How to make a drop shadow frame for a photo

Brett · November 30, 2004

I'm in the process of redoing my photography website and I'm adding the shadows and border on them to add a more professional look. I'm having a problem getting this particular one to get the shadowing because of the white on the cat. It makes a shadow around its chest. I need someone to fix this problem I'm having. Big thanks to anyone who can fix my problem:thumb .

Shadowing info:
Blend- Multiply
Opacity- 75%
Angle- 130
D- 15
S- 15
S- 25

DJ-S1 · November 30, 2004

Here you go...

Here's the full size version.

mercphoto · November 30, 2004

Cool
I can't help you with Photoshop, but that is a really cool picture of that cat.

Brett · November 30, 2004

thanks alot, could you do this one too, same shadowing details

Brett · November 30, 2004

sorry this one too, if you dont feel like doing them, could you explain how to make it so it doeesnt get the white in the picture please?

dkapp · November 30, 2004

This is the tutorial I use to create this look.

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=3441&postcount=7

Dave

DJ-S1 · November 30, 2004

Sorry, the 1st one is free, any more are $50/hour.

Er, yah. So let's teach you how to fish, as it were. Dave is right with his tutorial, that's a great way to do it. But in these examples, there is pure white (or close to it) running off the edge, so the magic wand won't select the proper area. Here's my hack way of just getting the rectangular area.

I zoom up max on the upper left corner of the image. Then I drag a guide from the top ruler down to the edge of where the image meets the border. Do the same from the left ruler. (by the way, make sure you turn the rulers on) Then zoom in on the lower right edge and repeat the process.

This gives you 4 blue guides in the perfect shape to select. Just zoom out to the full canvas and use the rectangular selection tool to select the image area. You'll notice that the marqee snaps to the guides so you don't have to be precise anymore. Now that it's selected, CTRL-X to cut it out, and CTRL-V to paste back in. It will automatically create a new layer, and you can add your drop shadow.

It took me about 40 seconds to do the 1st one, piece of cake. Have fun!

Brett · November 30, 2004

Wow, thank you dkapp and DJ-S1 for all the help. I really appreciate it.

pathfinder · November 30, 2004

dkapp wrote:

This is the tutorial I use to create this look.

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=3441&postcount=7

Dave

Dave and everyone....

I wrote that original thread for a drop shadow for Humongous last spring. But I use a slightly different technique now that avoids the frustration with selecting with the magic wand. I use PS CS, but this will work in 5, 6 or PS 7. There are simpler ways to do it in PS Elements directly, but someone else will have to report on that.

The method I use now - the preferred method - is to create a duplicate layer of your image first. To do this hit ctrl-J ( Apple-J for us Mac fans - sorry- had to be inclusive)

Now, look at the layers palette, and you will see a background layer and a layer above it that is highlighted.

Click on the background layer box in the layers palette to select it. It will turn from white to blue showing that it has been selected.

Once the background layer is selected, hit Image>Canvas Size and a dialog box comes up that looks something like this...

If your Photoshop is configured in centimeters rather than inches ( Hail to the Aussies and the Europeans here ) it will say centimeters - but we colonials here in America still use inches. Click to the right of the "inches" on the little blue arrows until you get the choice of pixels ( This step is not necessary as the canvas can be enlarged by inches, cm or pixels but it is easier for me to calculate a 10% increase in canvas size by using pixels) - here we are... Enlarge the canvas size by some amount - I usually use about 10% eg: 1/10 to the total pixel width of the image

and change the canvas extension color to white ( or whatever color you desire) and click OK

Note that the 200 pixels is approx 1/10th of 2048 - or whatever your image size is...

Now you have created a layered image with the copied image in Layer 1, and the original image - the BACKGROUND image with a larger white border on the lower layer.

Go back to the layer palette and click on the upper layer - It should look like this again...

Now - click on Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow and you will see this dialog box....

Play with the sliders until you get a drop shadow that you favor

And click OK.

Voila - you've done it - you've learned a little about layers, and layer styles, and created a nice drop shadow without using the magic wand to select anything. This is a better and more precise technique and should replace the present version in the hall of fame as it was rather lame ( I wrote it, so I can say that!! Eh What??)

Questions? Comments?? Cletus probably has a simpler method - he taught me all I know.

D

Addendum --- The drop shadow does not necessarily have to be black either...

cletus · December 1, 2004

pathfinder wrote:

Questions? Comments?? Cletus probably has a simpler method - he taught me all I know.
D

rofl

pathfinder wrote:

Very nice

Thanks for the great tutorial!

DJ-S1 · December 1, 2004

Cool Path, as I said that was my "hack" method!

I have actually used something similar to your method to make an action for a specific-size thing I was doing for a calendar. Then I promptly forgot it...

Brett · December 1, 2004

thanks alot for the new technique, simple enough to follow

wxwax · December 1, 2004

Hall of Wisdom, baby!

PerezDesignGroup · December 2, 2004

I created an action for those of you that are into the "Automated Way". I do it a different way though.

Here's the action.
http://www.perezdesigngroup.com/downloads/Drop-Border.zip

Lemme know if you have any problems with it. It creates a 30 pixel border. If you want more, you'll need to extend the canvas size.

-Jesus

pathfinder · December 2, 2004

PerezDesignGroup wrote:

I created an action for those of you that are into the "Automated Way". I do it a different way though.

Here's the action.
http://www.perezdesigngroup.com/downloads/Drop-Border.zip

Lemme know if you have any problems with it. It creates a 30 pixel border. If you want more, you'll need to extend the canvas size.

-Jesus

30 pixels is a pretty small border. Probably only good for on-line posts, not for 8 x10 prints. The action needs to increase the border size about 10% of the image size. I just do it on the fly, because I vary it a little bit, depending on image size. And like I showed above, sometimes I don't want a black drop shadow but a colored one.

ChrisBlaze · January 19, 2007

2 years later, it still helps people!

Thanks a million!

Viffer06 · July 5, 2008

ChrisBlaze wrote:

2 years later, it still helps people!

Thanks a million!

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I used this tutorial 10 minutes ago. Here's the sample.

Thanks a million!

pathfinder · July 5, 2008

We need to see that picture much larger to properly evaluate the drop shadow technique you used......

:hide

Bayer-Z28 · July 5, 2008

This is a vid I used..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vinaST1A08g
It'll help with the background.. Then just use your Blending Options.. Right click on the layer, and just adjust DROP SHADOW..

................. I'm pretty sure..

maxam · December 31, 2008

beginner trying
Hi, Thanks for writing stuff like this for all of us. I have been trying to follow your directions but I need my drop shadow on a dark background. I have made one successfully on a white BG, but when I try to color the BG dark blue, it just colors over the drop shadow. I am using Photoshop 7 but the layers seem different?
I would think it is very easy once you know how, but a most used procedure like drop shadow should be simple, even to a Dummie book referer like me! lol. I am trying to learn PS7 one step at a time and think I will use drop shadow a lot.
Windows Vista etc.

picture is the old postcard from Grandma about 1/2 way down the page at http etc - caterwauls.ca/memories.htm .

NEVER MIND! Thanks for looking at my post but I have got it working for white BG - doesn't work or isn't good looking on colored BG anyway!

pathfinder · December 31, 2008

The third image in my post about creating a drop shadow, says to expand the canvas of the background layer (that the shadow is to fall upon).

That expanded canvas does not have to be white, it can be any color you want just by using the drop down menu at the bottom of the dialogue box show, and also posted here below. The width controls the amount of canvas extension in inches, pixels, %. The color drop down box allows you to choose different colors of new background for your shadow to fall upon. This will not color your shadow at all.

Antonio Correia · August 20, 2009

pathfinder wrote:

Dave and everyone.......

Questions? Comments??...

I know Jim that this thread is a very old one but only now I was able to find it :cry
Without following your steps I came to the result you have already seen in my images and you can see now in these two images here.
The very same results were obtained following your steps. I tried them but I am not posting.

And what is wrong but I can't overcome ?
:cry The size of the canvas depends on the crop factor. :cry
This leads to a non uniform presentation of the photos. :cry
If we see them in a book for example the difference of size in the canvas is very obvious if they are on the same page (or not).
I would like to overcome this small problem with an Action.
Better yet: I would make it to become a Droplet and export the photo directly from LR.
I have tried to resize the images before applying the canvas but that is not the solution.

I think the solution is the Julieanne Kost's video, if I have understood correctly.

She has a magnificent accent BTW

Can you please give me a tip ?

.

pathfinder · August 20, 2009

Hi Antonio,

Like I said in the post immediately above your post, the background can be enlarged to any amount, by pixels, inches OR PERCENTAGE.

I think if you try percentage, instead of pixels or inches, your problem is solved, if I understand it correctly.

In Kost's video she does say that you must use only landscape images or only portrait styled images separately. You cannot run the action for both landscape and portrait aspect ratioed images at the same time. SHe had two separate actions for landscape and portrait style images.

She also is dropping her image into an already created image file with edges already created. So she resizes her image to match her previously created edge file, where as my technique for adding a drop shadow can be done on any size image.

Antonio Correia · August 21, 2009

pathfinder wrote:

Hi Antonio... She also is dropping her image into an already created image file with edges already created. So she resizes her image to match her previously created edge file, where as my technique for adding a drop shadow can be done on any size image.

Jim.:D

Zanotti · July 5, 2010

Still using these tricks to improve my photos!

Z