Edge Effects
from an article in Rangefinder Magazine

The best thing about EdgyGirl is its simplicity. Each edge is simply a layered Photoshop file. First, open the file with the desired edge in Photoshop. Then copy and paste your image file into the edge effect file and adjust to taste. The Photoshop files even tell you where in the layer stack to paste your image—there will be a layer labeled “Paste Your Image Above This Layer.”

The edges are grouped into several categories: 4 x 5 Polaroid, Painted, Sloppy and More Edges. The 4 x 5 Polaroid edges simulate the peel-apart Polaroid films and the unique artifacts they leave behind. Most of these edges also add a bit of smudginess and scratchiness, too. (The lowest numbered file, EdgyGirl_00, has the least smudginess and scratchiness, with the higher numbered files having progressively more.) The Painted edges have a more sharply defined inside border and painterly outside borders with white space around them. The Sloppy borders are fairly conservative black borders with some irregularities, and these are the closest thing to the sloppy borders that are offered by many photo labs. The More Edges folder has one edge that simulates two Polaroid SX-70 prints that are paper clipped together and two others that are Polaroid peel-apart films with the paper still attached.

I found it difficult to choose the best edge by viewing the file icons on my Mac, as the icons are simply too small for this pur- pose. Instead, I viewed the same folder via Adobe Bridge with nice big previews. This made for much more efficient work, and I knew I’d be happy with an edge before opening it.

While EdgyGirl provides a simple way to access some useful edges, there is one inconvenience that comes with this simplic- ity: The image sizes are fixed and may not match the size of the image file you are working with. This is easily remedied with the Image Size command. I never found it necessary to match the pixel dimensions of the edge and the image file exactly. Instead I just ballparked it—with good results.

EdgyGirl is so simple that anyone who understands layers can begin to use it immediately. It also has a nice variety of edge styles. The Polaroid edges and painted edges are very eye-catching and make for some nice variety along with the more conventional sloppy borders it provides.