How to Create a Flyer for a Beauty Pageant

Whether it is for a small local beauty pageant or a major beauty competition, advertising is essential to drawing in a crowd. While many pageant coordinators will take the time to have professional TV and radio ads made, they also must rely on flyers and posters in order to let as many people know about the pageant as possible. Designing a flyer for a beauty pageant isn't difficult, and by doing the flyer design yourself you can save quite a bit of money in your advertising budget.

Things You'll Need

• Image editing program such as Photoshop or GIMP

Instructions

1. Create a new image in your image editing program. Make sure that your background is white and that the image is 8.5 by 11 inches tall (21.6 by 27.9 cm) so that the final flyer will be the same size as a standard piece of paper.

2. Create a new empty layer. You should now open up an existing picture of a model from a previous beauty pageant, making sure that you have a release signed by the model or the model's parents so that you can use the photo for advertising purposes. Ideally, the picture should be taken during a formal wear competition and should be very glamorous. Use a selection tool to select the area around the model (selecting background is OK) and then press the "Ctrl" and "C" keys on your keyboard to copy the selection.

3. Paste the image into the new layer that you created for your flyer. Use the Transform tool ("Ctrl" and "T" in Photoshop) to adjust the size of the image if needed so that it will cover most of the height of the flyer and then move it to the left side of the image canvas. Flip the image horizontally if needed so that the person in the picture is looking to the right (where your text will be).

4. Using the lasso selection tool or a similar selection tool, carefully select the outline of just the model in the picture until you've got their entire outline in a single selection. Inverse the selection ("Ctrl" and "I" in Photoshop) so that everything except for the model is selected. Press the delete button to remove the background, then deselect the image ("Ctrl" and "D").

5. Make a copy of the layer with the model in it (this can be done in Photoshop by dragging the layer over the "New Layer" button and releasing it). Now go back to the original layer and add the Gaussian Blur filter with a small setting (3 to 4.5 should do it). You should see a very slight blur around the image now; since you have a new layer over the one that you are applying the filter to, you won't be able to see all of the changes. This is what you want, as the blurred layer is helping the other layer to blend with the background.

6. Select the topmost layer and merge it down one layer ("Ctrl" and "E" in Photoshop), causing it and the blurred layer to become one. You should reduce the opacity of this new layer to approximately 50 percent, though you may wish to adjust both the opacity and fill of the layer until you have an image that meets with your approval. Your ideal image will still be visible but will be somewhat faded into the background of the flyer.

7. Create another new layer on top of the image layer. This is the layer where you should place all of your text, making sure that you include the name of the pageant, a brief description, dates, times, and the name and address of the venue. All of this should be placed to the right of the image so that it appears that the model is looking at the text. This will help draw attention to the text with a subtle visual cue.

8. Flatten the image and save it as a .jpg file. You should print a test copy, making sure that you have the printer automatically adjust to the size of the paper that's being used. If you are happy with the test print, take the image to your preferred printing company so that they can print as many flyers as you want with professional quality.

Tips & Warnings

• Double-check the spelling and grammar on the flyer before you print it out in large quantities to avoid embarrassing mistakes.