USE LAYERS TO CREATE A REALISTIC BORDER
To turn your normal photo into something more appealing on the web, add a white border and drop shadow effect. I will first describe how to obtain and select a graphic as Layer 1
Open your desired graphics image by selecting File>>Open. Mine is a photo of the protected Purple Trillium (Trillium erectum) located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia.
When the graphic appears in a new window, arrange the windows so you can see both, along with the Layers palette, on the desktop. With the graphic window selected, you can see Layer 1 automatically named so by Photoshop in the Layers palette. The Background layer only appears when the Trillium or your graphics menu is selected as they are separate files.
Select Image>>Canvas Size>> and insert the desired width and height (I selected a width of 300 pixels). If your graphic appears too small on the screen, increase the view with Ctrl++. Now, combine the layers to create one file. With the graphics window still selected, select and drag Layer 1 across the desktop and over to the blank graphic window (mine is called Trillium) until you see a thick, black outline around the window. Release the mouse button.
This copies Layer 1 into the Background layer and merges the two files! Now, both layers, Layer 1 and the Background layer appear together in the Layers palette.
If the graphic is not centered in the window, select the Move Tool (V), and drag the photo into place. The canvas should be large enough to accommodate the graphic but if you do not think it is, select Image>>Canvas size and add about 20 pixels or as much as you need to accommodate the image dimensions. Just close the graphic window as you no longer need it, and if it is hiding under the main desktop view, shrink the main window to close the graphic window without saving changes. Then, expand your desktop and click on the window. Now that your graphic is selected as Layer 1 above a blank background, you are ready to add the special effects to your photo.
From the Layers palette, bring up the Layer Style dialog box by selecting Layer 1 in the Layers Palette. Click on the small Add A Layer Style button at the bottom left of the Layers Palette. It looks like an italicized letter f. A drop down menu appears. Select Blending Options, and a Layer Style dialog box appears with style category choices.
Set Opacity: 80%; Angle: 130; Distance: 3; Size: 8 (or use your own preferences for the values making the Size value greater than the Distance value so the upper border edges appear on your final photo image). In the preview box on the right side of the Layer Style dialog box, a preview of the border and shadow selections appear. Click OK to close the dialog box when satisfied. The white border and grey shadow should appear against the canvas around the graphic in the window.
At this point, if the white canvas size is too large, click on the Background layer in the Layers palette and reduce the canvas size by choosing Image>>Canvas Size and entering -10 pixels, for instance. When absolutely done, select Layer>>Flatten Image>>to combine the layers and save file space. Warning: Selecting Flatten Image combines the layers into a Background layer and no longer allows any manipulation of the layers.Layer 1 disappears in the Layers palette leaving just the Background layer.
Select File>>Save for the web (Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S) and save the .gif to the appropriate folder for uploading. Close Photoshop and post your outstanding graphic to enjoy!
The Photoshop Tutorial: Photo Border Effect by MainHeading, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.