THE FIRMAMENT - Tutorial: Framing your images

I saw a nice moon mosaic posted by QCUIAG member Simon Smith.
I liked the image, but also the way Simon had presented it: in a stylish frame.
As the image looked indeed very nice in that frame, I kept wondering how Simon had done it; so I asked him if he was willing to share his secret with me.

Simon responded with enthusiasm and gave me the steps in Photoshop how to do it.
And since then I framed almost all my images:

Next I asked Simon if he would permit me to put his procedure on my website.
He said that he would be honoured!

So here is the procedure as supplied by Simon, with a here and there a slight modification where I have put my experiences while 'framing'.
Enjoy!

PS: For my own use I have made some templates for the image sizes I use most, so that I only have to make slight changes to 'frame' my next image. Maybe an idea for you too?

1 Create a new layer to work on from Layers, New, then layer menu items.

2 Use the rectangular Marquee tool to select a region around the image, a little way in, like the pictures hanging in a gallery. If necessary increase the canvas.

3 Go to the Select Menu, then Modify, and then Border. Choose a value around 2-10 pixels, or whatever looks good. This will give you a border-like selection area.

4 Go to Edit, then Fill (100% transparency, Normal mode). I use solid white for my borders.

5 That's it! You now have a border, slightly curved at the corners, and aliased such that it produces an almost solid and slightly raised effect.

6 The font work was done using the Font tool (called Type Tool) in Photoshop. Select your colour and font face, and type away. You can always double click the text layer created when you enter your text if you want to change the size or font face.
Fonts used:
The image TITLE is in a font called Academy Engraved LET; (Plain format 24 points, strong).
To tie both the font and border together, position the text in the centre and then delete the central section of the lower border using the rectangular Marquee tool and pressing the DEL key to clear the selected area.
The copyright text is in Tahoma (regular style, 10 point, strong).

1	Create a new layer to work on from Layers, New, then layer menu items.
2	Use the rectangular Marquee tool to select a region around the image, a little way in, like the pictures hanging in a gallery. If necessary increase the canvas.
3	Go to the Select Menu, then Modify, and then Border. Choose a value around 2-10 pixels, or whatever looks good. This will give you a border-like selection area.
4	Go to Edit, then Fill (100% transparency, Normal mode). I use solid white for my borders.
5	That's it! You now have a border, slightly curved at the corners, and aliased such that it produces an almost solid and slightly raised effect.
6	The font work was done using the Font tool (called Type Tool) in Photoshop. Select your colour and font face, and type away. You can always double click the text layer created when you enter your text if you want to change the size or font face. Fonts used: The image TITLE is in a font called Academy Engraved LET; (Plain format 24 points, strong). To tie both the font and border together, position the text in the centre and then delete the central section of the lower border using the rectangular Marquee tool and pressing the DEL key to clear the selected area. The copyright text is in Tahoma (regular style, 10 point, strong).