Being the lazy sort sometimes, I have to ask if there is a plug-in that will automatically frame an image, maybe with several choices, and add my copyright in the margin?
alternatively, is there a tutorial on how to lean to do this?
OnOne makes a photo edge/frame plugin but it isn't totally automatic. OTOH you can create you own preset(s) if you want to which would be relatively automatic. Lightroom allows you to add borders and a copyright watermark. You could make an action in Photoshop to do it. There are probably other quick & easy solutions.
NPN Member Ryan DesJardins has some created some wonderful frame actions for Photoshop. Check 'em out on his website at http://www.ryandesjardins.com/psactions/psactions.htm .
Posted by David Rogers on May 28, 2009 at 12:12 PM
http://www.picnik.com/
Cool, but generally simple, frames can be applied.
Posted by Austin Booth on May 28, 2009 at 12:13 PM
I think a photoshop action would be the simplest way to go. You can create a new action simply by pressing the record button in the action window and then go through the steps to create your frame and hit stop when you are done. You can then apply this action to all your photos requiring a frame in the future and it should do all the work automatically.
I use a PS action to create the various images on my site. More of a mat-look rather than a frame, but it works well. Example HERE. I actually set up the action to create a thumbnail, standard mat image and a smaller "for sale" image for each photo, all in a single action. Works pretty well, although the file names don't turn out exactly how I'd want them.
My "sale" images are smaller than the images on my main image pages, but on that page, I show a frame using CSS, and include the option of changing frame colors via a CSS switcher. It's not all that spectacular, but I was pretty proud of myself and my meager coding skills being able to make it work. Example HERE.
I guess my point is that it's pretty easy to do this using Photoshop actions. Just take the extra time up-front to get it right, and it's smooth-sailing from there.
Oops, almost forgot... you asked about putting a copyright on the images. Russell Brown had a really good video about this a while back, which showed how to create an action to do something similar which would work on horizontal and vertical images, and put it in the lower-right corner. Seems like it would be easy, but once you start working on it, it's actually more complicated than you'd think. His video included a number of PS tricks I'd never seen before. Go to this page and scroll WAAAAY down do something called "Digital Watermark Branding". You should be able to use the technique he describes to create your copyright watermark, and then incorporate that technique into the mat/frame action described above.
I paid for some frames from the FredMiranda.com site a few years ago. <BEFORE I joined NPN...> Pretty good selection of frames and all as actions to be used in PS. For $12, it was worth me not having to invent a frame from scratch.
As far as inserting your name/copyright in to the image, I don't know of any automated process that also includes the frame at the same time. That would be nice! But with the signature/copyright, I usually end up moving it around, vary the opacity, etc. so it would be hard to apply the same thing every time anyway.
Try Googling "adding copyright to photo" and you'll find plenty of references and tutorials. In general steps, to add your name to an image:
1. Open a new, transparent image of sufficient size
2. Used the text tool to write your name (copyright on PC is "Alt 0169") Use black and choose your font.
3. Image>Trim, select "transparent pixels"
4. Edit>Define Brush preset. name your new brush "copyright" or whatever
5. Close/delete this image
6. Open your jpg that you want the copyright/name inserted into.
7. Select the paintbrush tool and select the brush you just created.
8. Adjust the foreground color, opacity and size of the brush to tastse and then paste or brush the copyright where ever you want in the image.
9. Save your image. (Actually, If I'm saving for NPN or my website, I do this after the resize, sharpening and framing action. the file is still in PSD format. Opening and resaving jpgs is destructive, but I'm sure you knew that.)
Discussion
7 repliesalternatively, is there a tutorial on how to lean to do this?
Thanks - Sandy r
Jim Bullard
Cool, but generally simple, frames can be applied.
My "sale" images are smaller than the images on my main image pages, but on that page, I show a frame using CSS, and include the option of changing frame colors via a CSS switcher. It's not all that spectacular, but I was pretty proud of myself and my meager coding skills being able to make it work. Example HERE.
I guess my point is that it's pretty easy to do this using Photoshop actions. Just take the extra time up-front to get it right, and it's smooth-sailing from there.
Oops, almost forgot... you asked about putting a copyright on the images. Russell Brown had a really good video about this a while back, which showed how to create an action to do something similar which would work on horizontal and vertical images, and put it in the lower-right corner. Seems like it would be easy, but once you start working on it, it's actually more complicated than you'd think. His video included a number of PS tricks I'd never seen before. Go to this page and scroll WAAAAY down do something called "Digital Watermark Branding". You should be able to use the technique he describes to create your copyright watermark, and then incorporate that technique into the mat/frame action described above.
I paid for some frames from the FredMiranda.com site a few years ago. <BEFORE I joined NPN...> Pretty good selection of frames and all as actions to be used in PS. For $12, it was worth me not having to invent a frame from scratch.
As far as inserting your name/copyright in to the image, I don't know of any automated process that also includes the frame at the same time. That would be nice! But with the signature/copyright, I usually end up moving it around, vary the opacity, etc. so it would be hard to apply the same thing every time anyway.
Try Googling "adding copyright to photo" and you'll find plenty of references and tutorials. In general steps, to add your name to an image:
1. Open a new, transparent image of sufficient size
2. Used the text tool to write your name (copyright on PC is "Alt 0169") Use black and choose your font.
3. Image>Trim, select "transparent pixels"
4. Edit>Define Brush preset. name your new brush "copyright" or whatever
5. Close/delete this image
6. Open your jpg that you want the copyright/name inserted into.
7. Select the paintbrush tool and select the brush you just created.
8. Adjust the foreground color, opacity and size of the brush to tastse and then paste or brush the copyright where ever you want in the image.
9. Save your image. (Actually, If I'm saving for NPN or my website, I do this after the resize, sharpening and framing action. the file is still in PSD format. Opening and resaving jpgs is destructive, but I'm sure you knew that.)
Hope this helps.
Lon
Sandy