Photo Spill Frame or Out of Bounds?  I’ve had several people ask me the difference between them.  I believe the difference is in the precision.  A Photo Spill Frame is out of bounds but an Out of Bounds effect is not necessarily a Photo Spill Frame!  Let me elaborate.

The “bounds” I’m speaking of is the photo’s frame.  So Out of Bounds is a technique where the photo is not contained within the boundaries of the frame.

When I think of the Out of Bounds effect I think about arms, hands, heads, leaves, or something similar extending outside of the frame.  Here are a couple of examples of what I mean when I talk about an Out of Bounds effect.   The surfer’s arms and head extend beyond the frame in the first example.  In the second example, the woman’s feet are out of bounds.

A Photo Spill Frame effect makes me think of something spilling out over the frame.  While it’s still technically an out of bounds effect it’s not as precise as the examples above.  Water and waves are perfect subjects for this effect but not the only possibilities.  Consider anything that can, well, spill or overflow.  The technique I use in each case is also different.  Here are a couple of examples.  I used the surfer photo again for the first Photo Spill Frame example to see the difference in the two effects on the same photo.  I also added a wave element here.

Here’s an example of a different type of Photo Spill.  As you can see it’s larger & less precise.

If you’d like to find out how to create a layout using the Photo Spill Frame effect using Photoshop Elements check out my tutorial, How to Create a Photo Spill Frame Effect.  I hope you will enjoy and use this effect in some of your layouts.  What ideas do you have for other items that can spill over the edge of the frame?  Please comment and share your ideas.

Credits:  The layout examples were created using various elements from the following kits:

A Day at the Beach, Everyday Stories-Home, and Kraft Party by Kimeric Kreations.