Picture as a frame and Smart Object

In this tutorial i'm going to show you how you can use your photo as a frame (as shown above) and also one of the benefits with 'Smart Objects'.

First, lets open a photo in our editor...

1. The first thing we do is to right-click on the background layer and click 'Convert to smart object'. I will explain why, later.

2. Then duplicate the 'background' layer. (right-click and choose duplicate layer or CTRL-J)

3. Then with the new layer highlighted, go to 'Edit-transform-scale'

4. Then on the toolbar, set the size for width and height to 75 %

Hit 'Enter' to accept.

You can now see 2 versions of your photo, 1 fullsize in the background and one 25% smaller in front.

5. Next, make sure the layer copy is highlighted. Then right-click and choose 'Blending Options'.

Apply the settings as follows:

Stroke 5 px

Drop Shadow - Distance 12px - spread 0 px - Size 5px

If you do this on a small image, you might want to change these settings a bit to suit your needs. Click OK to accept the settings.

6. Go back to the background layer (layer 0 - zero) and apply 'Gaussian Blur' 15 - 25 pixels radius. This also depends on the size of your photo. Just go with whatever you think is nice.

Save your photo, you are finished!

Almost... Do you remember I said I would explain one of the benefits with smart objects? I thought so...

Ok, right-click on your bottom layer (layer 0 - zero) and choose: 'Replace Contents'. Find any other photo on your computer (same size) and click 'Place'.

Pretty cool if you ask me...