From YourSITE.com
TECHNIQUE: Bent Photo Look
By Krsiti McFadden
Mar 10, 2005, 14:04
DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS TUTORIAL HERE (PDF).
If you haven't used the grouping function in DIP before you may want to refer to my tutorial titled “Grouping Items” prior to starting this tutorial.
*TIP- I find that horizontally cropped photos work the best for the bent look but I have been able to do this successfully with vertically cropped pictures but it takes more tweaking and time.
1. Open a new document. FILE>NEW>Set your canvas size and make sure you are working in 300dpi. I'm using an 8in. x 8in. canvas.
2. Insert your photo. INSERT>PICTURE>FROM MY COMPUTER – browse and select your photo.
Before the following step I'm going to colorize my background so you can see what I'm doing a bit better. You may also want to do this if you are still working with a white canvas color behind you. If you wish to do this you will need to select: INSERT>SHAPE>SQUARE. (If you plan to keep the background be sure to remove the black line from around the shape.) Enlarge the square so that it fills the size of the canvas and fill it with color.
3. (OPTIONAL STEP) If you don't want to add a border to your photograph you can skip this step and go on down to step 4. Personally I prefer the look of a crisp white frame around my photos. You can achieve this several ways but my favorite way is to just back the photograph with a white rectangle (or a white shape that matches the shape of the photograph.) To make sure that my shape is in proportion to the photograph I usually first duplicate the photo.
3a) Select the photograph. Click on COPY. Then click on PASTE. 
3b) Select your copy. Select EFFECTS>FILL WITH TEXTURE OR COLOR. Then select the color white (If you want to use another color you can- I prefer white because it gives the photo a nice, crisp, professional print look.)
3c) Move the white shape behind your photograph in the layers section.
On the canvas it will look like this:
3d) Select the white shape and enlarge it so it surrounds your photograph evenly.
*TIP - I've found the best way to make sure the photo and its backing are lined up accurately is to drag the rulers down and make sure to line the photograph up on a specific number – for example here I lined the picture up on 2 inches horizontal and 3 inches Vertical. Next move the shape so that it is around 1/8 – 1 /16 of an inch larger than the picture. Sometimes that amount just looks too thick and I will play with the edges until I get them to the size I like. You will have to decide what you prefer.
3e) Once you have completed the border you will need to group the picture and the shape together. (Use the tutorial referenced above if you don't know how to do this.) When the two items have been grouped you will be able to move them freely around your layout. You will also be able to apply effects to the grouping allowing you to keep everything uniform; which is important if you are trying to make two items appear as if they were originally just one. The effects do not stick if you UNGROUP the items so be sure to only group them once you are positive you like the amount of white border showing.
Okay, now we can move on to the effect that will give you the bent look!
4. Using your “Common Tasks” sidebar go to EFFECTS>DISTORT> and then select WAVE 1. (If you hold your mouse over the various boxes a text box will appear identifying what you are looking at.) Change the slider to around +10. (It usually starts out around 40, which distorts the photo too much.) You can decide how much distort you like but I find that between 10 and 25 is usually perfect for the effect I want.
Here are a few examples of my photo with various amounts of distort.
There are many different ways to use bent photos in a layout. These steps are the closest I've come to being able to produce the look that many Photoshop and Paint Shop users are capable of achieving. You will want to add a shadow when placing this into a layout, make sure it fits with the shadow of your design. Play around with this feature a bit and then head over to my tutorial titled, “Using a Bent Photo in a Layout.”
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