Step 14: Add A Drop Shadow

Click directly on the words Drop Shadow at the top of the list of layer styles on the left of the dialog box. Again, we need to click directly on the words themselves to access the options for the Drop Shadow:

The Drop Shadow options will appear in the center column of the Layer Style dialog box. Lower the Opacity of the shadow down to around 30% so it's much less intense than it is with the default opacity setting of 75%. Then set the Angle of the shadow to 120° if it isn't set to that already:

Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Layer Style dialog box. Here's my image after applying the drop shadow:

Step 15: Select The Top Layer And Turn It Back On

Click on the top layer in the Layers panel ("Layer 1 copy") to select it, then click on the layer visibility icon on the left of the layer to turn the layer back on so it's visible again inside the document window. The photo will once again appear and will block the gray-filled image that we were just working on from view:

Step 16: Erase Parts Of The Edges On The Top Layer To Reveal The Layer Below

With the top layer selected, go back around the edges of the image with the Eraser Tool using short brush strokes, just as we did initially on "Layer 1", to remove more of the edge. Remember to keep most of the brush shape outside of the image so that no more than 25-30% of it extends into the image. As parts of the edge are erased, the light gray image below it is revealed, creating the illusion that the photo itself has worn off around the edges and only the back layer of the paper remains:

Again, you can change the size of the brush if needed by pressing the left bracket key ( [ ) to make it smaller or the right bracket key ( ] ) to make it larger. If you make a mistake, press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) to undo the last area you erased, or press Ctrl+Alt+Z (Win) / Command+Option+Z (Mac) to undo multiple brush strokes.

Here, after working my way around the edges of the photo once again, is my final "worn, torn photo edges" effect:

Step 17: Trim Away The Extra Canvas Space (Optional)

If you want to remove the extra canvas space we added earlier, go up to the Image menu at the top of the screen and choose Trim:

This brings up the Trim dialog box. Select the Top Left Pixel Color option. Since the pixel in the top left corner of the document is white, Photoshop will trim away all of the white area around the image. Make sure the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right options are selected in the bottom half of the dialog box, then click OK to exit out of it, at which point Photoshop will trim away the extra canvas space we added:

And there we have it!

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