Help needed for montage/borders please! (moonie littleme sam)

I really need a tutorial on how to put say four pics as a set within nice black borders.

The three peeps in the title have done it to great effect.

Can anyone help?

OK! I know there is a proper way to do it but I don't know the proper way!
What I can do very nicely though is make tables in Word!
So I make the shape of frame I want in word, copy and paste it as a new layer in PS, then I select the white windows with the selection tool. This gives me like a black window frame that I can sit on top of my images. I put each image on a seperate layer behind the window frame and then resize them by pressig 'ctrl T' and fiddling until they sit nicely behind each window.
That probablly didn't make any sense did it!
Oh well!
Maybe someone who does it properly can help!!!

Or....
download these free templates:
http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot...lates-and.html

I haven't tried any myself, but I have other Coffeeshop things which work very nicely.

Not knowing what exactly you're looking for I put this idea forward.







You can also nicely place 4 photos in a film strip that would have black borders, as long as they were all horizontal shots. Or then there's this that I like the best.

I'll type it out in Word, and paste into here, as my stupid computer keeps logging me out.

What are you using to edit? You have layers in your editing suite? .

photoshop 7.

You have layers? I will be a while, as about to get the kids lunch, but will type and eat, be back in about an hour.

ok im watching corrie now ha ha...

yes i have layers but what they do ect etc i have no idea

My "probably completely wrong way of creating Storyboards, but it works for me."

Ingredients

One computer of your choice
Photoshop
Some digital images
Some patience
A Cup of tea, and biccies(sorry that's just me.....)


Now there are two ways I do it, one works best if I know exactly what I want to create and want to create a template, the other when I want to "freestyle" LOL. I am in no way an authority on this subject, just had to create a few story books lately, so decided to try and get to grips with it. Plus, you might be better off using the internet, and getting proper advice*.

Okay, I have tea and biccies,

Open your editing suite.

1.Then File >New

Scroll Preset >Custom

Dimension you want , lets say 10 x 20 inches

Res >300 Dpi

Background> I choose transparent , so I can fill it later with a colour, or pattern, or choose a texture etc, but if wanted black, white, etc choose it now.

You can save as Preset if wanted or click OK.


2. You should have a lovely blank canvas, staring scarily back at you. Background layer
Okay at this point I unleash the rulers, grids and guidelines.

View> Rulers,
View>Show> Grid
View>New Guides, you then create where yopu want your guidelines to be, the furthest points you don't want your images to cross, bear in mind printing for prints, and also book gutters if you a book page. To move a guideline just click on it to drag it.

I also like to centre the guidelines to for the middle. So you have a centrepoint, so now your lovley canvas, will be a mass of lines. AT THIS POINT IF I WANTED A QUICK TEMPLATE TO CUSTOMISE ALL READY FOR IMAGES IN A SIZE I DON'T ALREADY HAVE, I SAVE FILE AS A PSD, NAMING IT THE DIMENSIONS, so for example 10x10 Blank SB, then I save them all in a file called storyboards.


Now if you are freestyling, at this point you are image ready, your images should be edited to the correct dimensions, say 4X6 as an example at 300 dpi.

Select your picture you are using.

Select>All

Edit > Copy


Then click on your background/template, and Edit> Paste.


Now, it should be plonked in the middle of your line covered canvas. At same time it created a new layer. Layer 1

Click Ctrl T , now this is important hold the shift key down to drag your image to the right size, if you don't shift key, you could end up with an image out of proportion.

At this point I click the top cursor arrow keys in the menu, it will ask to apply transformation ,click apply, and move your image to it's location you want.

Now keep doing this until each image is on your background, each image creates a new layer .To move them or reposition a previous layer, just click on the appropriate layer, in the layer menu to the right.

So, you have your background the right colour, the images are all in the correct locations, if you are creating a book page, or if it's to be printed for a customer, or you aren't sure save it as a PSD file, you can go back and work it later.

If you are happy, don't want the bigger file etc, Go to Layer > Flatten Image, which squishes the layers.

Save as you normally, would save a finished JPG.

VOILA! You should have create a lovely storyboard .


Next, installment to creating a Template, where you pop the images into a predetermined window, and design to follow.......


I need another Cuppa.

ETA- THIS ALSO IMPORTANT, make sure you turn off all guides, and grids etc, by deselecting them once you have finished, you don't want to save with the guides all over your new masterpiece

oh my god..........I need a week to get through that..

lol


thanks for your time and I will attempt it...