Photoshop Elements: Collage Tutorial

When I was first learning how to use Photoshop Elements, one of the things I *really* wanted to know was how to make a collaged image; that is, one image made up of a combination of two or three images that were all blended together and looking lovely. It was difficult to find a collage tutorial that showed exactly what I wanted to do but I managed to piece together the process from various different tutorials I found on the internet, and once you know how, it’s amazingly easy to do. Blending modes and a layer mask are the key to making a nice digital collage.

This tutorial is for Photoshop Elements 6 but the steps are probably similar in other versions.

First of all you’ll need three images. For this tutorial I used the following free images so download them and follow along with me. Always remember that even when using *free* images, they might still have some sort of copyright attached, so please read the copyright fine print that tells you exactly how the images can be used.

1: Download the images

	Download rust texture from Image After
	Download text from Morguefile.com
	Download rose from Morguefile.com

2: Resize the Images

Once you’ve downloaded the images, open them up in Photoshop Elements and resize them all to the same size and resolution. I resized mine to 1500px x 1000px x 300ppi.

Tip:
For viewing online, the resolution can be low – 72ppi.
For printing on fabric you want the resolution to be quite high so the detail shows – I generally use 300ppi.

3: Make an new background for your collage

From the main menu click:
File
New
Blank File
Enter: Width – 1500px, Height – 1000px, Resolution – 300ppi
Background contents - White
Click OK

Tip:
To arrange your images on the screen so you can see them all easily, from the Main Menu select
Windows
Images
Tile

You can now see clearly each image.

4: add the rust image

Copy and paste, or simply drag, the rust image onto the collage background. The rust layer should be above the background layer.

Click on the rust layer in the layers panel, and from the layers drop down box select the difference blend mode. This changes the colors.

5: add the text image

Copy and paste, or drag, the text image onto the collage background. The text layer should be above the rust layer.

Click on the text layer in the layers panel, and from the layers drop down box select the overlay blend mode. This allows the text to be visible but makes the background on the text image transparent allowing the underlying background to show through.

Reduce the opacity to 30%.

6: create a new Levels adjustment layer

Click the Create Adjustment Layer button and select Levels.

Make no changes and click OK. You’ll see that the adjustment layer contains a layer mask filled with white. This should be positioned above the text layer. We’ll use this layer mask later.

7: add the Rose image

Copy and paste, or drag, the rose image onto the collage background. The rose layer should be above the levels adjustments layer.

8: create a clipping group

With the rose layer selected press Ctrl+G on your keyboard. This creates a clipping group with the Levels adjustment layer.

9: add a gradient mask

To allow the background to show through in only part of the image, you will need to add a gradient mask to the layer mask on the Levels adjustment layer.

Select the mask on the Levels adjustment layer.

Select the Gradient tool and choose the Black to White gradient in the Gradient Picker.

On your collage image, with the layer mask highlighted, drag the gradient from right to left, starting at the far right edge and ending around the beginning of the flower petals.

Voila! The partial background is revealed and you now have a beautiful digital collage.

Tip:
Play around with all the settings to vary colors, transparencies and blending modes.

Be sure to leave a comment if you enjoyed this tutorial.