How to superimpose a photo into a frame in photoshop

• May 12th, 2025
• Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial, we’ll be exploring a great technique for how you can superimpose a photo into a frame using Photoshop. It’s a great, short technique to learn for your photo editing projects.

Tutorial details

• Program: Photoshop
• Time estimation: Under 3 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Resource used: Photo frame and Elderly gentlemen

Preview

Step 1: Set Up Your Canvas

Firstly, open up Photoshop and select the Rectangle Tool from the side toolbar. Draw a rectangle over the area where you want to place the new image. In the options bar at the top, ensure that the border radius is set to zero to keep the corners sharp.

Step 2: Convert to Smart Object

Right-click on your newly created rectangle layer in the layers panel and choose Convert to Smart Object. This will allow you to non-destructively edit the image layer you are about to place inside the rectangle.

Step 3: Distort the Smart Object to Fit the Frame

Press Command + T (or Ctrl + T on a PC) to enter transform mode. Right-click on the transform box that appears and select Distort. Drag each anchor point so that it aligns precisely with the corners of the frame or the area you want to cover.

Step 4: Import and Resize Your Image

Right-click on the Smart Object in the layers panel and choose Replace Contents. This allows you to import the image you want to superimpose; let’s say an image of an elderly gentleman. Once the image is loaded, it might need resizing to fit within the confines of the Smart Object precisely. Adjust the size accordingly and hit Enter to confirm the transformation.

Step 5: Save Your Work

With your image now correctly placed and resized within the Smart Object, press Command + S (or Control + S on a PC) to save your work. Close the Smart Object window to return to your main project.

Video Transcript

Hello and welcome to Creative Nerds. In this Photoshop tutorial we’ll be looking at how you can superimpose a person or an image to replace this photo frame. So we’re going to start off by selecting our rectangle tool and we’re just going to draw a rectangle on our canvas and then we’re going to change the border radius to be zero. And then from there we’re going to right click on our rectangle layer and select convert to smart object. We’re then going to press command T and then press right click and select distort and we’re just going to grab each anchor point and we’re just going to ensure that it aligns with the corner of our image so it covers where the photo is currently and then we’re going to select enter. We’re going to right click on our smart object we just created and then we’re going to import our image. So we’re just going to use an image of an elderly gentleman and we’re just going to resize it so it fits within our smart object. So now that is scaled down we’re simply going to select enter then press command S or control S if you’re on a PC and then we’re going to close that layer. And there you go we’ve superimposed our photo onto this picture frame and this effect works with anything. You can even use it on like a billboard or a poster. It’s a great tutorial and one that you can apply to your designs in a matter of seconds. Thanks for watching and stay tuned to Creative Nerds for further quick tips on how to use Photoshop.