In this short tutorial, i’ll be showing you how to create a composite collage simply and easily in Adobe Photoshop.
Collages created in Adobe Photoshop can feel like the domain of the graphic designer at first. But don’t be put off! Creating this type of image is much easier than you think! And what’s more - there’s no rules! Do what ever you like!
In this quick tutorial, i’ll guide you through how to create a basic collage using one base image.
Step 1 - Select Your Base Photo
For my collage above, i went to Pexels.com - a free platform for stock photos - which i find a brilliant resource when you just need to download some sample images to help sharpen your skills in Lightroom or Photoshop.
I decided to go for a car. Why not! If you want to use a portrait, then simply search for one and use that!
I’m a fan of black and white images for this type of composite, but again - there are no rules! In this case, i also opted for a color image!
Once you’ve downloaded your image, open it up in Photoshop.
Here’s what i went with:
Step 2 - Add an Overlay
Now, this step is a matter of choice.
I wanted to give my end image a bit of a stylised, textured feel. So, I headed back over to Pexels and found an overlay pattern which, once downloaded, i dragged and dropped over my base image.
With the texture image dropped over the original; resize the layer to cover the image, hit enter and drop the opacity to around 6-8% and turn the layer off (using the eye shaped icon on the layer). We’ll come back to this layer at the end!
Step 3 - Copy Your Base Image
Create a second copy of your base image to sit in the layer above.
To do this, drag and drop your background image of the ‘Plus-in-a-box’ icon in the bottom right of the layers tab.
Step 4 - Start Chopping!
Select the Polygon Lasso tool (Keyboard shortcut L). You may need to long-press over the lasso icon in the left tool-bar to select the Polygon version.
Making sure you’re working on the copy layer you just created, work from the outside of your image, heading inwards. Start making shapes (i went with triangle shapes). Once each shape is complete, hold command (CTRL in Windows) and drag the area of the image you just selected with the lasso tool to a new position.
Repeat this process until you’re happy.
Bear in mind that if you want to further move your cut-outs, then you should copy and paste your selections instead of dragging them. This will land the shapes on layers of their own, enabling you to make adjustments to them individually, and reposition them if you need.
Here is an example of a shape copied and pasted onto it’s own level. If you want to move the shape; select the layer and use shortcut Command-T.
Step 5 - Adjust Color
You can also adjust the color of specific layers, or your underlying base image.
Click on the black and white circle icon in the bottom of the Layers Panel, and select ‘Hue/Saturation. Move the Saturation slider to the left to remove color from the layer.
If you want to pin the color adjustment to a specific layer like i have below; drag the adjustment layer to above the layer you want to pin it to, hold the cursor over the adjustment layer, hold option (windows - Alt) and click. Now, the adjustment will only apply to the layer directly below it.
Step 6 - Add Another Image to the Mix
As you can see from the image below, i visited Pexels again and found myself a city-scape image. Once downloaded, i dragged it into Photoshop and it now appears as a new smart object layer.
Position the image to where you want it to be and hit enter to lock it in place.
To stop my city-scape stealing the show, i’ve changed the layer blending option to soft light.
TIP: Renaming layers, as i’ve done in the image below, is a great way to help you stay organised when working with several layers in one image.
Step 7 - Create a Mask
Next, we need to use a mask to remove a portion of the city-scape layer to help it blend in.
Click on the Mask icon in the bottom of the Layers Panel.
Step 8 - Paint Away!
Select the Brush Tool (Keyboard shortcut B). Select the brushes size, set the hardness low (around 15), and the opacity to 100.
Make sure that the layer mask you just created is selected.
Also, make sure your color (bottom of the left tool-bar) is set to black.
TIP: Whenever painting on a layer-mask, painting black removes part of the layer. Painting white brings it back. BLACK CONCEALS, WHITE REVEALS!
Paint over the part of the layer to be removed. In this case, i wanted to remove the upper and right edges that were covering the car. Using a low hardness on the brush will prevent it from leaving sharp edges, resulting in a more blended look.
Step 9 - Add Some Text
I hit google and searched images for the word ‘New York’.
With an image i found, i was simply able to drag it from google, and drop it in to Photoshop, creating another smart object layer.
With the layer on the screen in Photoshop, hit enter.
Select the Marque tool (Keyboard shortcut M) and draw a box around the text you want to use.
With the area of the layer selected, hit command C and command V to copy and paste that section in to a new layer.
Now, delete the layer with the image you just dragged in from google. Left behind should just be the portion of what you copied, sitting on it’s own layer.
With the new layer with your text on selected, hit command T to reposition the layer to where you want in your image.
Next, hit the blending mode drop-down and select ‘Subtract’ for your text layer. This will make the background of the layer black, and the text see-through (useful to know for other projects!).
Using the Opacity slider, drag to opacity of your pasted text layer to make it a bit more see-through.
Finally, we don’t want to forget about the overlay layer we created in step 2! Make sure to drag it to the top of your layer pile and turn it back on by clicking on the eye icon next to it.
Go to the opacity slider once more, and reduce the opacity of the overlay until it’s almost completely see-through. Just enough so you know it’s there and it gives some texture to your image!
Et Voila!
There we have it!
I hope you were able to follow this tutorial! I’ll try and get a video out soon showing you the process in a little more detail!
If you’ve tried it out, or had any problems, just drop a comment below!!!
And don’t forget: If you’re looking to save time with your editing in Adobe Lightroom, why not try out some of my Presets for Lightroom Classic and Mobile? You can check them out by clicking here!
Thanks!!