Can you add a border using canvas size if the photo is cropped?

[JEK99]

I have been creating white borders around my photos by unlocking the Background layer, then adjusting the canvas size (Image > Canvas Size) to 30x30 inches, then adding a Solid Color adjustment layer, making the adjustment layer white, and dragging the adjustment layer below the Background layer.

This worked just fine until I tried to do it with a photo I had cropped in Photoshop (rather than cropping it in Lightroom before opening it in Photoshop).  When I adjust the canvas size, it appears around the original sized version of my photo, not the cropped version.  Is there a way to see only the cropped photo against the canvas?  Or another way to add white borders to a photo that has been cropped in Photoshop?

[Edit:  Since posting this question, I realized that I can save the cropped version of my photo outside Photoshop, then open it as a new photo in Photoshop and just add the border.  But I'm still interested to know if there's a way to do this while editing the photo in Photoshop without having to save it and reimport it.]

Thanks

Justine

[JJMack]

If the is no background layer you would need to add one so do not convert your background layer to a normal layer,  If there is no background layer and you add  canvas the canvas will be empty in the added border area.  If there is a background layer the border will be the background color or the color you set in the canvas size operation.

[Bojan Živković]

I am wondering do you have Delete Cropped Pixels turned on when using the Crop tool? From your description it seems that you are cropping image non-destructively with mentioned option unchecked.

[JEK99]

Thanks for this.  That makes sense.  Next stupid question:   As I did not have ''Delete cropped pixels'' checked when I originally did the crop, how do I get rid of them later?  When I go back to the crop tool and can see the crop lines around my photo, check the ''Delete cropped pixels'' box and then press Enter, the photo looks cropped on the screen.  Yet the cropped pixels are still present, as they continue to come back when I enlarge the canvas to create a border.

[Bojan Živković]

To ensure that you do not have any pixel outside canvas do the following: Select All from Select menu or use Ctrl/Cmd + A keyboard shortcut. Go to Image > Crop then deselect. This will crop any pixel outside the canvas but will not crop vector objects and Smart Object content, keep that in mind.

[JEK99]

Thanks.  Alas, that didn't work either.  I didn't use a vector object or Smart Object, but used a smart filter to change the clarity.  Or maybe because I'm a Photoshop newbie, I'm doing something really wrong and just don't realize it.  In the meantime, the lesson here is that, for photos where I know I'm going to add a border later, I should crop in Lightroom before opening in Photoshop, or else be prepared for a few extra steps at the end (saving and opening it as a new photo) to add a border. 

[gener7]

I hope I understand what you want, so if you go into Image > Canvas Size  and checkmark Relative, you can define the size and color of your border.

In this case the Background Layer isn't unlocked. If you crop in Photoshop using the Crop Tool, first check "Delete Cropped Pixels" if you don't want them.