Re-sizing passepartou-like Photoshop frame for different picture formats?

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Tom75

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Hi All,

I am in the middle of a bigger picture project and soon I am ready for printing a bunch of them. I would like the prints to have sort of the same style and have therefore created a passepartou-like frame in Photoshop (please see the attached file).

My plan is to use this type of frame for different pictures, meaning with different size and format, the one on I made is 20 x 30cm. I have now the problem to make this frame fit for other picture sizes and formats and I am not sure how to do this.

For example if I want to use the 20 x 30cm frame for a wide panorama which is maybe also 20cm high but 50cm wide instead of 30cm then I cannot just use transform to increase the width because that is messing up the proportions of the frame. It would also be quite a job to make this frame for about 30 pictures from scratch.

Therefore I wanted to ask if there is an easy or practical way to "re-size" or modify this frame for example for bigger or smaller pictures that keeps the proportions as they are in the original?

I have used such frames before but then I made an action in PS which resized the pictures to a specific size before applying the frame on it but in this case that is not working because I have different sizes and formats.

Thanks a lot for your input.

Regards,
Tom
 

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In photoshop , look at Edit > Content Aware Scale. It's like Transform but squashes areas lacking detail . So it would make the frame image less wide yet protect the frame itself.
 
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Hi and thanks a lot for your tip.

I have tried it quickly but I think there are a few things why Content Aware Scale is not working here.

This is a composition of 3 frames (the dark grey one is just the PS background) and it seems Content Aware Scale does not work for linked layers. I thought I need to have all the three frames as linked layers is I want to modify or transform them together but Content Aware Scale is greyed out when layers are linked. If I unlink them and scale one with Content Aware Scale then its messing up the other frame etc.

Regards,
Tom
 
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What do you mean by "linked layers"? Do you mean that they are all selected in the Layers palette? Or do you really mean they are linked using the right click Link Layers command, or Layer > Link Layers? If they are "linked", technically speaking, you should then be able to select one of the layers and resize it with Content Aware Scale, and the others will resize accordingly.

Another other approach might be to make a smart object (Library object?) and add it twice to the image. One of them would be masked out left, the other right, so in effect you would have a [ shape and a ], like cutting part of the side frame out. Hard to put in words, but see what I mean?
 
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johnbeardy said:
What do you mean by "linked layers"? Do you mean that they are all selected in the Layers palette? Or do you really mean they are linked using the right click Link Layers command, or Layer > Link Layers? If they are "linked", technically speaking, you should then be able to select one of the layers and resize it with Content Aware Scale, and the others will resize accordingly.
Click to expand...

Yes, I meant really linked layers not only selected. If layers are linked then Content Aware Scale is not working, its greyed out. But it is techincally anyway not working like this because the somewhat darker outer frame is basically a background layer not a frame so maybe I need to re-construct it because right now when I use Content Aware Scale its just messing up the setup because it takes only one element at the time and also doesnt keep the proportions right.

If I keep the proportions the same such as for making a smaller or bigger picture then I can just use free transform, that works but not if I want to make a square for example.

johnbeardy said:
Another other approach might be to make a smart object (Library object?) and add it twice to the image. One of them would be masked out left, the other right, so in effect you would have a [ shape and a ], like cutting part of the side frame out. Hard to put in words, but see what I mean?
Click to expand...

Thanks for this idea, This can theoretically work for changing the width of the frame such as from making form the 20 x 30 frame a square or a wide panorama but I think it will not work when I have to change the size of the picture, meaning width and height but I need to experiement a little this.


My basica idea was to open a picture I want to apply the frame on in PS, then copy the frame layer into the picture file. The frame might then be too big or too small or have wrong proportions. So since the middle of the frame is transparent I could then with free transform drag it our for example until it fits.

Anyway, thanks a lot so far, I will do some more testing of your suggestions.

Regards,
Tom
 
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Hi,

I ddid some more experimenting and found another solution by creating an action, I have just one technical problem....probably some small thing adjusted in PS which is the reason why the action is not working correctly on the mac for different picture formats such as square.

the action works basically liek this and the strange thing is that it works perfect for all formats when I do these steps manually.

1. I open the image and resize it to the desired end size minus 70mm because my frame is 35mm totally on each side.
2. increase canvas size by 70mm relative
3. add a matte with some inner glow (and here lies the problem), now I have basically a white frame around the image due to increased canvas so I put now a selection around the image again and use transform selection, then I am taking the center handles of the selection on all 4 sides out 20mm,
4. then create new layer and drag it below the image and fill it with white.
5. then I go to the layer fx panle and choose inner glow .... thats basically it

There is some strange problem only on my mac where I want to rund this action with the Transform selection command in point 3. For some reason I need to hold on the mac the shift key when I drag the handles out otherwise its not dragging out only the vertical line but also the horizontal ones. I never had this problem before and it isalso not happening on the PC. This is messing up my action because somehow PS doe snot recognize that I am holding the shift key when transforming the selection.

Have I adjusted or configured something wrong or strange or why is it doitn this when transforming selection.

Woudl be great if one has an idea how to solve this because then I will have a really good solution for creating these framnes for different image sizes and formats.

Regards,
Tom
 
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Are you using Photoshop CC2019? The default Transform feature has changed. You now do not have to hold the shift key to transform proportionally, and hold the shift key for completely free transform. Just the opposite of how it was.
 
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Oh, thnaks a lot for your answer, I wasnt aware of that. I am using the latest version CC2019.

Maybe I can make this action then only work in the previous version because this is messing up the process.

I thought I had also the latest version already installed on the PC but there the transform function is still as it used to be.

Regards,
Tom
 
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JohanElzenga said:
Are you using Photoshop CC2019? The default Transform feature has changed. You now do not have to hold the shift key to transform proportionally, and hold the shift key for completely free transform. Just the opposite of how it was.
Click to expand...

I have now just created the exact same action on the PC and its the same problem so it seems the new behavior of the transform function is not the problem.

Maybe I have some thinking "error" but I really dont understand why it works perfectly fine when I do all the steps in the action manually but then when I run it on a different format such as square it is messing up the thickness of the horizontal frames (for wide pano formats its messing up the vertical thickness) even thought I am increasing the with relative by 70mm?

Regards,
Tom
 
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Thanks, I have already done that and I have made several myself earlier but then it was always used for a specific picture size not for multiple.

I have done quite much experiemnting now and I think the transform selection funtion is doing something I dont understand. When I do it manually I am dragging it out exactly 20mm but as soon as the format changes the action is draging it out more or less than 20mm depending if the format is wider or narrower

Regards,
Tom
 
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johnbeardy said:
Have you looked at layer styles?
Click to expand...

Yes, I also thought that could be the reason for the problem since I am adding the inner glow with layer style in point 3 as described above. But I have done some experimenting and dont think this is the cause or could it be that the layer style is not applied to the correct area?

In case anyone is interested to run this simplified action I attached now

Edit: ups the file ending of action file sis not allowed

Regards,
Tom
 
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