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AUGUST 14, 2002 Creating an Aged Photograph in Photoshop
Then place all of your image layers (not adjustment layers) into a single Layer Set. If they lose their order during this process, make sure you place them back into the correct order. Now choose the flyaway menu from the Layers palette and select "Merge Layer Set." Now you're ready to create your edge effects on a single image layer rather than several. Whether mounted or unmounted, the most obvious edge characteristic of an aged photograph is softness of the edges. What I mean by this is that the photo paper will no longer be a perfect rectangle with straight edges and crisp corners. It will be softened. To create this effect quickly, use the rectangular marquis tool to select most of your image, insetting the selection a millimeter or two. Then choose Select > Modify > Smooth. Set the Sample Radius to 3 pixels. [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
Now choose Select > Inverse, and then hit your Delete or Backspace key to clear away the pixels contained in the selection. (In the image below, I've placed a layer of white underneath my working layer just to show more clearly what's going on in the image.) 
When you're done, Command click on your layer again to reselect the pixels in that layer. We're now going to add some discoloration to the edges, simulating the effects of handling. We'll begin by applying the Burn tool to the edges of the picture. Choose a brush size of about 65, and just start burning lightly until you can see the edges darkening. In some portions, you might need to switch the Burn tool's mode to Highlights rather than Midtones in the Tool Option palette. And you'll want to set the opacity to something like 15 or so, just so the effect is not too dramatic. 
To this we want to add a little fraying, a slight tear and further discoloration. This is accomplished quite simply. Keeping your selection active, choose Select > Modify > Border, and set the border to 10 to 15 pixels. Make sure your foreground color is set to black or dark gray. 
Now choose Filter > Sketch > Torn Edges. Set the Image Balance to about 25, Smoothness to 14 and Contrast to 17. 
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