Polaroids for All!
Polaroid film is becoming harder and harder to come by (*tear*) but what if you still want that retro look? In today’s episode, we show you how to make a polaroid framed picture in Photoshop!
Just a Few Simple Steps
To achieve this fun and retro effect, you will need two things: a picture of your subjects, and a picture of an actual Polaroid.
Move one photo onto the other by simply using the Move Tool! Click and drag while holding the shift key. Next, select the center square of the Polaroid. In this case, we use the Magic Wand Tool, but you can use any Selection Tool of your choice. Next click the Layer Mask button, and your subjects will only show up in the middle of the polaroid.
Give your image an aged and stylized effect by using a Hue/Saturation layer. Choose a Hue that you like (we chose a Sepia Color) and make sure that the Colorize button is checked. Clip it to the Underlying Layer, and feel free to lower the Opacity if the effect looks too strong.
Another step we take is to further the believably of the edges. Put a Gaussian Blur around the edges to blend the two images in together.
If you’d like to “write” on the Polaroid, it’s best to do so with a tablet, or to actually write on it with a Pen and scan it to your computer. Also, make sure to utilize Blend-If. Double click to the right of the layer, and adjust the sliders (at the bottom of the dialogue) while holding down the Option key. This will make it seem like the Text is blending into the Polaroid.
