How can I put a black border around a picture?

A simple border can really enhance a picture, but I can't figure out how to apply one before saving it. There must be a simple way! I have Photoshop Elements 3. Can anyone tell me how it's done?

Thanks for your help.

Pat: I use CS 2 but I think Elements has the Stroke feature. In PS it is found in Blending Options. Search for Stroke in the Elements Help menu and you should be all set. If you don't have the option then come back and we can show you another but more complicated way. >=))>

Elements 4 has that, so I'd guess Elements 3 does. You can also use Image->Resize->Canvas Size, which has a few more options.

Pat, with the background color selected to black (or whatever color you desire) go to Canvas Size and increase the dimensions by . 1. You then have a nice thin, black border. Thinner yet, just increase by a smaller amount. Just experiment. You will not loose the image.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Thanks! This is helpful to me also. I have Elements 5 and Microsoft Picture It on my computer. Couldn't figure out how to put a border on in elements and so have been saving the file and then going into PI to add a border. I'll give your way a try Will.

Thanks so much for the help - I'll experiment!

Scott Kelby has a book out for the Elements series and it will lead you through putting on a border as well as almost anything else you might want to do to a shot. It has lots of "This is how it is done pictures" and is very easy to use. Some folks complain about his sense of humor in the books - but - I just ignore it and take the info that helps me.

I use Elements 3 for my imaging processing. To put a border around your image click on Edit, the select Stroke (Outline) Selection. This opens a dialog box where you can select how wide to make the border and choose a color for the border.
Hope this helps.

Eugene

These have been great solutions, and it's nice to know there is more than one way. I was stuck at first with the Edit/Stroke command (the "stroke" would not highlight), so I first went to "Select" and checked off "all". Then I went to Edit and used a setting of about 80 pix, black, and center to get the effect. (In case anyone else needs the starting steps).

I'll try both methods and play with it. Thanks a bunch!