I will use a picture of Rome (size: 280 x 210 pixels, resolution: 72 pixels / inch). If you want to practice on it, download it here. If you have a photo of your own, just check its pixel dimensions and its resolution before you start.
1. CREATING A NEW FILE
We’ll start off by creating the background for the photo and its jagged frame, in a new, separate Fireworks file. After that, we’ll import our photo into it.
So, launch Fireworks and select Create New > Fireworks Document (PNG).
In the New Document dialog box, under Canvas Size, enter 340 pixels for the width and 270 for the height. Since this file is going to serve as the background for our photo, it has to be bigger than the photo itself: if you’re using your own photo here, just make sure the canvas height and width are both about 60 pixels larger than the photo.
Set the resolution to 72 pixels / inch, to match the resolution of our photo.
Set the Canvas color to Custom, click the Canvas color box and pick a light grey color from the Swatches pop-up window or type the hexadecimal value of #999999 (it's always good if your canvas color matches the color of your web page background). Finally, click OK to create the document.
2. CREATING A RECTANGLE
Once inside the document, select the Rectangle tool. We’ll create a rectangle that will act as the border surrounding the photo.
Click and drag on the canvas to draw a rectangle of any size. Make sure it is selected, and then slide down to the Property inspector to change its appearance and position.
Click the Fill Color box next to the bucket icon and type #EFEBE8 in the text box at the top of the pop-up window. This gives the rectangle a pale sepia hue.
Click the Stroke Color box next to the pencil icon, and click the Transparent button at the top of the pop-up window to remove the outline.
Now we’ll set the size of the rectangle: again, it has to be slightly bigger than the photo – about 20 pixels larger in width and height, to obtain a 10 pixels thick border around the photo. For me, it will measure 300 x 230 pixels.
To resize the rectangle, type the new dimensions in the width box (W) and the height box (H) in the lower left corner of the Property inspector, pressing Enter after applying the values.
Finally, we’ll enter the X and Y coordinates to specify our rectangle’s position: to place it in the center of the canvas, type 20 for both the X position and the Y position. Again, press Enter upon applying these values.
3. IMPORTING THE PHOTO
We can import the photo now. Select File > Import (or click the Import button right above the Document window) to open the Import dialog box.
Navigate to the folder containing the actual photo, select it and click Open. Then click anywhere on the canvas to insert the photo. With the photo selected, enter the X and Y coordinates of 30, 30 to place it in the center of the rectangle.
4. RESHAPING THE RECTANGLE
Now we’re ready to reshape the rectangle’s edges, i.e. the border of our photo, to give it a jagged look.
Note that our rectangle is actually a grouped object, because the basic shape tools in Fireworks draw shapes as grouped objects. To be able to reshape it using the Freeform tool (which alters the shape of objects by editing their paths), we must first ungroup it, i.e. turn it into a vector object (a vector object is a graphic whose shape is defined by a path, a series of points plotted along its outline).
Select the rectangle (being careful not to select the photo), and select Modify > Ungroup. Our rectangle is turned into a path.
Zoom in for a closer view: select the Zoom tool, and click over the top left edge of the rectangle to magnify it. Then select the Freeform tool from the Tools panel.
In the Property inspector, enter a value of 10 in the Size text box, to specify the amount to be reshaped.
Now move the pointer over the top edge of the rectangle, and place it directly over the path (our rectangle’s outline): it changes to the pull pointer. Click, hold the mouse button down and drag the path down a little, toward the photo, then finally release the mouse button. You have just pulled a path segment down.
Repeat this process all along the rectangle's edges. This may take a while, but remember that you don’t have to be extremely careful or slow here: you don’t need to pull all the segments equally, or space these distortions evenly. It’s even better to keep it slightly irregular: it will result in a more realistic look.
6. APPLYING A SEPIA TONE
To apply a subtle brownish tone to the photo, select the photo, then select Commands > Creative > Convert to Sepia Tone. You’ll notice the preset Hue/Saturation filter added to the Filters list in the Property inspector.
7. ADDING NOISE
For a more realistic look, we’re going to add some noise to the photo: select the photo, click the Add Live Filters button in the Property inspector, and select Noise > Add Noise.
Enter the following settings in the Add Noise dialog box that appears: set the Amount value to 5, verify the Color check box is unchecked, and click OK.
Now go ahead and apply the same filter to the jagged rectangle behind the photo!
8. APPLYING A DROP SHADOW
To make it appear as the photo was exposed to a light source above it, we’ll apply a drop shadow filter to its jagged frame.
Select the jagged rectangle, click the Add Live Filters button in the Property inspector, and select Shadow and Glow > Drop Shadow. Then enter the following shadow settings in the pop-up window:
Set the distance to 8.
Select the Color box to open the color pop-up window and set the shadow color to black (#000000).
Set the Opacity to 50%.
Set the Softness to 5.
Set the Angle to 315.
Make sure the Knock Out option is deselected (this option would hide the object and display the shadow only).
To close the window, just click outside of it or press Enter.
9. ROTATING THE PHOTO
As the final touch, we’ll rotate the photo a little to add some movement to the composition.
Take the Pointer tool and drag it across the canvas diagonally to include every object on it inside the selection area (the jagged rectangle and the photo). Then select Modify > Group, to group them and enable us to rotate the whole as a single object.
Making sure the group is selected, take the Scale tool.
Now, place the cursor near any corner of the photo until the rotation pointer appears, then drag to rotate. Rotate it for about 10° counter-clockwise.
There you have it – it’s a picture of Rome from the 1950s!
10. SAVING THE FILE
You can save this file in any format you want. If you select File > Save, the document will be automatically saved as a PNG file (it is the default Fireworks file format). By using the Save As command, you can save it as a JPEG file, thus obtaining a much smaller file size.
It is certainly a good idea to keep a PNG copy of this file – since this format remains editable, you can always go back and make additional changes, or you can even use it as a template - just replace the current photo with another one!
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