Make rounded corners using Photoshop and Photoshop Elements
filed in Rounded Corners, Tutorials on Jan.05, 2007
Rounding the corners of your photos is a nice way to change the look of a layout. Steps in this tutorial create a rounded shape that is used as a clipping mask to create rounded corners on a photo. This technique can also be used to create simple journaling tags or mattes!
In Photoshop Elements 4 or Photoshop CS2:
- Open the photo or background you want to have rounded corners.
- Photoshop Elements 4: Choose ‘File-Duplicate’ from the Menu Bar and enter a unique name for the new document.
Photoshop CS2: Choose ‘Image-Duplicate’ from the Menu Bar and enter a unique name for the new document. - Close the original document. (You do all of this so that there is no risk of damaging your original photo!
- Choose the ‘Rounded Rectangle’ tool from your Tool Palette & change the radius to 125 in the Radius window below the Menu Bar. For CS2, also choose the ‘Shape Layers’ icon in the Menu tool bar.
- Click and drag with the mouse until you have drawn a rectangle the size you want your photo or element to be. Release the mouse. You will now have a filled rectangle shape with rounded corners on its own layer above your photo.
- With the move tool, click and drag the rectangle to reposition it over your photo or background as desired. (Tip: To lower the opacity of the rectangle, allowing you to see your photo/paper beneath it, click inside the opacity window at the top of the layers palette and type in a lower number. You MUST return the opacity to 100% before continuing to Step 7! Also, be sure that ‘Auto Select Layer’ on the bar below the Menu Bar at the top of your screen is NOT checked when moving the lowered opacity rectangle).
- In the layers palette, drag your photo layer ABOVE the rectangle layer (you are just swapping their positions in the stack).
To create the rounded shape for the clipping mask:
You are now going to create a clipping group. There are several ways to do this.
- Select the photo layer in the layers palette.
- Photoshop Elements: Click ‘Ctrl-G’ (or ‘Layer-Group With Previous’ from Menu Bar).
Photoshop CS2: Click ‘Ctrl-Alt-G’ (or ‘Layer-Create Clipping Mask’ from Menu Bar). - To merge the layers hold ‘Shift-Ctrl-E’. This will merge all visible layers into one layer. You now have a photo with rounded corners, ready to place in your layout.
UPDATE: If your photo layer is also a background layer, you will either have to rename it by doubleclicking on the layer and then accepting the default ‘Layer 0′ or giving it a name of your choice. An alternative is to make a copy of your photo layer and work with that. When you get ready to merge the matte and photo layers, be sure they are the only two layers visible! Click on the ‘eye’ icon to the left of any other layers prior to the merge. You can click again afterward so they will be visible. Again, an alternative to that would be to shift and click on the photo matte layer and the photo layer and then do Ctrl & E, that will merge just the two selected layers. I hope this helps some of you who’ve had some trouble with this!
November 21st, 2008 on 4:46 pm
THANK YOU for posting this tutorial! It really helped me out!!!!!!
January 13th, 2009 on 10:44 am
Thank you. This is the best guide I have managed to find on rounding corners and I have spent all blinking afternoon on it.
However! I still have a problem. Having followed your instructioons above I am left with a rectangular image with a black outline. My photo, with rounded corners, is neatly within the rectangle but the corner bits of the rectangle are now white. Do you know how I can
a) Get rid of the black border and
b) make the white bits that were once the corners transparent so that they blend into whatever background I drop the image into?
Many thanks
Charlie
January 29th, 2009 on 12:28 pm
You are welcome! I’m in the middle of making a video tutorial showing how to do this in Photoshop Elements 7. Taking me awhile to get the time to get it posted, though!
February 9th, 2009 on 2:20 pm
Note to readers: I replied to Charlie via email because her problem sounded pretty confusing! After several emails back and forth she discovered that she had been saving the file as a JPEG. FYI, JPEGs cannot have a transparent background, so there was always a solid background underneath her newly rounded photo! So, be sure to save yours as a PNG or as a PSD or TIFF in order to preserve the transparency around the photo! – Janet
July 29th, 2009 on 9:54 am
Janet – I took your advice on saving file as a TIFF to maintain the transparency, however when I insert into publisher, the background still appears solid. Any additional help would be appreciated. Patty
August 3rd, 2009 on 6:17 pm
I don’t use Publisher, but it sounds like you may be bringing it in as a jpeg instead of a tiff, or you aren’t bringing it in as a layered TIFF. Hope that helps! Janet
August 3rd, 2009 on 8:40 pm
Wow! I’ve been trying and trying to do this. I read this and withing a minute I did it ! Yea! I’m so excited! Thank you!
November 13th, 2010 on 4:41 pm
It would be very good if you explain it a bit more.Provide us a video tutorial on how to make a rounded corner.
I have tried everything you explain here in your tutorial but i am stuck at this point when i try to apply the rounded rectangle tool it applied on the image very well but after that it becomes black rounded image.
This is the image i want to make it rounded corner.
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz269/duke7891/uploading_logo.png
Please shoot me an email if you are able to make this image cornered.
November 13th, 2010 on 9:13 pm
I actually did make a video tutorial and it is up on youtube. Try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jz1-lZZeoM
Hope that helps!
Janet