Tutorial 2: Simple Photo Border Style

This tutorial is on how to add a quick and easy and PERFECT border to your digi photos. And then I will show you how to make it EVEN EASIER each time after the first one! HOLY COW! It will be amazing! LOL. This tutorial should work with all versions of Photoshop, and PS Elements with a bit of a difference in where some options are located. I am going to do the PSE stuff from memory (BAD idea, Melissa...) so if anyone noticed anything wrong PLEASE let me know!

OK! To add a PERFECT border to your photo, no matter what size, shape, or color your photo is:

1. First, make sure your photo is not the background layer. To do this - look in your layers palette and if the layer is named 'background', simply double click on the layer and name it 'photo'.

2. Select your photo layer (make sure it is highlighted in the layers palette). In Photoshop, and PSE4: click on the little 'f' at the bottom of the layers palette, to bring up the Styles menu, and click on 'Stroke'. In PSE2: Go to Edit > Stroke. (I am not sure which way you do it with PSE3, sorry!)

3. A red line should appear around your photo.

4. In the stroke dialogue box, change the color of the stroke from red to white (or whatever color you want, but white is the classic photo border), by clicking on the red box and choosing white from the color palette.

5. Change the Position of the stroke from "Outside" to "Inside" - this will make your stroke clean and crisp. (I am not sure if this option is available with PSE2. So you might have to downsize your photo a tiny bit here to be able to see the stroke if your photo is filling the whole canvas).

6. Change the size of your stroke to taste - depending on the resolution of your photo, you might go anywhere from 8 to 20. Now click on OK. You should have a PERFECT white border around your photo! Just like the borders on your printed photos!

To make this EVEN EASIER in the future (you mean it can be easier??)
a. Make sure your photo is still selected and go back to the Style menu (the little 'f'), and back to Stroke.

b. Click on "New Style" (this might be "Save Style" or something of that nature in older versions of PS). Give the style a name of "White Photo Border" and click on OK. Then click on OK to exit the layers palette.

c. Open a NEW photo, and make sure it is not the background layer (See step 1 above).

d. Find your Styles palette (this is in a different place in different versions - may also be called "Layer Styles" or "Styles and Effects"). In ANY case, you can find it by going to Window > Styles (or Layer Styles, or Styles and Effects) and you should be able to find it. It may also often be found behind the "Colors" or "Swatches" palettes.

e. Scroll to the bottom of your Styles palette and find the box that looks like a grey box with a white border around it - if you hold your mouse over top of it the name "White Photo Border" should appear. Click on this box and VOILA! Another perfect photo border! (Assuming your photos are the same resolution, the border will be the perfect size!)

So...I hope that was as easy as I made it sound like it was going to be! LOL Please leave me some feedback...I would love to hear what you think!