In this tutorial, you will learn to combine an image of a baby with a picture of plush toys before framing it with one of the 15 default frames found in the Effects palette. You will adjust the contrast and feather the selection edges in order to blend the images together flawlessly. As you shall see, there are many interesting frames, from brushed aluminum to spatter, that you can choose from.
- Open the baby image.
- Select the Magic Wand Tool from the toolbox. In the options bar, check the Contiguous option and set Tolerance to 15.
- Click on the image to select only the white background.
- Press Shift + Ctrl + I to invert the selection and select the baby instead. Press Ctrl + C to make a copy of the baby.
- Open the toy’s image.
- Press Ctrl + V to paste the copy onto the image.
- Select [Image]-[Transform]-[Free Transform] from the menu bar or press Ctrl + I. The Free Transform bounding box will appear over the baby’s image.
- Place your cursor over a corner handle until it changes to a double-headed arrow. Hold down the shift key and drag the handle outward to enlarge the image.
- Drag the bounding box to position the baby on the yellow support. Press Enter to confirm the transformation.
- Select [Enhance]-[Adjust Brightness/Contrast]-[Levels] from the menu bar or press [Ctrl] + [L] to adjust the contrast of the baby’s image. In the Levels dia¬log box, enter the values 25, 1.25, and 235 in the Input Levels textboxes. Click OK.
- In the Layers palette, hold down the [Ctrl] key and click on Layer 1 to select the baby.
- Choose [Select]-[Feather] from the menu bar. In the Feather Selection dialog box, set Feather Radius to 10 to soften the edges around the baby’s image. Click OK.
- Invert the selection by press¬ing Shift + Ctrl + I. Press Delete to remove the border around the baby’s image. Press Ctrl + D to deselect the baby.
- Select [Window]-[Effects] from the menu bar. In the Effects palette, select Frames from the drop-down menu.
- Click on the Wood Frame thumbnail. Then, click on the Apply button.
- A warning box appears, asking if you wish to combine the layers into one. Click OK to create a picture frame around the image.
