Can I do this in Elements 8?

Question

Hello,
I am just learning how to use elements and hope someone might know how to do what I am going to describe.
I make bottle cap necklaces and right now I send my images to a person to make into bottle caps. I would like to make them myself but can't figure out how to get a picture in photoshop to be a 1 inch diamter circle.
I would like to be able to somehow use a circle shape place it over the picture I would like to use and then reduce the selection to a 1 inch diameter.
Can I do this and if so could someone explain the steps I need to follow to try it?
I have attached a file that shows three circle images I would like to be able to make myself.
Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

There are a variety of ways to get your 1X1 circle. Here's one way which offers flexibility in positioning and cropping the circle. The screenshots are in PSE2 so things will look different in PSE8 but the steps should be the same.
1. Activate the Custom Shape tool and choose a solid circle. Hold down <Shift> and draw the approximate size circle on the picture (holding <Shift> preserves the circle aspect ratio, otherwise you will get an oval). Don't worry about the exact size and position of the circle at this time. We'll take care of that in step 4.
2. Move the shape layer below the Background layer. Before you can do this you must first rename the Background layer to any other name. It is sufficient to double-click the Background layer in the Layers Palette and accept the default name "Layer 0".
3. Group the 2 layers: activate the shape layer and do Layer > Group with Previous, or use the shortcut Ctrl-G.
4. Activate the shape layer and activate the Move tool. Use the mouse and/or arrow keys to precisely position the circle on the face. You can also resize the circle by holding down <Shift> while you drag any corner handle.
Now to get it to 1X1 size:
5. Ctrl-click the shape layer to select the circle, and do Image > Crop.
6. Image > Resize > Image Size. Leave the Resample Image box unchecked. Enter 1 inches in either the Width or Height box (the other will be automatically set to 1) and click OK.
At this point you can save the file, or since the circle is still selected you can activate the face layer and copy/paste the face to wherever you want it to go.