Making a collage/montage with CS2

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I need a set of simple steps to make a collage/montage with CS2. I

simply want to display 5 or 6 photos of different sizes on one page

with a background color. No overlapping necessary.

 

I can't find this in any of the guides I have.

 

Thank you.

Step ONE -- Create a new "image"... Ctrl-N

 

Step TWO -- Then open up the five photos you want to collage. Put a marquis around them and simply paste them over to your original blank background document you opened in step 1.

 

Step THREE -- each pasted image is a separate layer you can select and move around and place on your finished collage. Flatten all layers when you are sure you are done and you save the file; job done.<div></div>

Or get a little creative:<div></div>

Or try with a different background color:<div></div>

Ken, I have a new found respect for you! You took pictures of my favorite newspaper and subject...Beer! Check out my beer website and tell me about some good beers in your area: http://www.nwhopheads.com

Jan. 2006 PN answer:

<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EisL&tag=">Gary Fong, et al, on collage tips</a><p>

 

and a more complex set of collage-make answers:

<a href="http://www.desktoppublishingforum.com/bb/archive/index.php/t-1282.html">Desktop Publ on collages</a><p>

 

And PhotoShop TV on making collages, requires an MP4 player:

<a href="http://www.photoshoptv.com/photoshoptv/photoshop-tv-episode-16-february-6-2006.html">Scott Kelby and crew</a> with a video demo.

Thank you all. Most appreciated. I'll play with these and thanks for the samples. Exactly what I want to do.

One thing you need to keep in mind is once you scale the images down you can't scale them back up without loosing quality. If you want to be flexible about the images' relative size up until you flatten them you may consider using them as Smart Objects (File / Place).

Serge, When I tried this last night I was using large files thinking I could downsize. Wrong! So Ken said I need to presize them. That's Ok if I know what I want in advance. Sometimes I like to be flexible and modify the images while I make the composite. I once had a simple program called Adobe Photo Deluxe 4.0 that had an easy collage option, but I can't find the CD to install it on my new computer.

 

I will also try your suggestion regarding Smart Objects. Thanks.

Smart Objects are a good way to work - they keep all original information of the Placed files and they are resolution-independant. You can resize them at will by hitting CTRL-T - and even if you screw up proportions you can adjust them back to normal without any damage done.

 

Unfortunately they make your total file size huge (before you flatten it obviously). Not a big deal if your computer can handle it. You can even Place RAW files as smart objects but only if you use ACR as a converter.

After about 2 hours and some playing with image sizes, layers, and positioning, I think I have the idea. Still not sure exactly what I did to get the background color. I need to work with that. Now to make it a quick and easy job. I learned a lot about layers doing this, and this is what I'm trying to do.

 

Thank you.

 

This is my backyard<div></div>

Good job, now you can take it a step further if you want. I added a stroke and drop shadow to each picture.

 

<a href="http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r87/ronbrp/?action=view&current=Untitled-2-9.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r87/ronbrp/Untitled-2-9.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>