How to Add Rounded Borders to Photos

Adding rounded borders to a photo adds a soft touch your images.

A multitude of options exist for adding rounded borders to a photograph. The following tutorial will explore the options for editing borders in a professional level photo editing program and does require some knowledge of these programs to achieve the rounded border. Most professional photo labs can apply special rounded cuts to your images if you are working with a large quantity of images and do not wish to use the editing programs.

Things You'll Need

• Professional photo editing software program
• Digital copy of image

Instructions

1. Convert the photo to a digital format using either a scanner or an image from a digital camera, if the photo is in a print format. A flatbed scanner will allow you to inexpensively take a printed photo and scan the image for use in a computer.

2. Import the digital image into a photo editing software program that allows you either add special framing actions or contains an isolation tool for separating certain sections of an image.

3. Take the program's isolation tool and apply a rounded rectangle shape to the tool's properties, usually found in the workspace below the menu bars once the tool is activated. Apply the rounded edge by selecting the feathering option for the tool and using a setting of between 10 and 20 pixels, depending on the degree of rounded edge and softened edge the image requires. This will vary based on your editing program, but most programs will use a rectangular isolation tool for isolating sections of the image and allow you to feather the edges of the rectangle shape creating a rounded edge to the shape.

4. Hold down your mouse and draw the rounded rectangle shape with the isolation tool around the edges of the digital image.

5. Create a new file with the same dimensions as the existing image, using the same height, width and image resolution, or DPI, as the original image. Image resolution refers to the amount of data present in the photograph and a higher resolution, such as 300 DPI, is necessary for printing images.

6. Return to the original image with the selection tool applied and change your tools to the selection tool, usually indicated by an arrow. The original image should show a dotted line with rounded edges where you applied the isolation tool.

7. Place the mouse in the middle of the selected section on the image, hold down the mouse and drag the section of image over to the new image file. Be sure that both files, the original and the new file, are open and can be seen on your desktop.

8. Apply a solid color fill layer to your new image, either white, black or a color that matches the image, and be sure the color layer is placed behind the image in the layers section of your editing program. You can send the colored layer to the background of the image using the selection tool, clicking on the color section visible on the image and using the 'send to background' setting usually found in the "Layers" editing section of the program.

9. Print the new image and confirm the rounded borders meet your anticipated outcome for the new photograph.

Tips & Warnings

• Most professional level editing programs allow you to record these actions so you may apply them in a batch setting to multiple files.

• Presets may be purchased for most professional editing programs that contain multiple border options and allow you to apply the new borders to the image at the press of a button. This option will save time when applying borders to multiple images and will help achieve the desired borders if your photo editing experience is limited.

References

• Photoshop Essentials: Image Resolution, Pixel Dimensions and Document Size

Resources

• Adobe: Tutorial for Photoshop CS4
• Corel: Graphic Suites Tutorials