Three Image Photo Frame Template With Smart Objects In Photoshop Tutorial

Three Image Photo Frame Template With Smart Objects In Photoshop

Learn Photoshop with Photoshop Effects Tutorials at Photoshop Essentials.com

Step 15: Open The First Photo To Add To The Frame

Open the first image you want to add to the frame document. Here's the photo I'll be using:

A photo of a girl placing an ornament on a Christmas tree. Image licensed from iStockphoto by Photoshop Essentials.com.
The first photo I'll be adding to the document.

Step 16: Copy The Photo To The Clipboard

Press Ctrl+A (Win) / Command+A (Mac) to quickly select the entire photo. You'll see a selection outline appear around the image. Then press Ctrl+C (Win) / Command+C (Mac) to copy the image to the clipboard. You can close out of the photo's document window once you've copied the image to the clipboard.

Step 17: Select The "Placeholder Left" Layer

Switch back over to the frame document by clicking anywhere inside its document window, then click on the placeholder left layer in the Layers panel to select it:

Selecting the 'placeholder left' layer in the Layers panel. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
Select the 'placeholder left' layer in the frame document.

Step 18: Paste The Photo Into The Frame Document

Press Ctrl+V (Win) / Command+V (Mac) to paste the photo into the frame document. Photoshop will place the photo on its own layer directly above the layer that was selected, and if we look in the Layers panel, we can see that sure enough, the photo appears on its own layer directly above the "placeholder left" layer that we selected in the previous step:

The first photo appears in the Layers panel. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
Pasting an image into another document places the image on its own layer above the layer that was selected.

The only problem is that I want this photo to appear as the left image in the frame, but at the moment, not only is it appearing in the middle, it's hidden behind the middle shape due to the "placeholder middle" layer being above the photo in the Layers panel. All I can see of the image are the outer edges that extend beyond the shape:

The photo is hidden behind the 'placeholder middle' shape. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
We've successfully added the photo to the document, but it's in the wrong location and hidden behind the middle placeholder shape.

Step 19: Drag The Photo Over The "Placeholder Left" Shape

With the Move Tool still selected, click inside the document and drag the photo towards the left until it appears over top of the "placeholder left" shape:

Dragging the first photo over the placeholder shape. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
Click and drag the photo over the "placeholder left" shape.

Step 20: Create A Clipping Mask

Once the photo is over top of the "placeholder left" shape, go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen and select Create Clipping Mask:

The Create Clipping Mask command in Photoshop. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
Go to Layer > Create Clipping Mask.

Photoshop will "clip" the photo to the placeholder shape below it, allowing only the area of the photo that falls within the boundaries of the shape to remain visible. The rest of the photo that extends outside of the shape becomes hidden from view. The white stroke around the shape is now visible once again:

The photo is now 'clipped' to the shape on the layer below it. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
The photo is now 'clipped' to the placeholder shape below it.

Step 21: Resize The Photo With The Free Transform Command

Let's resize the photo so that we can see the entire image rather than just whatever part happens to be over the placeholder shape. Press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to quickly bring up Photoshop's Free Transform box and handles around the image. Even though we can only see the area of the photo that's directly over the shape, the Free Transform handles appear around the actual dimensions of the image. If you can't see the Free Transform handles because your image is so large that the edges extend out beyond the visible area of the document window, press Ctrl+0 (Win) / Command+0 (Mac) to have Photoshop zoom out until everything fits inside the document window (known as the Fit on Screen view). Press it again when you're done resizing the image.

Drag the Free Transform corner handles (the little squares) inward until they line up with the corners of the placeholder shape so that both the shape and the photo are the same size. Of course, this assumes that you're using a photo with the same 4x6 aspect ratio as the placeholder shape, as I am here. If your photo uses a different aspect ratio, simply resize the image until as much of it fits within the shape as possible. Hold down your Shift key as you drag the handles to constrain the aspect ratio of the photo so you don't accidentally distort the look of it as you're resizing it. You can reposition the photo if needed by clicking anywhere inside the Free Transform box and dragging it around with your mouse:

Resizing the photo with the Free Transform command in Photoshop. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
Drag the corner Free Transform handles inward until the photo is the same size as the placeholder shape.

When you're done resizing the image, press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) to accept the transformation and exit out of the Free Transform command:

The photo and the placeholder shape are now the same size. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com.
The photo is now the same size as the placeholder shape below it.

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