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HOW TO MAKE A GALLERY FRAME IN PHOTOSHOP

By:  Tim Devine 

The following steps are written in a basic attempt to get you to follow along and create a nice, professional looking gallery frame in Photoshop for your images.  I created this frame using Photoshop CS4 but any previous version and likely Elements would work as well.  Other image editing packages such as Paint Shop Pro should work somewhat similarly, provided they can handle layers.  The keyboard shortcuts provided reflect the Windows operating system; Mac users should substitute Crtl and Alt for Command and Option where appropriate.   I have attempted to write using a conversational style as if you were sitting here with me, rather than getting all techy and confusing you with unnecessary details.  As you can see, I am a big fan of keyboard shortcuts...  once you become accustomed to using them yourself, you will find that they are indespensible, regardless of what software you are working with. 

  Open your image.

1. Crop to 10 wide by 8 tall at 300 dpi.
2. Click Ctrl + J to duplicate the background layer and create a new one.
3. Click on the background layer to select it.
4. Go to menu bar and choose Image -> Canvas Size (or Alt + Crtl + C or Alt + I then S)
5. Increase by 1 inch in both width and height, make sure relative is checked, canvas extension color is white.
6. Go to menu bar and choose Image -> Canvas Size (or Alt + Crtl + C or Alt + I then S) AGAIN.
7. Increase height only this time by 1 inch.  Click the up arrow in the anchor box to set the extension to bottom only.  This will increase the bottom border only so you have room for text.  Click ok.
8. If your rulers are not set to ON, Ctrl + R will turn them on.  If they are on, leave the on.
9. Right clicking on a ruler lets you choose what dimensions you want it to show (pixels, inches, etc.)  For this tutorial, choose INCHES.
10. Ctrl + Click the TOP layer thumbnail to select the original image without selecting the extended canvas.  Look for the marching ants around your original image.
11. Go to menu bar and choose Select -> Transform Selection.
12. Hold down the Alt and Shift keys while dragging the selection outward approx. ½ inch- choose any of the corners and drag diagonally outward.  This should put you halfway between the outer edge of your original image and the edge of your extended canvas.  (The Alt key keeps the selection uniform on all four sides and the shift key keeps you only going diagonal to maintain the proper crop ratio.)   
13. When you have the selection you want, either click the check mark at the top of the screen or Ctrl + Enter to lock in your selection.
14. Go up to menu bar and choose Edit -> Stroke.  Use 2 pixels, black.  Blending mode is Normal, 100% Opacity, Center, Uncheck Preserve Tranparency.  Click Ok.
15. Ctrl + D to release your selection and Voila!  There is your nice border, courtesy of the stroke.
16. Go to the menu bar and click View -> New Guide.  Choose Vertical, 50% and click Ok.  You will see a light blue bar right through the middle of your image.  This is not visible in the final saved image.
17. Click T to select the text tool and go to the bottom canvas area and click right on the light blue guideline.  Go to the top of the screen and make sure you click CENTER to center the text you are about to lay down.
18. Select a font and font size to your liking and type in some text, such as a title or your copyright.
19. When you are done typing, do not commit the typing just yet.  Click Ctrl + A to select the entire text you just laid down then go to the top and click the icon that looks sort of like a chart (the popup help reads “Toggle the Character and Paragraph Palettes”). 
20. The second setting down on the right side (icon of AV with a double sided arrow) adjusts the distance between each letter “tracking”.  Play with this to suit.
21. When you are happy with your text, click the checkmark at the top to commit, or just click Ctrl + Enter to lock it in.
22. Go to menu bar and click View -> Clear Guides to get rid of the blue guideline.
23. You are done!  You can now flatten your image if you like (Layer -> Flatten or Alt + L then F). 
24. Make sure you choose “SAVE AS” instead of Save when you want to save the image so you don’t overwrite your original.
    
25. Post your image to TMIP and get that thing printed.  You are all done!
    

You can also record this as an action.  Be sure to start recording at step 3 and stop recording after Step 22 so you can edit the text for your next image. 

The full Monty: 

Purchase Abobe Photoshop CS4

Too expensive for you?  Try Elements.

Purchase Adobe Photoshop Elements

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