Digital Camera World » photo collage

How to create a collage in Photoshop Elements

dcworld — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:06:55 +0000

Combine multiple photographs for one striking image to produce stunning works of art

Digital Camera’s 10-part series ‘Teach Yourself Photoshop’ builds into a complete video reference library. These easy-to-follow video guides will take you on a start-to-finish journey through perfecting your photos in the digital darkroom. In this tutorial you’ll find out how to build up a collage in Photoshop Elements by using Layers, the Place command and a selection of shots to produce a final collage image. Click the links to the right and build up the complete collection with each new issue of Digital Camera.

How to make a cool photo collage in Photoshop

dcworld — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:03:27 +0000

Use multiple images to create a collage with a twist in Photoshop CS

A creative way to evoke a sense of time passing is to combine several shots together. We can build on this compositing technique in a more creative way by chopping up several shots of a location and sprinkling fragments of each to create a photo collage. By using marquee tools and layer masks we can hide parts of each layer to reveal random details (instead of gently blending entire layers together). This creates a stylistic photo collage effect as different times and places are spliced together. To combine the fragments of each layer in a more random and organic way we’ll use the Gradient tool and layer blends. This will make each rectangle of detail look unique and add a more interesting texture to the finished collage.

1. Open images

Choose File>Open and browse to the folder on the CD containing the following images: Collage_Before_01.dng, Collage _Before_02.dng and Collage_Before_03.dng. Select all three images, right-click one and choose Open. The images will open in Adobe Camera Raw.

2. Straighten horizons

Before we start mixing the photographs together, there are a few issues that need to be addressed. The image Collage_Before_01 has a tilted horizon. Select the Straighten tool and drag it along the bottom of the steps. Straighten the other two photos as well.

3. Boost exposure

On Collage_Before_01.dng, drag the Exposure slider up to +0.90. On Collage_Before_03.dng, set Fill Light to 29 to reveal more mid-tone detail and boost the washed-out Blacks to 10. Click Select All, then pop Vibrance up to +45 to enhance the colours in each image.

4. Combine documents

Click Open images. Next, select the image Collage_Before_03. Now choose Select All, then Edit>Copy. Edit>Paste the image onto Collage_Before_02. Now copy the image Collage_Before_01 and paste it into Collage_Before_02.

5. Crop for consistency

You should now have three layers in one document. Each straightened layer features an image of a slightly different size to the others, so select the Crop tool and crop the document to fit the smallest image on Layer 2. Press Enter to remove the edges of the larger background layers.

6. Customise the grid

Go to Edit>Preferences>Guides, Grids & Slices. Set Guidline to Every 0.75cm. Set Subdivisions to 1. Select View>Show and choose Grid. Go to View and make sure Snap is ticked. Snap to should have Grid ticked as well. This will enable you to draw consistently shaped rectangles on your collage.

7. Make a selection

Click Layer 2. Click the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. Select the Rectangular Marquee tool. Draw a horizontal rectangle on the white mask. When you’re filling this selection with a greyscale gradient you’ll make part of layer 2 disappear, revealing details on the layers below.

8. Draw a horizontal gradient

Now select the Gradient tool. Click the Gradient Editor icon and choose Foreground to Background. Click OK and then click the Reflected Gradient icon. Set Mode to Multiply. Click the white mask. Draw a horizontal gradient in the marquee selection to make that section of the layer translucent.

9. Draw a vertical gradient

Draw a vertical rectangle that overlaps the horizontal one. With the mask still targeted, draw a vertical gradient inside this marquee. As we’re using the Multiply blending mode you’ll get a random amount of transparency where any marquee selections overlap, producing a more random opacity.

10. Invert the mask

Draw more horizontal and vertical marquees over random parts of the mask and fill them with gradients. When you’ve finished, press Ctrl D to deselect the last marquee. Click the mask and press Ctrl to invert it. Most of Layer 2 will vanish, but random slices will remain.

11. Mask Layer 1

Click Layer 1 and add a mask. Repeat the techniques described in the previous steps to fill horizontal and vertical marquees with gradients. This will reveal details in the background layer. You should now have a collage featuring fragments of features from three seperate layers.

12. Tweak the tones

We can now see fragments of detail from three seperate photos. To make sure the composite collage has a healthy contrast, add a Levels Adjustment layer. Drag the white highlight input level slider left to 235. This brightens up the collage’s under-exposed highlights.

Photoshop video: photo joiner masterclass

dcworld — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:51:09 +0000

Create an artistic Hockney style photo joiner collage with this Photoshop video – download the free photos to give it a go yourself.

When stitching photos together in Photoshop, you’re normally worried about blending them together carefully to create a seamless panoramic image. Joiner collages embrace the fact that multiple shots have been used so there’s no need to spend time painstakingly overlapping edges. In this video we show you how to assemble your joiner in Photoshop Elements using the 12 files you can download here, once you’ve mastered the technique you’ll be able to create your own with ease.

Create a photo collage in Photoshop

dcworld — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:47:54 +0000

Want to brighten up your house with photographs that match your interior decor? This tutorial will show you how to create an eye-catching photo collage

Photoshop gives you a number of ways to transform tired photographs into something new. In this tutorial, we show you how to take a shot and create differently coloured versions of it to combine into a new photo collage. You’ll be using the crop tool, Adjustment Layers and a colour palette to create your enhanced pictures.

1. Pick your colours

Pick two colours that complement and contrast with the colour swatch you’ve created. Make a square colour swatch for each of these two colours. Now, create three new documents to be filled with each colour

2. Crop and adjust saturation

Use the Crop Tool to make the rose image square. Choose an appropriate size depending on whether you want an A4 or A3 canvas and remember that you’ll need space for nine images of the rose. Now create a Hue/Saturation Layer and reduce the Saturation to -100.

3. Colour Fill and Blending mode

Now, create a Colour Fill Layer and use the Colour Picker to select the first swatch. Change the Blending Mode of the Colour Fill Layer to soft light. This will create a softer wash over the existing image and leave you with a more sculpted effect on the rose’s edge.

4. Adjust Levels

Create a Levels Adjustment Layer. Use the three sliders at the bottom of the histogram to adjust Levels and add contrast to the image. Keep the channel on RGB to add contrast to the overall image. Adjust contrast gradually so you don’t distort the image.

5. Flatten and repeat

Flatten your image. Now, repeat the process for the other two colours. Remember that you’ll need to make different adjustments to your Levels for each different colour. Flatten each of the other two images when the process is complete.

6. Create the final canvas

Go to File>New and create either an A4 or A3 canvas. Choose a transparent background and keep the resolution at 300dpi. Copy and paste each rose image three times, into three rows. Use the grids (View>Show>Grid) to line up each of the images. Then flatten the image.