Add a frame or border to an image
Put a plain border around a photo, or set a photo or screenshot on a padded background, a colour or a gradient, with rounded corners and a shadow. Make it square or 4:5 for a post without cropping anything.
The frames here are borders and backgrounds. There are no wooden, Polaroid or ornamental picture frames.
How to add a frame or border
- Paste an image with Ctrl+V, drop a file on the page or press Load.
- The Frame tool is open. Tap the Background swatch at the start of its bar to open the picker, then White for a plain border, or another colour; the field at the bottom sets any colour.
- For a padded background, tap one of the eight gradients there instead, or the checkered swatch for a transparent one. A frame started that way has wider padding, rounded corners and a shadow.
- To set the width, drag Padding sideways with a mouse, or tap it for a slider. The width is a share of the image's longer side, so 4% is a thin border and 15% a wide one. The Corners setting rounds the image's corners, and Shadow lifts the image off the background.
- Keep Auto for the image's own proportions, or pick 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9.
- Copy with Ctrl+C, or save as PNG, JPEG or WebP.
Square for Instagram, 16:9 for slides
Pick 1:1 to make the picture square without cutting anything off. The frame grows on the short sides until the whole image fits. 4:5 is Instagram's tall post, and 16:9 fits a slide, a video thumbnail or a link preview. The saved file has that exact ratio, with the image whole and centred and at least the padding on every side.
Frame a screenshot for sharing
For a post, a slide or a README, put the screenshot on a gradient. Tap one first, and the frame starts with padding, rounded corners and a shadow. Arrows, text, numbered steps, highlights and blurs work as they do anywhere else in the editor. They stay on the screenshot and are cut off at its edge, not drawn onto the background.
A window screenshot with transparent edges and its own shadow, as macOS takes them, shows the background through its edges, and the frame's shadow falls from the window itself. Switch Shadow off to keep only the window's own.
FAQ
Is my image uploaded?
No. The frame is drawn in your browser, and the image never leaves your device.
Does the frame cover part of my image?
No. It goes around the image, which stays whole. Only rounded corners cut into it.
Can the background be transparent?
Yes, with the checkered swatch. A PNG or WebP keeps the padding and the rounded corners transparent; a JPEG can't, so they turn white.
Does it keep my image's quality?
PNG keeps every pixel of the image. JPEG and WebP compress it again at the quality you pick. A phone or tablet saves at most 16.7 megapixels and a computer 67. When the image and its frame come to more than that, the whole picture is scaled down to fit, and the message after saving gives the size. On a phone, a 12-megapixel photo passes the limit once its border is about 8% wide.
Can I change the frame later?
Yes. The frame is one edit. Change it from the Frame bar, or revert it in History, even after reopening the image. Remove, on the Frame bar, takes it off and leaves the image as it was.