Using PSE5 and PS7, How Can I Make A Multi-Image Collage?

I was asked by one of the organizations I support to make a collage of all the members (around 50) on a 11x14 poster or two on a standard 8x10. I have never done anything like this before but have seen it done. Can anyone walk me through it? I've seen collages with every photo the same size or some larger or smaller on top of each other. Can I do that with the software I have?

Thanks, in advance. I tried to do one in WORD, and it was fine, but there's got to be a better way.:o

i've never done this, but i'll give it a shot. file>new>11 x 14 inches. then select the paint bucket and make the background whatever color you want. open all your images that you want on the collage and resize as you'd like. (you could use inches here too, instead of pixels) Then copy/paste onto the new 11x14 image. As far as framing, not sure about that. hope i helped!

this is using PS7 of course, not sure about elements.

I'd use InDesign to do this job - it makes this kind of layout incredibly easy, and if you change one photo for a better version in your folder of photos, InDesign will notice and allow you to update the document. In InDesign CS3, you can put frames inside frames inside tables, or tables inside tables (the latter is new in InDesign CS3). Much of my InDesign work involves grouped or nested frames or tables to some extent.

However, you haven't got any other Creative Suite programs (I have Creative Suite 3 Design Premium - Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat are staples of my workflow, as is Lightroom which you have to purchase separately - I keep meaning to find the time to get fully into Dreamweaver and Flash), so it's a case of doing what you can with what you've got. Smart Objects would probably make things easier, but you haven't got those in Photoshop 7. I'd start out with guides to give you a layout, then you can import and scale the pictures and place text correctly.

To be honest, Word may be an easier option - but it's not colour managed and some things always feel like a struggle in Word, particularly nested tables.


Meanwhile, Suzy, have you thought about upgrading to Photoshop CS3? Adobe have introduced a 'three versions back' policy from CS3, so you can only upgrade Photoshop 7, CS or CS2 to Photoshop CS3. If you don't upgrade your Photoshop 7 now, you'll probably miss out on the opportunity to do so.

Some people have managed to upgrade older versions of Photoshop to CS3 by buying a Photoshop CS2 upgrade, and getting a free 'post announce' upgrade from Photoshop CS2 to Photoshop CS3. However, the window for post announce upgrades will close soon (if it hasn't already - check with Adobe), so this route is about to disappear.


I've never really been an Elements user, but I don't believe there's much in Elements that isn't implemented in a more complete way in Photoshop CS3.

David

Thanks for the responses. WORD is difficult to work with. I am not in the market to buy any more software until I get my 2 computers back to working order. It's been murder dealing with Dell. 2 down. I'm losing my mind.

The understatement of the decade? I still use PS7.

It's easier to crop the image first, & then just drag the pic layer into the collage layout.

Sometimes it helps to drag Guides into the layout.

Learn to use Adjustment Layers to tweak the different layers after you've seen a proof print. Is there anywhere I can read up on tiffs and adjustment layers and channel masks?
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Wow! That's not exactly what I was looking for but that's great work! I will try that this week and report. I may try with family pictures just to see. That way I don't feel like I'm putting people on the net I shouldn't, don't have releases and all. Thanks, Frank. I hope my PS7 is still working. Oh, I just installed the drivers to get on the internet again on the Dell I had to do the Windows reinstall. Talk about a pain in the butt. Got it done though. It works now, but not like it did before. I swear computers are sometimes way more trouble than helpful.

OK, I found one made from scans of the little 1" school pics - same technique, same result.
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