How to Make Photo Montage With Photo Software
A montage is a grouping of photos that are similar in some way. For example, you could make a montage of photos showing your vacation, f your kids, or your pets. Photo software such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro lets you make large images where you can combine a group of photos in interesting ways. Print your montage and frame it, as a decoration for your wall or as a gift, or display your montage on your website.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer and photo editing software that has layers feature
- Printer
- Digital photos
Instructions
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1
Pick a template or design the format of your collage. It's best to start by first planning how big the montage will be, the number of photos it will contain, and then choose the photos. Decide on the final size and how it will be used: will it be printed or displayed on the Internet? Do you want a grid, with all lines horizontal or vertical, or a group of photos that look more haphazardly arranged? Do you want all of the photos the same size or will some be larger?
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2
Create a new image that is the size and resolution you need to create your photo montage. Select "New" from the "File" menu and input the dimensions and resolution. If you are getting the image printed or uploading it to a photo printing site, choose at least 300 dots per inch (dpi). If it will be displayed online, it can be 72 dpi.
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3
Choose photos and open them in your photo software. Open the number of photos you need for the montage, or you might open a few more and then narrow it down to the appropriate number.
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4
Copy each photo, one at a time, and paste it onto a separate layer in the large image you created in step two. If the photos are too large, resize each layer so the photo is approximately the correct size. Resize layers by using the resize option in the layer menu or the layer palette.
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Arrange the photos on the screen in approximately the location that looks best, following your template or the design you came up with in step one. Since each photo is in its own layer, you can drag them around independently of each other. As you do so, some will overlap others. Don't worry about that right now, as long as each photo is approximately the right size, so that you can see most of each photo,
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6
Tweak your layout, placing each photo in its exact final location. At this point, you will have to crop or resize any photos that are not exactly the right size. If you want a haphazard layout, you can slightly rotate some or all of the photos so they are not strictly horizontal or vertical. Use the rotation tool for this. Some photos will be overlapping other photos. Use the "Arrange" function in the "Layers" menu to move photos closer to the top or bottom, if you don't like how they overlap.
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7
Print or upload your montage. You can print it on your computer, or upload the file to a photo printing service. Some of these print poster-sized prints, if you want a large collage. You can also display your montage on a website by uploading it to your web host, or to a photo sharing site such as Flickr or Photobucket.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are going to upload your montage to a website, read the Terms of Service and any other rules or guidelines. This will help you get the best results, keep you from uploading a file that's too large for the site, and help you make sure your montage is private if you want it private.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit travel venice italy collage image by anshuca from Fotolia.com
