How to create a frame as a Template

Chose a standard size for all photos

Chose a background color and fill your project with this color - this, will in essence, be a “matte” for each photo.
The size of the matte will vary depending on the photo size and shape

Frame the outside edge of your project.

Save it as a jpg

This is your template

Open the template, change it’s name to something that will identify an individual photo -
You could use the photographer’s name

(Changing the name of the project is a very important step to prevent you from wrecking your original template)

Open the flower photo and drag/drop or copy/paste the photo onto your newly named project

Use the move tool to resize and move the photo until you have a nice looking border (your matte) around the photo

This matte space can be used for your text

At this point, you can save your project as a psd so you can come back and make changes.  Realize you cannot change your template because you have flattened it. You can, however change any photo or text you add to your template if you have saved as psd

Realize you can save the template as a psd, but that adds more layers to deal with as you go forward with your project 

ChrisAnn - I added some more info. Please re-read my response

Yes, play using your own photos. You will see if using my method gives you the results you wish

I’d provide an example but my computer with PSE on it is broken

ChrisAnn, I'm not sure this meets your needs but . . .

Create your frame on its own layer using the Edit>Stroke (Outline) Selection command. This will give you more flexibility in editing.

Save your template in a format which supports layers and background transparency -- PSD or TIFF.

Use the File>Place command to insert your image into the template. When you use this command, your image will come into Elements as a Smart Object. The advantage of working with Smart Objects is that they can be enlarged, shrunk, transformed, etc. without any problem. On the other hand, if you copy/paste or move your images into the frame template and you need to enlarge them by more than 100%, they will "go all pixely on you" (quoting Barbara Brundage in The Missing Manual).

Wow! now I've got three methods of achieving what I want to do. I'll continue 'playing' and see which one I get the hang of quickest.

Thanks everyone for your help, I knew I could rely on you to sort out my messes.

The pictures are going to arrive in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some from cameras, some from phones, so I would like to be able to adjust the fame accordingly leaving a smaller or larger space around it. This means, I hope, that all the pictures will be uniform in over all size irrespective of the proportions of the original.

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You stated you wanted the photos to be “uniform in overall size irrespective of the proportions of the original” - The only way I can see that happening when using photos of various sizes and proportions is if you start with a standard size framed template and drop your photos on to it. The only other way to make everything the same size is to crop.

Try all these methods, though. You may find keeping things all the same size isn’t the best choice

Perhaps have 2 templates - one for portrait and one for landscape. That will look neater I think.

Clive - I do not write actions, I record and create them in the full version of photoshop. The action that I provided was created by me to automate the steps required to put a frame around the image and add space to the bottom for comments.

I have no idea about writing an action outside of photoshop.

Frank