Pop-out polaroid effect in Adobe Photoshop

Published on August 1, 2022

Photo inside polaroid frame (with pop-out effect)

In this blog I’ll show you how to create a polaroid picture effect with a pop-out effect in Adobe Photoshop. I’ll also explain how to make the inside of the polaroid frame colored and the background black & white.

If you’d rather watch the video with instructions, click here or scroll down to the end of this page.

Download the images I used:
Polaroid frame
Dog 1
Dog 2

Step 1: Select subject

Open the photo that you want to edit. Use the quick selection tool to select your subject.

Then press CTRL+J to duplicate the selected area. You now have a new layer with your subject and a transparent background. I rename this layer ‘subject’.

Step 2: Polaroid effect

Now open the file with the polaroid frame. Select the move tool and drag this frame towards the file you’re editing. Place the frame over your photo. I rename this layer ‘polaroid’.

Press CTRL+T (with the move tool selected) to activate free transform. You can now resize the frame and change the position. You can also rotate the frame a bit to make your subject fit in. Think about what area of the subject is going to pop-out of the frame while picking the position.

Step 3: Pop-out polaroid effect

Add a mask to the polaroid layer. Hold CTRL and click on the thumbnail of the subject layer (make sure you click on the thumbnail and not on the layer itself). The subject is now selected. The polaroid layer mask should also still be selected (if not, select it).

Select the brush tool (brush opacity 100%). Make the foreground color black. Make sure the polaroid layer mask is still selected. Brush over the area that has to pop-out of the frame (I’ve brushed over the ears). Because you’ve selected the subject, this will only affect the area inside of this selection.

When you’re done, press CTRL+D to deselect.

Step 4: Black & white background

To create the black & white background, add a black & white adjustment layer.

This layer already has a layer mask, select that mask. Again select the brush tool and make sure the foreground color is still black. Brush over the inside of the polaroid frame to bring back the color.

Tip: You can use the [ and ] keys to adjust the size of your brush.

Now all you have to do is bring back the color in the areas that are popping out of the frame. Hold CTRL and again click on the thumbnail of the subject layer to select your subject. Make sure the black & white layer mask is still selected. Brush over the areas that pop out of the frame. Because of the selection, this will also only affect the areas inside of the selection.