Step 12: Save The Image As A Photoshop .PSD File

We're done preparing our image for use as a displacement map. All we need to do now is save it, and we need to save it as a Photoshop .PSD file, since those are the only types of files that Photoshop will allow us to use as displacement maps. You're going to want to save the file someplace where you can easily find it since we'll be using it in a moment. I'd recommend either saving it directly to your desktop or creating a folder on your desktop and saving all your displacement map images in the folder. I have a folder on my desktop named "displacement maps" and I'm going to save my file in that folder.

To save the file, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S (Win) / Command+S (Mac), which is the quick and easy way to access Photoshop's "Save" command. Since this is the first time we're saving the file, Photoshop will actually bring up the Save As dialog box so we can tell it what to name the file, where to save it, and which file format to save it as. I'm going to name my file "wood-chips" (you'll probably want to name your file something different unless you also happen to be using a photo of wood chips) and I'll save it as a Photoshop .PSD file by choosing that option from the Format selection box:

Again, I'm going to save my file inside a folder on my desktop which I've named "displacement maps". Make sure you save your file someplace where you can easily access it. Click OK to save the file and exit out of the dialog box when you're done.

You can close out of the image's document window at this point since we no longer need it open.

Step 13: Prepare And Save A Second Image As A Displacement Map (Optional)

If you really want to create some interesting and unique photo borders, try using a couple of different images as displacement maps instead of just one. This is optional of course, but I'm going to open a second image to use as a displacement map. I'll use this photo I took of some tree bark:

Repeat steps 9-11 with your second image (assuming you're using one) to prepare it as a displacement map. When you're done, the image should be in black and white with a strong amount of contrast and it should have a slight amount of blurring applied to smooth out any harsh edges. Here's my image after preparing it for use as a displacement map:

I'll save this image to the same location as my previous image by pressing Ctrl+S (Win) / Command+S (Mac). Again, since this is the first time I'm saving the image, Photoshop will pop up the Save As dialog box. I'm going to name this image "tree-bark" and I need to save this one as a Photoshop .PSD file as well:

Click OK when you're done to save the image and exit out of the dialog box, then close out of the image's document window.

Step 14: Make Sure The Layer Mask On "Layer 1" Is Selected

At this point, all you should have open on your screen is the original photo (the one we're adding the border effect to). Make sure that you have the layer mask selected on "Layer 1". You can tell if the layer mask is selected or not by looking at "Layer 1" in the Layers palette. You should see a white highlight box around the layer mask thumbnail indicating that it's selected. If instead you see the highlight box around the preview thumbnail on the left, click on the layer mask thumbnail to select it:

We're going to create our photo border effect next!