.

 

Now go to your Layer's Palette and click on the little arrow inside a circle at the top right corner. Click on it and a drop down menu will pop up. Scroll down to "Merge Visible" and this will merge your picture frame layer and photo layer together.

 

Now you can drag your entire image to your digital project, or print out for your paper project.

Another Example: Sometimes you might want to crop your photo differently (zoom in more closely) which might leave some photo still visible outside the frame area. Or, for instance, with these circular frames, you have to delete whatever doesn't fit inside the circular opening since you're usually dealing with a rectangular photo in most instances. Here's how to do that. Open your circular frame and photo that you want to use.

 

Drag your photo layer to the picture frame document as you did with the previous example.

 

For this frame, I had to enlarge my photo to fit the opening of the frame. Hit "Ctrl T" to transform the image or go Edit>Free Transform. Grab one of the corners with your cursor and while holding the shift key, drag so that you are enlarging the photo in size.

 

Drag til you completely fill the circular frame opening with your image. Hit "Enter" when done.

 

Now you need to delete any part of the image that is extending outside the circular picture frame. Click on your Magic Wand tool in your Tools Palette (making sure your picture frame "Layer 0" is selected in your Layers Palette). Now click in the area of the circle opening of your picture frame. This will select this area:

 

Now select your photo "Layer 1" in your Layers Palette. Go to to Select>Inverse...

This will select all of the image area that is extending outside your picture frame opening: 

 

Now hit your "Delete" key and you will delete the undesired area:

 

Now go to your Layer's Palette and click on the little arrow inside a circle at the top right corner. Click on it and a drop down menu will pop up. Scroll down to "Merge Visible" and this will merge your picture frame layer and photo layer together.

 

Now you can drag your entire image to your digital project, or print out for your paper project.

Let me know if anyone has any questions! :-)

Comments

[vinnie]

thank you so much for this explanation !!

[paige]

no way...i just emailed rhonna askign for her best tip on a tutorial only to swing by & find this!!
thank you

[Val]

I needed these directions badly a week ago. Thank you so much for the step-by-step, as I don't know if I could have done it again! :)

[reinsen]

Hi, I like those pictures. Its great how you get the picutre frames fixed, I always had problems with doing that - thanks for sharing, I will have a try... :)

[Michael Parker]

My wife is trying to learn graphic design without any formal experience. I'm going to show her this right when she gets home. Thanks for the help!!!

Michael Parker (collage picture frames)

[Emily]

I recently purchased the "Thrift Store Chic Frames kit" that you linked at the top of this post. However there is no ".psd" folder included in the kit. Only .jpg and .png

How can I add a photo to these and use them with the white background?

[shannon]

warning: im totally new at this! i know i sound stupid but i cannot get this right! everytime i drag the photo over its a black and white square?