This is an amazing technique I came across for creating round or oval mats for photos instead of creating a separate element. I wish I had known about this when I first went digital; it would have saved a lot of time.
1. select photo
2. format photos
3. “select frame”
4. double click on “double mat”
5. under the “format photos” tab select “customize”
6. select the smaller mat (first on the top row of the pop-up window), “cutout”, double click on “ellipse” (circle), “mat fill” make your selection (anything but transparent)
7. select the larger mat (second on the top row, green by default on 4.0), “cutout”, double click on “ellipse” (circle), “mat fill”, “make transparent”, “okay”
For a double mat, select the triple mat and make sure the largest mat is transparent.
enjolivure 
If you don’t want a mat but just a shaped photo, select the option with a single mat, make it transparent but still choose your shape for the cut-out.
This way your photo maintains its photo properties (crop, move, zoom) which you would lose if you were to flatten it and cut it.
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