Place Photo Here

nxk2000

On some card templates I have used and frames in elements they showed a gray area that said something like place photo here. You just drag and drop your photo in the area, adjust the size to fit, and your done. Can something like this be made in cs4? I'm thinking it might make things easier when working with memory mates for team sports. The problem I have is sometimes the individual and team photos overlap on my template. When this happens I just erase the overlapping area. Nothing major but it takes a little more time.

Thanks

racer

yes, not sure how it is in elements, but in cs4, it will be individual layers. You will have a layer that is your frame, then the photo is another layer that goes behind it. Most frames will have the frame as a layer, and a green (or the checker) background were you place the photo, but some will have more layers for specific effects. There are multiple different ways though, depending on what type of frame your using, how it is installed, if it is a program or a action, etc...

You can go here to download some free action frames to mess around with
http://www.atncentral.com/download.htm#frames_mattes

Here is a example, I downloaded the polariod 600 frame. I open the file and it happens to be a action (does everything for you), so I go on over to the PS action folder and copy it to the folder.
Now, in photoshop, I go to windows-actions, then click on the tiny little box in the very upper right corner and select the frame. Next you select the frame, then select polariod film, then hit the tiny play button at the bottom of the actions panel. (note, that frame isnt very good )
Other types of frames will be just a psd file, for example, here are some psd frames
http://freephotoshop.org/2010/04/photo-frame-psd-and-png/
With these, you simply drag the frame into PS, then you open your image, then you need to drag the image to the correct level within the layers, so it is behind the frames (note, it can be much more complicated then that, but it is dependent on how complicated the frame is)

There are many other types of frames also, so it depends on what type your using.

nxk2000

I looked through the links and didn't see what I was looking for. Did find some cool stuff though.

I turned on the old PC that has elements to get an example of what I'm looking for. Inside the frames on elements it says Click here to add photo or drag photo here. I saved a file from elements and tried to open it in CS4 but it doesn't work the same. The layers show one as text and one as a mask. Below is a picture of the frame in elements.

I have also attached a picture of what I'm trying to prevent. I just dropped a couple of photos in my current project. The top photo is overlapping into the bottom. I know I can crop accordingly to fit the frame but I would like to keep the photo cropped larger to accommodate all the needs of an order. Things like trader cards, buttons, and so on.

racer

I was trying to say that is dosnt work like that in CS4 (or any version of full PS) that I am aware of. It will be a bit more complicated in CS4, as you wont get a "drag photo here", and instead, you will need to add the photo to a layer of the frame you want to use, or one of the other methods I mentioned. The links were so you could try it out and figure out how it is done in your CS4 if you wanted.
If that frame you want to use will work in your CS4, most likely there will be two of more layers, and you will need to do it like I explained above, you will need to drag the photos to the correct position within the list of layers in the layers box.
As for the overlap, I would just crop the photos and chose "save as" to save a new copy, then close it, then click cancel as not to save over anything. Just dont click "save" or save over any of the originals.

timparker_NikonD60

I am just starting to get into things like this, I hope I am not too far out in left field but it just looks like that you need to adjust the layers possibly. The picture of the girl just needs to be below the other one or vice versa depending on how that was built.