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Hi
I want to create a collage using Photoshop CS4 but have hit a couple of problems and I'm hoping someone on here can help me.
Here's how I make a collage, I'm not sure it's the best or only way! I open a new, blank file. Then open the various images I want to use, adjust each one in terms of cropping, levels etc. I then use the 'Move' tool to pick each one up and drop it onto my blank file. I then use Edit/Transform/Scale to move each image to where I want it.
What I want to do it to create a collage where each of the images is 40cm square but I don't know how to do this without the contents becoming distorted which is what happens when you uncheck Constrain Proportions in Image Size.
Also, sometimes I bring the image in to the new file and the image changes size completely, often becoming tiny.
Any help or advice would be really appreciated.
You'll always get distortion if you are re-sizing to a different format ( ie rectangular to square ).
Probably best to crop to square first, then re-size if needed. You can either do that with the crop tool
or using the canvas size dialogue ( it'll tell you that some parts of the image will be cropped away, but
you can OK that bit.. )
If the image is turning up tiny on your master canvas ( the one that your are moving stuff too ) it's probably
because there is a disparity in the DPI of each image. You can check that before you do anything in the
'resize' dialogue box and alter it accordingly.
Thanks, NikLG. You are right, I am re-sizing both rectangular and square images. I try to crop them to as much of a square as I can before re-sizing them, but some don't work that well.
I'm go a bit 'blind' when people mention DPI!! Could you give me an example of what to look for and how to 'correct' it.
I'll give it a go..I usually get it backwards..
As far as I recall, the higher the DPI the more 'dense' the pixels are ( as in, 300 dots per inch ).
I think it mostly affects printing rather than anything else but it could be the cause of
your problems.
I have just done a quick test in photoshop, the native DPI of the images dragged onto the 'master'
seemed to make no difference to the resulting size ( they were all the same.. )
So....erm..back to the thinking board....
Don't get too hung up on the dpi. (Which is really PPI in Photoshop) (useful link about DPI here)
Look instead at the actual pixel sizes of your images. 800 x 600 is low-res, 3000 x 2000 is high res.
Quote: I try to crop them to as much of a square as I can before re-sizing them
You can force your crop tool to be square by typing in say 3 x 3
Quote: the native DPI of the images dragged onto the 'master'
seemed to make no difference to the resulting size ( they were all the same.. )
Yes Nik, Photoshop seems to ignore what ppi the image is tagged with. DTP software like InDesign does take notice of the assigned DPI when you drop an image onto the page. That's why magazines and stock libraries will ask for images at 300.
People often say Save For The Web at 72dpi or 75ppi. I've not seen a web browser yet that takes any notice of that setting!
Quote: I have just done a quick test in photoshop, the native DPI of the images dragged onto the 'master'
seemed to make no difference to the resulting size ( they were all the same.. )
So....erm..back to the thinking board....
Thanks again, NikLG. I'll check out the dpi/ppi next time an image size changes when I move it. Most odd!
Thanks also, Chris_L. Does that mean that it's just one of those things and there nowt I can do about it?
I used to get mixed up with it because I thought it was like working out carpet in square meters and you had to multiply dimensions.
The other puzzle was printers in shops with stickers that claimed 1440 dpi and advice in mags saying print at 300 dpi.
I since realised that images are made up of dots called pixels. A colour printer might use several droplets of different coloured ink to create one pixel. (That explains those high dpi numbers!)
I now instantly know that if I have an image that's 3000 pixels wide and I print it at 300 pixels per inch it's going to come out 10 inches wide. (300 pixels for one inch means 3000 pixels for ten inches - simple?). I think in pixels per inch either wide or tall and it's simple arithmetic.
If my image is 1500 pixels tall then printed at 300 pixels per inch I will get to 5 inches before I run out of pixels.
If I want to print that image bigger I could space the pixels out more, spread them out so there's only 150 per inch (my image has enough pixels to print 20 inches wide in that case). Some printing software will invent fake pixels to fill in the gaps (interpolation)
Also take a look at Google Picasa, which is free and has a pretty snazzy collage function. 
Ian
Thanks again, Chris_L. I have printed out your post and have stuck it by my pc!!
Thanks also to KevSB and digicammad. I have downloaded both packages and had a play this morning. Shape College is great fun although I see that you have to pay for the Pro version to get rid of the watermark. The collages on Picasa are also good.
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