How to make a collage of photos in Photoshop? This question is asked not only by moderators of groups on social networks, but also by simple page owners. Often after a vacation, I want to create a new photo album about the trip. And it's great when the title photo is a collage. So the album will attract more attention. To make a simple collage in Photoshop, the basic knowledge of the program is enough. Perhaps you are interested in how to create a collage in Photoshop from several photos? Then you need to connect imagination and be patient, and the knowledge of the program will require a little more.
Photoshop collage quick and easy
Let's look at how to make collages in Photoshop with examples from simple to complex. The simplest photo collage can consist of one photo. Take any holiday shot, for example, from an amusement park. From such familiar pictures, you can make an interesting photo collage quickly and easily. Open the image in Photoshop. On the right side of the workspace is the Layers palette, which shows the separation of the image into layers. For further work, you need to remove the pin from the layer of your image. It is very easy - just click once on the image of the castle on the layer. Using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + J, we make two duplicate layers. To the duplicate in the middle, apply the adjustment layer “Hue / Saturation” / (Hue / Saturation) in the tint mode. Hide the top layer by clicking the "Eye" icon opposite. You can call up the adjustment layer in the layer palette below. The adjustment layer list icon is a half-circle. For the adjustment layer to work in the tinting mode, in the settings window that opens after the layer is called up, click the “Toning” / Colorize checkbox . Now, by moving the Hue , Saturation, and Brightness checkboxes to the left or right, achieve shades similar to the old photo. Then apply a Gaussian blur to the same duplicate layer. We stand on the layer and in the "Filter" / Filter item of the main menu, select "Blur" / Blur , "Gaussian Blur" / Gaussian Blur . In the window that appears, moving the slider to the right, select a blur that is comfortable for the eye. Click Ok . This layer will serve as our background. Now go to the topmost duplicate of the layer. Click the empty icon so that the Eye icon appears and the layer becomes visible. We stay on this layer and select the Rectangular Marquee Tool . Create a portrait for the first element of the collage. Select a frame arbitrarily while holding the left mouse button: we just stretch as much as we need in the image. The selection is indicated by a dotted line. Then immediately, without removing the selection, click the "Create Mask" icon . A mask will appear next to the layer, and the image limited by the selection will remain visible. Click on the clip icon between the layer and the mask. It will disappear, and the mask will become free to move around the layer and transform. Go from layer to mask (in the layer palette). Now, by choosing the Move tool (called by the V key ), you can grab the mask and move it anywhere in the image. And if you press Ctrl + T , you can stretch or reduce the size of the mask. Grasp the corner point of the transformation frame and, holding the left mouse button, stretch or compress the size. To prevent rectangle distortion during transformation, click on the paper clip on the control panel. You can also rotate the mask at an angle. To do this, move the cursor to the corner point of the transformation frame and wait for the rounded arrow to appear. Now, holding the left mouse button, rotate to the desired tilt. When finished, press Enter . On the same layer, go from the mask to the layer (in the layer palette). Remaining on the layer, right-click. In the console list that appears, select Blending Option . In the settings window, select “Stroke” . Move the top slider to select the frame size. The color can be changed by calling the palette by double-clicking on the window of the color swatch. After completing all selections, click Ok . Now create a duplicate layer with a mask, pressing Ctrl + J . On a new layer, call the Move tool ( V ) and, grabbing it, drag the mask to a new location. It is advisable to highlight another portrait. If necessary, resize the mask or rotate it differently, as it was done on the previous layer. So you get the second element of the collage. Repeating the steps from creating a duplicate to finding a new mask position, create as many collage elements as you need. Do not forget: to move the mask in the image, in the layer palette, go from layer to mask. If you need to cancel any action, press the shortcut key the Ctrl + the Alt + the Z . To make the picture even more interesting, you can selectively apply the “Color tone / Saturation” adjustment layer to the collage layers , as we applied it to the background layer. You can apply the adjustment layer "Black and White" . To apply the effect of the adjustment layer to only one layer, and not to all, between the adjustment layer and the layer to which you apply the effect, make one mouse click while holding Alt . Opposite the adjustment layer, an arrow will appear indicating the snap to the layer below. And the effect will apply only to the given layer. Apply adjustment layers to your liking. At the end, save the file ( Shift + Ctrl + S ) in psd format, in case you want to change anything. Save the finished collage in any format convenient for you, JPG or another ( Shift + Ctrl + S and specify a different format). It's just that you can create an interesting collage from one ordinary photo. If desired, in the Blending Option window , in addition to the stroke, you can also set a shadow and a glow around each collage element. You can learn more about Photoshop in the Fotoshkola.net course, Photoshop. Color tinting and stylization . "How to make a collage of several photos in Photoshop
Let's consider how to make a collage from several photos in Photoshop. A simple collage can be attributed to a selection of beautiful photos in one color scheme. Such collages can be found under the name “Inspiration by color”. Or these are simple collages from travel pictures and other events. Simply put, these are several rectangular photos, beautifully placed in one frame. Prepare the necessary images in advance. It is advisable to pick up photos of large sizes and good quality. Launch Photoshop. In Explorer, select all prepared images and drag them with the mouse into the Photoshop window. We respond to messages when opening a file with Ok . You can switch image windows if there are too many of them, in the list on the control panel. Click on the double arrow and select the one you need. On all images, remove the “Lock” icon on the layer. Think in advance in what order place the pictures on the collage. Select the image that will be the reference center frame. Position the cursor on the image layer, press Ctrl + T , if everything suits you and you don’t need to cut the fragment. When the transformation frame appears, on the control panel, click the Paperclip icon . In this case, the transformation will not violate the image proportions. Move the cursor to the corner of the frame and reduce the image to the desired size. Press Enter to complete the transformation. If we need only a fragment of the image, then with the Rectangular Marquee Tool ( M key ), select the desired section, press Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. We will have a new layer with the desired blank. Delete the old layer. Use the Move / Move tool (called by the V key ) to move the image to the desired position. To do this, move the cursor to the image and, holding the left mouse button, move the image to the selected position. We are preparing the next fragment of the collage. Go to the bookmark with the desired image. Selection tool "Rectangular area» / the Rectangular Marquee Tool (key M ) cut the desired area, press Ctrl + C . Returning to the tab with the first fragment and collage push Ctrl + V . A new image layer appears. We put the cursor on it, press Ctrl + T and adjust the desired size by transformation. Press Enter to complete the transformation. Using the "Move" / Move tool (called by the V key ) we move the image to the desired position. The bookmark with the used image can be closed so as not to be confused among their many. If you wish, you can set the stroke for each element of the collage. Remaining on the layer, right-click. In the console list that appears, select "Blending Option" . In the settings window, select "Stroke" / Stroke . Moving the upper slider, we select the size of the frame. The color can be changed by calling the palette by double-clicking on the window of the color swatch. After completing all selections, click Ok . Repeat all the steps with cutting, copying, adding to the collage and transforming with all the selected pictures. Complete your collage. Save in any of the desired formats ( Shift + Ctrl + S ), JPG, etc. Your collage is ready. If you suddenly want to change something in it, then save the psd file of your collage ( Shift + Ctrl + S ) and select the psd format). Then, by opening this file in photoshop, you can easily make changes. You learned that making collages in Photoshop is simple and interesting. Now you can show your friends how to make a collage of several photos in Photoshop. Perhaps creating collages in Photoshop will become your favorite pastime. Have a good creative work! Try, share your work on social networks. You will definitely succeed! You can learn more about Photoshop in the Fotoshkola.net course, Photoshop. Color tinting and stylization . "