Apply Effects to a Frame Without Affecting Its Content

[Adi1231234]

Hello,

I'm currently facing a challenge and would appreciate your guidance. My goal is to apply a stroke and drop shadow effect directly to a frame in Photoshop, but not to the content (image) inside the frame. I've tried selecting the frame and applying the effects, but it seems that only the content receives these effects, not the frame itself.

Is there a way to specifically target the frame with these effects without affecting the image within it? I want to maintain the ability to adjust or move the image inside the frame after applying these effects.

Additionally, I’m looking for a solution that doesn't overly complicate the PSD structure, such as duplicating layers unnecessarily or converting the frame into a Smart Object, as I still want to be able to move the content inside the frame independently.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions and tips!

[Myra Ferguson]

You can add a stroke to a frame, but you can't add Layer Styles or Filters to a frame.

• https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/place-image-frame-tool.html#stroke-frame

If you want to add Layer Styles or Filters, you'll need to add them to a different type of object. In this case, you would need to duplicate a layer. Here's one way that you could do it:

1. Create a shape with one of the Shape tools, such as the Rectangle tool that will become the frame (draw the shape instead of using the Frame tool).
2. Duplicate the shape (you can drag it to the + button at the bottom of the Layers panel)
3. Place your photo (File > Place Embedded...).
4. Select one of the rectangle shapes in the Layers panel, right-click, and select Convert to Frame
5. Select the other rectangle and apply the desired effects.
6. Select both the frame with the photo layer and the rectangle with the effects in the Layers panel, right-click, and select Link Layers (when they're linked, then you can move one and have the other move with it.

[Adi1231234]

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation!
I tried the method you described, and it indeed worked beautifully for adding effects to the frame without impacting the content inside.
However, I've noticed that it doubles the number of layers in my document. While this approach is effective, I'm concerned about managing a larger number of layers in more complex projects.
Is there a way to achieve a similar effect with fewer layers, or do you have any tips for managing the increased layer count more efficiently?
Thank you again for your help, it has been truly valuable.

[Myra Ferguson]

To manage layers, you can use a layer group (Layer > Group Layers or Ctrl, Windows, or Command, macOS, + G). 

If you expect to have a lot of these layer groups, you can assign colors to them by right-clicking to the right of the layer group name and selecting a color. Then you can use the dropdown menu at the top of the Layers panel to filter by color. You can do the same filtering by name or other attributes.

I also like the idea of turning the frame layer into a Smart Object so that you can apply layer styles to it.

[Conrad C · Accepted solution]

Frames are a good idea, but unfortunately in Photoshop they’re underdeveloped; Photoshop frames are not as versatile and production-friendly as the frames in Adobe InDesign.

What I do instead is draw a path, then apply it to a layer as a vector mask (Layer > Vector Mask > Current Path). A vector mask behaves like a pixel mask: Any effects apply to the mask edge, so it’s straightforward to apply a stroke and drop shadow that work like you expect them to. As a vector mask, it’s easy to resize or reshape independently of the layer content.

In the picture below, I drew the path using the Rectangle (not Rectangular Marquee) tool set to Path mode (not Shape mode), then applied that as a vector mask to the bird layer (Layer 0). In the Layers panel, you can see that the Stroke and Drop Shadow effects are applied to Layer 0 as you would expect, limited by the vector mask edge, the way we wish frames would work.

It’s not known (to us users) why frames in Photoshop are not as capable as a vector mask, since it seems like a frame should just be a type of vector mask.

[Adi1231234]

Thanks for your suggestion, I tried it out and indeed found it to be a fascinating technique!
However, it turned out to be quite challenging and less suitable for my specific needs. In my work, I create a wide variety of templates for different uses. This process is characterized by using frames in Photoshop, which allows me to drag images directly into these templates. Photoshop automatically adjusts the image to fit the size of the frame, streamlining my workflow significantly.
Despite this, I must say it’s really cool and opened my eyes to new possibilities.
I truly appreciate your insight!

[Trevor.Dennis]

If you'd still like more guidence on this, can you show us your workspace and layers panel? 

[Adi1231234]

I've attached a sample file to illustrate my workspace. For each frame, I'm looking to apply both a stroke and a drop shadow directly, without the need to add additional layers.
I'm aiming to retain all the benefits that come with using frames, such as the ability to easily replace images while maintaining these effects. Is there a way to achieve this within Photoshop's current capabilities, preserving the simplicity and efficiency of using frames?

[Trevor.Dennis]

I think Conrad has given you a good answer.  My mind went straight to using Photoshop Frames instead of templates.  They are incredibly useful and fast to use when you have a lot of images to process.  You can't add a layer style (drop shadow) to a frame, but you only have to make the frame a Smart Object to fix that.

This shows two frames. The first has an image in the frame and you can see the outline of the image as the grey rectangle.  To add an image to the next frame, simply select and either drag an image to it, or use Place Embedded.

As mentioned, we can't apply Layer Styles to a frame, but making it a Smart Object lets us do that.

[Ancelmo Alves]

But you can also simply click: create group from layer and add effects.

[AndrewBuckle]

You can add a layer style to a frame by just converting it to a smart object and then using layer styles on that - so the bevel etc is applied to the frame - not ideal, it would be great if the frame tool had the feature to apply a style to the frame and / or content as well

[Ancelmo Alves]

Maybe I don't understand what this is about. But for me, if I'm going to add effects to the board, I've always used it this way.