Creating a print
is the ultimate goal for a photographer. From the moment the
shutter is released, it’s the image on paper that each
photographer likely has in mind when the scene is captured on
the camera’s CCD or film. Yet the creativity involved in
making the image in-camera doesn’t have to end when it
comes time to output that final photograph.
Although I usually create a borderless print or one with a simple
border, I occasionally like to add a matte border effect. I
wouldn’t do this to every photograph, but it’s fun
for selected pictures.
You make this effect by stacking layers in your image-editing
program. I use Photoshop—and the directions here are specifically
for Photoshop—but you could work in other programs just
as well.
1.
Make a new plain white background document the same dimensions
as the paper you plan to use in printing. Give it the
same resolution (dpi) and the same color space as your image.
When you print the final image later, you’ll get a warning
message that part of the image is outside of the printable area;
don’t worry, as that part will be white and has nothing
on it. You’re just making a canvas on which to drop the
other layers.
2.
Move your photograph onto this new background document, holding
down the Shift key while using the Move tool. By holding
down the Shift key, the image will be centered on the white
background document. You’ll use this Shift/Move technique
a lot as you make the matte since you’ll be stacking documents.
3.Make
another new document about three or four inches larger than
your image (the actual dimensions will depend on the size of
your photo, so you’ll need to experiment). Again,
make sure this is the same dpi as your image. Use the Paint
Bucket tool and the Color Picker to fill this layer with whatever
color you choose. Neutral gray (128,128,128 or RGB values in
the Color Picker) works well with almost all images. In this
example, I’ll use the green of the grass in the upper-right
corner of the photo.
4.Use
the Shift/Move combination and drag this document onto your
image. If necessary, reposition it in the Layers palette
just under the image layer by dragging and dropping. With this
layer highlighted, run a Gaussian blur of about 50 to 75 pixels,
then reduce the layer opacity to roughly 25%. You can add texture
to this layer by selecting Filter > Texture > Texturizer
and then choosing Sandstone or Canvas as the texture. I suggest
settings of about 150 for Scaling and 15 for Relief. You can
fade the effect as desired.
5.The
next step is to create another new document. This one should
be white and about one inch larger than your photograph.
Drag the new document onto the stack of layers using the Shift
key and the Move tool, and position it just below the image
layer.
6.Create
a cut effect around this white layer. With its layer
highlighted in the Layers palette, click on the Layer Effects
button at the bottom of the palette. Try different combinations
of effects, such as Drop Shadow, plus Bevel and Emboss, using
a Chisel Soft Inner Bevel. You’ll need to play around with
the numbers until you’re pleased with the results. Feel
free to experiment with a variety of combinations. You can always
undo those adjustments that don’t work and try again.
7.
Let’s add a drop shadow under the image itself. You
could use the Drop Shadow in Layer Effects, but at this stage,
I like to create my own. Make another new document the exact
same size as the image and fill it with black. Drag it onto
the image stack using Shift/Move and position it immediately
under the image layer. With this layer active, do a Gaussian
blur of about 40 pixels or so. Then use the Move tool to position
this shadow layer. You’ll also want to drop the layer opacity
to around 75%.
8.Now,
there’s a problem, as the dark part of the image blends
into the dark drop shadow. We can solve this by adding a thin
white line around the image layer. Highlight the image
layer to make it active, then go to Edit > Stroke, using
white as the color with a width of three or four pixels, and
select Outside as the location.
9.When
you actually matte a photograph, the bottom section is normally
weighted a bit; that is, it’s usually slightly wider.
To make this effect, highlight each layer in turn (except the
background layer), select the Move tool and use the arrow keys
to move each layer. Each click on the arrow key moves the layer
by one pixel. Try using a movement of about five to 10 pixels.
This article was excerpted from John
Shaw’s new e-book, John Shaw’s Photoshop Field Guide,
available from his Website, www.johnshawphoto.com.
