Virtual Frame Tutorial – Online Display For Your Photography or Artwork

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Make your own virtual frame with mat for displaying your online photography or artwork. Show your customers or fans what your work could look like when framed. This is a museum style frame made using PhotoShop. It can be easily customized.

Several people have been interested to know how the framing was made that I use for displaying my photographs in my shops at 1000 Markets and Etsy. I’d like to share this tutorial with anyone interested in making their own online frame. It looks like a lot of steps, but that’s only because I tried to give thorough enough instructions that beginners could follow it easily. Feel free to change colors and sizes in this tutorial to customize it for yourself.

*Please note: the shading may not look quite right until you resize it in the last step.

1. Open an image you want to frame. The image should be the sized to the dimensions that it will be when printed. For this tutorial we’ll pretend that’s 10″ x 8″ .
2. File> New> change to inches and
   • enter the width and height of the size your actual picture frame would be. (For a 10 x 8 print, it would probably be a 14″ x 11″ frame.)
   • choose the color profile and resolution that matches the image you are framing.
   • click> OK.
3. Go back to your image file and
   • Select> All>
   • Edit> Copy>  (Copy Merged if layers)
   • Edit> Paste into the New file you just made. (Tip – hold down the Shift key before you click Paste and your image will be centered in the new file.)
4. Choose the rectangle Marquee tool>
   • Select your image only (not the white part)
   • Select> Inverse (Tip – alternately, you can hold down the Ctrl key (on a PC) and click on the layer thumbnail and it will select the image for you.)
5. Layer> New Layer (name it “Mat”)
6. Click on your Foreground color (in your tools palette) to bring up the Color Picker and choose the color for your mat. I chose a warm white.
7. Choose Paint Bucket tool>
   • to Fill, click on your new layer anywhere within the selection you made in step 4.
   • Select> Deselect
8. Layer> New Layer (name your new layer “Frame”)
   • Select> All
   • Select> Modify> Contract> 100 pixels (the number of pixels is optional, it just depends on whether you want a thin or thick frame.)
   • Select> Inverse
9. Click on your Foreground color (on your tools palette) to bring up the Color Picker tool to choose the color of your frame. I chose a very dark gray.
10. Choose the Paint Bucket tool>
    • to Fill, click on your new layer anywhere within the selection you made in step 8.
    • Select> Deselect
11. Double click your “Mat” layer (in the layers palette) to bring up Layer Style>
    • check> Drop Shadow>
    • click on Drop Shadow>
    • set Blend Mode to Multiply / color – Black, 75% / angle 120° / Global Light / distance – 3 / spread – 0 / size – 3
    • click> OK
12. Double Click your “Frame” layer (in the layers palette) to bring up Layer Style>
    • check> Drop Shadow>
    • click on Drop Shadow>
    • set Blend Mode to Multiply / color – Black, 75% / angle 120° / Global Light / distance – 5 / spread – 0 / size – 3
13. (Still in Layer Style for the Frame layer) check> Inner Shadow
    • click> Inner Shadow
    • set as in step 11. but don’t click OK yet.
14. (Still in Layer Style for the “Frame” layer) check and click> Bevel & Emboss
    • for Style, I used / Pillow Emboss / Technique – Smooth / Depth – 100% / Direction – Up / Size – 5 px / Soften – 0
    • I also used / Contour / 120° / Global Light / Gloss Contour / Highlight Mode – Overlay, 70% / Shadow Mode – Multiply, Opacity 75%
    • OK
15. Activate your bottom (Background) layer by clicking on it (in the layers palette) once
16. Image> Canvas Size> set to 16″ W x 16″ H (or preferred size)/ Canvas Extension color – White / uncheck Relative
    • OK
17. Choose the color for your virtual wall, then using the Paint Bucket tool> Fill the Background layer.
    • If you link all the layers, except for the bottom Background layer, you can move your picture frame around on your wall.
18. Choose the Text tool>
    • Choose your preferred Font and Font color.
    • Type “For Display Only” or whatever you like.
19. Image> Image Size>
    • Change to whatever pixel size you’d like for your online display. I chose 600 pixels x (let the program fill in the second number).
    • OK
20. Save the file as a psd or tif file with layers, so you can easily reuse the frame.

Once you’ve completed your frame, you can use it over and over. Just resize your images to fit your mat opening, and paste them in on a new layer (just above the picture you originally put in).

To easily figure out what size your pictures need to be for your online frame, just hold down the CTRL button and click the layer your picture is on. Doing this will select it. Edit> Copy, then File> New. When the “New” dialog box opens, you’ll see the width and height your picture needs to be resized to, before you paste it in.

Good luck. Have fun!

This framing tutorial text is free to share. The picture used for the example is copyrighted by Karen Casey-Smith. Please, include the credits when sharing this tutorial. All other materials and images on my website and blog are © Karen Casey-Smith and can only be copied or used with my written permission unless specifically noted.