Filtered Edges

Frame your photos with a filter

It’s easy to use Photoshop’s built-in filters to make creative frames for your photos too. Among the best ones are: Brush Strokes >Spatter, Sprayed Strokes; Distort > Glass, Ocean Ripple, Twirl and Sketch > Torn Edges.

Step 1: Open a photo and double click the background layer so that it becomes editable. With either the Rectangular or Elliptical Marquee, draw a box around the area of the photo you want to frame. Add a layer mask by pressing the circle within a square icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette. The masked area is what you want to run the filter on.

Step 2: With the layer mask selected, choose Filter > Brush Strokes > Spatter. Increase the Spray Radius to 20 and the Smoothness to 8. Press OK.

Step 3: To create a softer edge, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian. Adjust the blur radius until you get the desired look.

Step 4: If you want to move either the photo or the edge, you must unlock the layer mask. Click the little chain link icon between the layer and mask thumbnails in the Layers Palette. Select either the image or mask icons, press M to select the Move Tool and move either of them as you wish. Click once again between the layer thumbnails to lock the photo and mask back together.

Step 5: Create a new layer beneath the current layer by Command (PC: Ctrl) clicking the new layer icon. Fill it with a color and for a final touch, add a drop shadow to the photo layer to accentuate the new edge.