ATTN: Photoshop / photo editing experts

Factual Questions
1

Here is what I’d like to do…

I have three images (digital photos) that I would like to combine into one collage-type image, convert to a JPG, then have printed.

So the final print will have three separate photographs contained within a single JPG file.

I have Photoshop, Lightroom, and Microsoft Office (including Publisher) to work with.

I am sure this is do-able but I’m having trouble figuring out the steps.

All three images are currently in RAW format and reside within Lightroom.

Thanks in advance,
mmm

2

This is not difficult to do.

  1. Open a new Photoshop image big enough to hold all three source images. This will be the “destination image”.

  2. Add three layers to the destination image.

  3. Open each of the source images.

  4. Select all of each source image, copy, and paste into one of the layers of the destination image. Use a different layer for each source.

At this point, you have what looks like the three source images stacked, and you can move them around independently of each other. Select a layer and move that image with the move tool. You can add layer masks to each layer and mask out the areas you don’t want to see by painting on the mask.

3

No need for this; simply moving the images into the ‘destination image’ will automatically create a new layer atop the ‘destination’.

I would add: Covert the RAW images to TIFFs. If you’re not cropping them, take note of the horizontal and vertical size and the ppi after converting, since your destination image will need to be three times the horizontal size, and the same ppi. As an example, TIFFs from the RAW files out of my 5D are 12.48 inches x 8.32 inches at 350 ppi. So to put three of them together as a triptych I’d create a new file that’s 37.44 inches by 8.32 inches at 350 ppi and they’ll fit together snugly. Then go into the ‘Layers’ drop-down menu and select ‘flatten image’.

Then save as a JPEG.

(I do my RAW conversions with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional, and all other work with Photoshop Elements 6)

4

You can skip step 2. Just dragging the layer from the source to the destination will create a new layer.

Make sure you make any adjustments (levels, unsharp mask, whatever) before combining and flattening the image.

5

Thanks everyone.

One more question: I’m not sure what size I will be printing the final product, so I am wondering about aspect ratio as I work within Photoshop.

I guess I just make sure there is some crop room at each edge before converting to JPEG, then crop the JPEG to the appropriate ratio?
mmm

6

I would decide what size you’re going to print at and then crop the individual TIFFs. Then make the destination canvas the correct aspect ratio to hold the three cropped TIFFs.

7

If you find yourself doing this a lot, it might be easier to download Google’s free Picasa photo management software. Making collages with it is a lot easier, and you can directly send the result to a photo printing service afterward.