How to manage my project

K
Posted By
Kugar13
Apr 12, 2007
Views
497
Replies
8
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Closed
Hey guys,

I am working on a project that is a stack of polaroids with various pictures on them. I am new to photoshop, so my questions may seem trivial/elementary, so please forgive me for that.

I was wondering if it was best to assemble all of the polaroids (aprox 30+ pictures) together in the same project, or create a project per polaroid picture and import them into the final project to be asembled together?

I assume I link them together (white layer, black layer, photo layer = a polaroid) so they stay together, but do I flatten them, when I am satisfied, to make them one graphic, or don’t do that until I am completely finished with the project as a whole?

After I assemble my polaroid (white layer, black layer, shadow, and such) template without photo is the click and free transform method the only way/best way to duplicate the polaroid graphic for additional use (with other pictures)?

Thank you for your assistance, it is most appreciated!
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EH
Ed_Hannigan
Apr 12, 2007
Sorry, but your question doesn’t make too much sense to me. Are you scanning the pictures? I don’t know what you mean by, "white layer, black layer, photo layer = a polaroid". Are these files on a disk or something?

I suggest you look through the manual and the Help files.

What version of Photoshop are you using?
K
Kugar13
Apr 12, 2007
Sorry about that Ed. I guess I was in a hurry and didn’t take my time to explain.

The pictures are imported from Premiere Pro 2.0 from my film footage. They are imported as Tiff files.

I created the polaroid graphics by using a white rectangular with black overlaying rectangular (where the photo would lay on top of).

I know how to flatten, link layers, make the polaroid graphics and such. Just haven’t ran across anything about how to best manage a project like this.

I guess the major question is… is it best to create a template, flatten it, and import it to a new project and make copies of it (the polaroids) as necessary (per # of pictures I want to make).

I’m new to this, so my questions may seem ‘weird’ or ‘ignorant’…. Sorry about that… just trying to make sure I do the best job I can. I’d hate to have to restart the project because of a dumb mistake.

Thanks!
JZ
Joe_Zydeco
Apr 12, 2007
Are you saying each tiff file consists of an image surrounded by a black border, which is surrounded by a white border? I am having trouble visualizing what a "Polaroid graphic" is. If all you want is a black border, just import simple images and do Edit>Stroke on each once they are in Photoshop. Could you post one or two of them on www.pixentral.com so we can see what you see? It would also be helpful if you would describe what your final project should look like. Is it a single image with images arranged neatly in rows and columns, or is it to be a collage? What?

Forget flattening unless absolutely necessary to reduce the file size. Once done, you cannot un-flatten!

For maximum flexibility, import each tiff as a separate image into Photoshop. You can then easily create a new file (a blank canvas) and copy and paste to assemble a final image.
K
Kugar13
Apr 12, 2007
Joe, thank you for your suggestions and further inquiry.

The photos I am importing do have black bars on the top and bottom (from the widescreen/letterbox feature done by the camcorder).

The black and white boarders/polaroids are created in photoshop. I found a tutorial to that shows the end product of creating a polaroid graphic for pictures:

< http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselements/ss/polaroid_10.h tm>

Essentially I’ve created a template for what looks like a polaroid. I am importing photos from film footage shot by my DVX100a camcorder to attach to the graphic/template of the polaroid to make them look like real polaroid pictures.

The end product will be a stack/pile of polaroids with pics from the film and a pen/marker font labeling them. The polaroids will be weathered/used/damaged. It will look like someone dropped a stack of polaroids on the ground and they’ve been ran over in the street or such….. It’s for a poster for a film I am hoping to premiere in May (I’m an indie film maker).

Thanks for the help Joe!!!
DM
Don_McCahill
Apr 12, 2007
You can build actions that can automate the process, but I would recommend against it at this time. You are still beginning PS, and doing each photo individually will help you grow. As you work through your stack of photos, you will learn new techniques and ways to do things. The only way to master Photoshop is to spend time with it.

The only warning I will give is to always make copies of files. You might want to go back to the originals later when you have learned more.
T
Talker
Apr 13, 2007
On Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:26:49 -0700, wrote:

Sorry about that Ed. I guess I was in a hurry and didn’t take my time to explain.
The pictures are imported from Premiere Pro 2.0 from my film footage. They are imported as Tiff files.

I created the polaroid graphics by using a white rectangular with black overlaying rectangular (where the photo would lay on top of).

I know how to flatten, link layers, make the polaroid graphics and such. Just haven’t ran across anything about how to best manage a project like this.

I guess the major question is… is it best to create a template, flatten it, and import it to a new project and make copies of it (the polaroids) as necessary (per # of pictures I want to make).

I’m new to this, so my questions may seem ‘weird’ or ‘ignorant’…. Sorry about that… just trying to make sure I do the best job I can. I’d hate to have to restart the project because of a dumb mistake.

Thanks!

There are numerous ways to do what you want. If it was me, I’d open the template in PS, then duplicate it. I would then open the picture that you want to put on top of the Polaroid template, copy it and paste it onto the template. Once I have the composite image looking like the Polaroid that I want, I’d save it as a PSD file, that way it preserves all the layers. If you need it in another format, I’d flatten it, then save it as a TIFF file.
Once I was finished with that picture, I’d duplicate the template again.(it should still be open), and open the second picture. By keeping the template open and duplicating it, you always have it ready for the next picture. You could just use the template itself, then after finishing up with the composite and saving it, you would just have to reopen the template again. I think it’s just easier to open it once, and duplicate it for each picture that you need it for. I hope this helps…

Talker
JZ
Joe_Zydeco
Apr 13, 2007
Ok, now I see what you’re up to–you want to make photos look as if they were Polaroids, then combine a bunch of them into a semi-random pattern as if they had been tossed onto a table.

In answer to your last question of your first post, I suggest that you first build the template with a sample image and a text layer (a finished product for one image). Save it, then open your other images and drag one of them onto the template image (you can’t do that if you flattened the template, so do not flatten). Move that image layer down so it is just above the first image layer. Optionally, delete the layer containing the first image. Use Transform to position and size the image as needed, alter the text, and save that image.

When using Transform, you can preserve the original aspect ratio by holding down Shift and dragging a corner handle.
K
Kugar13
Apr 15, 2007
Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t responded sooner… I was out of town. Thanks for the help guys!!!!

Don, thanks for the advice about taking the long road to learn more. I appreciate the great advice!

Joe, thanks for giving me your advice how you would handle such a circumstance!

Thanks again!

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