Expert: Scott Valentine - 2/18/2008

Question
I am able to do the "burn" to create a simple border in Photoshop, but I've seen photos from friends and on other websites that show a photo (for example - a wedding photo) with a very ornate, scrolly (for lack of a better way to put it) design in the corners to add a really nice fancy touch.  I've tried reading about plug ins or different "brush" styles that can be downloaded, but haven't see anything that resembles these.  Any help?

Answer
Hi Becky - sorry for the delay!

Depending on what you want, there are a variety of solutions. Using brushes is a great idea, but can be difficult when you are looking for something specific. You can search Google for terms like "ornate", "illumination" or "calligraphic", but your results will be mixed, as you've found.

Some plugins do offer various borders and corner effects, but most of these are costly. If money is not an issue, these may be your best bet for very fast, professional results, but keep in mind they are not always very flexible.

I suggest a trip to your local book store! In the art section, there should be some thin books that resemble coloring books, but they have actual "clip art", in that the pieces are meant to be clipped from the pages. Dover Publications produces many of these kinds of books, and several include CDs. The idea here is that you'd photograph or scan the borders you want, convert them into shapes, brushes or other objects that you save to a preferences file, and then apply them to your images.

http://store.doverpublications.com/

This process is reasonably straightforward, but may take some time to set up. Once you find some brushes you like, you'll need some practice "stamping" them so they come out clean. And when you go to apply them to your photos, be certain to make your stamps on a blank layer above your photo so you don't make any permanent marks on the image.

If you need help with converting the clip art to brushes, please let me know, or head over here and post your question for more interactive discussion:

http://photoshoptechniques.com/forum

I do recommend you keep looking for brushes, as there are a stunning variety out there; they just are not categorized very well =)

One more option might be to use Illustrator to get the shapes you want, but that can be a daunting, if rewarding, task the first time out.

I'm happy to help with any other questions you may have!

-Scott