Hello and welcome back to another PFF blogpost! A photo printing gift that has always been a popular choice are photo collages. We see lots of people ordering our Instagram Poster Collage and our Customised Poster Collage as photo printing gifts. There are even those who get in touch with us to ask if we design mosaics and custom-shaped photo collages.
So today, we thought we’d shared with you how to create your own custom collage using Adobe’s InDesign. InDesign allows you to create your collage freely and this method that we’re about to teach you is quite simple. Basically, what we’re doing is creating a clipping mask. Now, if that sounds foreign to you, don’t worry. We’ll break it down in simple steps for you!
When creating a clipping mask, you always need a shape and a photo. You want to start off by creating the shape you want, say a circle. Next, bring in the photo you selected directly into the circle and it will automatically fill within the shape. And that’s your clipping mask. This is the concept you’ll use to create any collage with InDesign.
On to the next part. How do you fill in one shape with multiple photos? It’s simple. Start off with your desired shape. Then, layout the photos you want to include on InDesign. Once it’s all laid out, select all the photos and at the top bar, click on Windows > Group. Now with the grouped images, right-click and cut it, click on the shape you created, right-click again and hit paste into. And ta-da! It’s not magic, it’s just creating a clipping mask!
Now, how about the other way around? What if you want one image to break up and fill in multiple shapes? All it takes is one extra step. So, after you’ve created the different shapes, select them all and at the top bar, you’ll click on Object > Paths > Make Compound Path. Once that’s done, place your photo either by cutting and pasting into or by going to File > Place.
The last template we’ll cover today is text. So, if you’re creating a photo collage that reads your partner’s name or if you want it to be in the shape of the number 1 to signify your first anniversary, this is what you’re gonna do.
Type out your text. Next, we’re going to transform it into a shape by going to Type > Create Outlines. Now you can paste in your image(s) as normal. If you’re pasting it in by clicking File > Place, make sure the text is selected for it to be pasted within the template.
Creating your own collage using InDesign is really as simple as that! The examples we provided were just the basics. Give it a try and let your imagination run wild! Once you’re happy with your photo collage, get them printed with us and your photo printing gift is good to go!
We hope this instructional blog has been helpful.
Till the next one, happy collaging & cheers!