Do you have an upcoming presentation or project with images that feel bland? If you want a quick way to make your photos more eye-catching, frames are your answer. Lucky for you, it’s easy to use frames in Canva.
Frames are a great way to give your project some professional-looking flair and decorate it to make it visually appealing. A frame can make all the difference in making your work stand out.
In this guide, I’ll go over how to find the exact frame you need, how to resize and add it to your Canva design, plus how to add multiple frames to one project. By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to use frames like a pro.
Where To Find Frames In Canva
There are two ways to browse all of the available frames in Canva: through the Elements Tab and the search bar. Both ways are great to use when actively working on a design.
To find frames through the Elements Tab, make sure you have a project open in Canva. You won’t be able to browse the available frames from the home page.
Click Elements in the Side Bar, then scroll down the Side Panel until you reach the Frames section. It should be about halfway down. Click on See All to browse the entire collection of frames.
At the top of the collection, you‘ll find basic shapes. These shapes are perfect for when you need your design to be as professional as possible.
The more you scroll down your collection, the more elaborate and creative the frames will get. These frames are perfect for when you need to make a fun design.
The second way you can find this same collection of frames is through the search bar.
First, click on the Elements tab, then click once inside the search bar. Don’t type anything. Just click inside it.
A menu of categories will pop down. This is a quick way to browse shapes, graphics, photos, and more in Canva. This includes frames, which are at the bottom of the list. Click Frames to go straight to the frames collection.
There’s one more way to search for frames, and that’s searching for a specific theme in the search bar.
You can search for almost any type of object in the search bar, and Canva will provide the best frames that match your search.
Not every object will work, of course, but even when Canva can’t find an exact match for your search, it will usually provide you will some frames that will match the general aesthetic.
How To Add A Frame To Your Canva Design
After you’ve searched for a specific frame or browsed through the collection of frames and found the one you want to use, adding the frame to your canvas is easy.
You can drag the frame from the Side Panel to your Canvas or simply click on it to add it to your design. Clicking on a frame will add it to the middle of the canvas.
If you find a frame you want to use in future designs, there are two ways to find it easier later.
First, hover your mouse over the frame in the Side Panel to reveal the Three Dots in the top right corner. Click on the three dots, and at the bottom of the list, you can click Star to add it to your Starred Folder. You can also click Add To Folder to add the frame to a folder of your choice.
To find your Starred folder, click Projects, and then in the Folders section, you’ll find the Starred folder.
How To Resize A Frame In Canva
When adding a frame to your design, chances are the default size is not the size that you need. Thankfully, you can resize a frame in seconds.
First, click the frame to reveal the corner handles. Then, drag one of the four corners until the frame is your desired size.
You can also rotate the frame with the Rotate button below the frame.
How To Add Images Into Frames In Canva
Your frame is now resized and placed where you need it. The only thing left to do is get your image into the frame.
First, you need to find an image to place in your frame. If you have a personal photo to use, you can add photos to Canva by clicking Uploads, then selecting Upload Files. You’ll be prompted to browse through your hard drive to find the file you want to upload. Your file will be under the Uploads tab.
If you want to find an image on Canva, click the Elements tab, then search for the theme you need in the search bar at the top of the Side Panel. Find the Photos section, and click See All. You can now see all the images for the theme you searched for.
Once you’ve found an image you want to use, drag it directly from the Side Panel into the frame itself. The image will resize itself to fit within the frame.
How To Reposition Or Resize An Image Inside A Frame
Sometimes, when you drag your image into a frame, the picture doesn’t quite line up how you need it. When that happens, double-click the frame itself to see the entire image. Then, drag the image to line it up to where you need it within the frame.
Once the image is where it needs to be, click anywhere on the canvas to confirm its placement.
You can still edit your image like any other image with your image in the frame. For example, you can add a filter to the image to help match the tone of the design.
Unfortunately, once your image is inside the frame, you won’t be able to crop the picture at all.
You can still flip the image by clicking the Flip button and selecting Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical.
Once your frame is ready, just add the rest of your elements to your design to finish up.
How To Add Multiple Frames To A Canva Design
One of the best parts about using frames in Canva is that you’re not limited to the number of frames you can use in your design. You can save a lot of time creating a design by setting up multiple frames, then dragging and dropping the images you need in each frame.
To start, ensure your project is open, then open up the Frames section through the search bar or Elements tab.
Click the first frame you want to use to add it to your design.
Then, resize the frame and place it where it looks best on your design.
If you want to use the same frame more than once, you don’t need to browse the Side Panel to add it.
You can quickly make a copy of the frame by selecting it, then clicking the Duplicate button in the mini options bar above the frame. This will create an exact copy of the frame next to the original. You can then place it wherever you need it.
Duplicating frames is a trick that can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
The number of frames you add to your design is up to you. It is best, however, not to overdo it with the number of frames used at the risk of overwhelming the design.
Once you have all your frames lined up, it’s time to add images to each frame.
To do this, you can use pictures you’ve uploaded to Canva yourself or search for the theme you need in the Elements panel.
Once you find the photos you want to use in your design, drag each image to each frame.
Some frames work differently than others, requiring multiple steps. For example, some frames look like one single frame but are actually two or more frames stitched together.
If you’re using one of these unique frames, all you have to do is drag one image to the first part of the frame, then drag another photo to the other part of the frame.
Once you’ve filled in each frame with an image, you may notice that your design looks and feels a bit busy, with many of your frames not differentiating from the background. You can usually fix this by adding a drop shadow to each element.
Unfortunately, you can’t add any effects to a frame. There are, however, a couple of workarounds you can do.
The first workaround is adding a shape in front of your background layer. Doing this will essentially “dim” the background a bit.
To do this, select the Elements tab, then scroll down to the Lines & Shapes section. Click on the Square shape to add it to your Canvas.
Next, stretch the element out to fit most of the canvas.
Note: Leave a little space on each side of the square. If you stretch it out completely, you risk replacing the background with the shape.
Once your shape is the size it needs to be, press Control + [ (Win) or Command + [ (Mac) to send the shape behind every other element of your design. Every other element besides the background layer should remain behind the shape.
With your shape in place, you can now click the Transparency button and use the Transparency slider to adjust the shape’s opacity. Adjust the slider enough to see the background and the shape’s color.
You don’t have to settle with the first color you choose, either. You can change the shape’s color at any time by selecting it, then clicking the Color Picker button. You can choose any color that works for you in the Side Panel.
The second way to differentiate your frames from the background image is by adding different shapes behind each frame.
To do this, use the techniques mentioned above to place a slightly transparent shape behind each frame.
Frames are by far the easiest way to creatively place images inside a Canva design and take most of the guesswork out of cropping your images too. Just add a frame, drag and drop your image, and you’re ready for action!
Happy Editing 🙂
