Getting started: Making a photo collage

You can use this tutorial with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements versions 7 and 8.

Create a photo collage in Adobe® Photoshop® Elements using various customizable themes, backgrounds, frames, graphics, and text effects included with Elements.

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Requirements

To complete this tutorial, install the following software:

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or later

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Adding photos to the collage

The first step to creating a collage is to select photos in the Organizer.

1. Start Photoshop Elements and open the Organizer workspace.
2. Select the photos you want to add to the collage.
3. Click the Create tab at the top of the Task pane.
4. Click Photo Collage.

   That opens a new project in the Editor workspace with instructions about how to create a photo collage, as shown in Figure 1. The photos you selected appear in the Project Bin.

   

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   Figure 1: Photo collage project workspace

Selecting a size, theme, and layout

The next step is to select a size for the collage. Be sure to select a size that your printer can print and for which you have photo paper. The default is a standard letter size. The second step is to choose a theme for the collage. A theme is a combination of background and frame for each of the pictures in the collage.

1. Select a theme in the Photo Collage palette on the right. A preview of the theme pops up in a small window on the left.
2. Close the preview window.
3. Scroll down in the Photo Collage palette to see the layout options. You can choose a layout for each page in the collage, as shown in Figure 2.

   

   Figure 2: Photo collage layout options

4. Choose a layout.
5. Close the preview window again.
6. In the Additional Options area, make sure that Auto-Fill With Project Bin Photos is selected.

   This option makes Photoshop Elements to take all of the photos in the Project Bin and use them to automatically fill in the frames in the collage. If you have captions prepared for these photos, you can check the option to Include Captions. Photoshop Elements automatically calculates the required number of pages based on the number of photos you have open and the layout you selected.

7. Click Done.

   Photoshop Elements creates the collage and a draft appears in the Project window, as shown in Figure 3. Notice the controller below the collage in the project window. Also notice, the Project Bin now shows the pages in the collage, not the original photos from the Organizer.

   

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   Figure 3: Photo collage in the project window

8. Using the controller below the collage, click the right-pointing arrow to view page 2 of the collage.

   Changing pages, displays a page curl effect. Now you can change the collage, such as replacing the theme, or adding and removing photos.

9. Using the controller, change back to page 1.

Using the Content palette

You can make several changes to the design of your collage from the Content palette.

1. Click the background in the collage to select it. Do not click one of the pictures.
2. Click Artwork in the Task pane on the right. The Content palette appears, as shown in Figure 4.

   

   Figure 4: Content palette

3. Open the Content palette menu, as shown in Figure 5. The menu includes options for setting backgrounds, frames, graphics, shapes, text, and themes.

   

   Figure 5: Content palette pop-up menu

4. Select Backgrounds in the Content palette pop-up menu.

   If you see a background you really like, you can select it here. Or, you can drag it down into the Favorites palette, shown in Figure 6, making it easy to reuse in the future.

   

   Figure 6: Favorites palette

5. Select a new background for the collage, and click Apply. The photo collage in the Project window updates to show the new background.

   Something else you can change is the frame that appears around the photos in the collage. Changing the frame is similar to changing the background.

6. Open the pop-up menu in the Content palette, and select Frames.
7. Select one of the photos in the collage, select a different picture frame in the Content palette, and click Apply.
8. Add the same frame to the other pictures on the same page of the collage.

Adding text to the collage

You can also add text to the collage from the Content palette.

1. Click to select the collage background in the project workspace.
2. Open the pop-up menu in the Content palette, and select Text.
3. Select a style for the text, and click Apply. Placeholder text appears in the collage.

   Note: The first time you use the Text feature the text can appear small.

4. Drag the text to where you want it on the page, such as below an image.
5. Size the text by dragging one of its corner anchor points.
6. Click the Commit button (green check mark) to commit the changes.

   You can also rotate the text field using the rotation handle that extends directly below the selected text. Obviously, you don't want the text to say “Your Text Here.”

7. Double-click inside the text field to select the text, and type your own text.
8. Click away from the text.
9. Drag the edited text to its final location on the page.

Rearranging and sizing photos on a page

You can move a photo by dragging it, and you can make any photo larger or smaller by dragging one of its anchor points.

1. Click to select any photo.
2. Drag the photo to a new position on the page.
3. Drag an anchor point to make the photo smaller or larger.
4. Click the Commit button (green check mark) to commit the changes.

Replacing photos

You can the change the content of any picture frame, by replacing one of the photos with a new one. To replace a photo, you show the photos from the Organizer down in the Project Bin.

1. In the collage, select the photo you want to replace.
2. Click Show Open Files at the top of the Project Bin.
3. Select Show Photos From Organizer. The photos you originally selected in the Organizer appear in the Project Bin.
4. Drag a photo from the Project Bin onto the selected photo in the collage. Photoshop Elements replaces the photo in the frame. A size controller appears above the picture, as shown in Figure 7.

   

   Figure 7: Size controller for the new photo

5. Drag the slider in the controller to adjust the size of the photo in the frame.
6. Click the Commit button (green check mark) to commit the changes.

   Note: So far, all of the changes you made to this collage were applied to page 1 only. Page 2 still has the original theme and content.

Saving the collage

When creating a collage, save early and often.

1. Choose File > Save.
2. Open the folder where you want to save the file.
3. Enter a name for the collage in the File Name field.

   The file is saved in a special format, .PSE, as shown in Figure 8. This format makes it possible to continue editing the collage in Photoshop Elements.

   

   Figure 8: Save As dialog box

4. Make sure that Include In The Organizer is selected, and click Save.

Where to go from here

If you enjoyed this tutorial, check out these other resources to help get you started using Photoshop Elements.

• Photoshop Elements Essentials for Windows tutorials on lynda.com
• Photoshop Elements shows on Adobe TV
• Photoshop Elements Help and Support
• Creating a slide show
• Making a panorama

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