How to Insert Photos in InDesign
InDesign's advanced layout features help you create professional-looking desktop publications by dragging and dropping objects around a drawing canvas. One important object found in many publications is a photo. A newspaper or magazine, for instance, usually contains many photos placed at different locations on a page. By learning a few InDesign commands and shortcut keys, you can add photos to your documents quickly and position them precisely.
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Instructions
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Launch InDesign and click "Open" to view the Open a File window. Locate one of your InDesign files and double-click it to open it. InDesign places it on the drawing canvas.
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Press "CTRL" and "D" to open the "Place" window that contains a list of your computer's files.
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Hold down your "CTRL" key and click two photo files you would like to add to InDesign. Click "Open" when done. A thumbnail image of the first photo you selected appears on the canvas below your cursor. As you move your cursor, the thumbnail moves with the cursor. The number 2 appears in the thumbnail's top left corner. This lets you know that two photos exist in the thumbnail: the first photo you selected and the second photo.
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Press your left or right arrow key. As you do, the thumbnail cycles between the two photos. Cycle to the photo you would like to place first and click a point on the canvas. InDesign places the photo there. The thumbnail now displays the second photo you selected.
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Move your cursor to another point on the canvas. As you do, the thumbnail photo follows the cursor. Click the point on the canvas to place the photo there. The canvas now contains your two photos.
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Click one of the photos and drag it if you need to position it more precisely. Click the other photo and repeat these steps to position that photo.
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Tips & Warnings
If you need even more precision when adjusting a photo's position, click the photo, hold down your "Shift" key and press one of the arrow keys on your keyboard. The photo will move a small amount each time you press one of those keys.
To position a photo in front of another object or behind another object, right-click a photo and click "Arrange" to open the Arrange window. Click "Bring to Front" to place the photo in front of other objects. Click "Send to Back" to place it behind other objects.
This example demonstrates adding two photo files to a document. Add as many as you like by holding down "CTRL" as you click files to select them in the Place window.
If you wish to place a photo inside a frame that appears in the document, click the "Selection Tool," click the photo and hold down your left mouse button. Drag the photo inside the frame to position it there.
