Make Seamless Photo Collages for Senior Portraits
The best way to make a seamless photo collage is by doing it using photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop. You also can layer the hard copy photos so that each covers the edges of the other and re-photograph the completed collage, though you will probably still see the edges. Using Photoshop or other photo editing software will simplify the process of making image collages.
Instructions
1. Use your digital camera or flatbed scanner to digitize all the senior portraits. This is assuming you don't have digital image originals. Starting with digital images is the ideal way to go here to save yourself some work. If you are a senior yourself making this collage rather than a professional photographer, you may have to gather together the senior portrait prints and prepare them for use in the computer. The digital camera will make it easier to do this, but you will get more-precise digital images from scanning the photos. Use a high resolution when scanning-at least 300 dots per inch-so you have more detail in the final image.
2. Save all the senior portraits in one folder so you can get to them easily. If making a class collage, save all the images as separate files, each titled with the name of the senior, last name first; this will make it simpler to keep track of who has been included in the collage. All of the images should be saved in relatively the same width and height and exactly the same resolution. Since this collage will be printed, set "Resolution" to 300 dots per inch by going to "Image" and then "Image Size" in Photoshop.
3. Start a new file in Photoshop by going to "File" then "New" and make it the width and height you will need the final image to be. Remember, unless you have an oversized printer, you may be restricted to 8 1/2 by 11 or 8 1/2 by 14 inches because those are the standard paper sizes. For a larger image, you may need to take the file on a disc to a professional printer.
4. Open the senior portrait files one at a time. Click, hold and drag each image into your blank file. Alternately, you can open each portrait, then go to "Select" and "Select All," then "Edit" and "Copy." This stores the image in memory. Switch to the blank file and go to "Edit" and "Paste" to add the portrait to the collage file. Each new addition will add a layer to the file, which means each one will be able to be moved independently and altered separately from the rest. Place them in the order and positions you want. Make sure you slightly overlap the images so there is no white space from the background layer showing through. When your images are set, go to "Layer" and then "Flatten Image" and save the file.
5. Start working with the tools that will take away what seams remain. There are several of these, including the "Blur" tool and the "Smudge" tool. Both of these are on the side toolbar. Each works by clicking, holding and moving the mouse around over the seams of the overlapped images. Another helpful tool is "Liquify" which is found under "Filter." You can use this to blend the areas at the edges of the images. Or, you can use the "Clone Stamp" tool in the side toolbar to overlay exact copies of the image backgrounds over the portrait edges. Do this by holding the "Option" key (Mac) or "Alt" key (Windows) while clicking on the background to be cloned. Click the mouse over the edge lines to cover it with the background. When you are finished, go to "Layer" and select "Flatten Image" before saving the file.
