How to Create A Photo Collage

Getting inspired to create something is no easy task.  Some days you have it and others you just hit a wall, or what many like to call creative block.  For me I love to create fun photo collage graphics for Instagram.  It’s an easy way to decompress and have someplace to draw inspiration from.  Starting a photo collage isn’t usually from scratch and you can look through a stock image gallery and choose the images that inspire.  

Step 1:

I use Unsplash.  Unsplash is a great free tool where photographers have uploaded their work to be used free of charge.  You can even check out their profile and give them a thank you.  I tend to go through and find images that inspire me, even if it’s just a piece of an image or a texture.  

Step 2:  

I then import each into Photoshop and using the select and mask tools, select the parts of each image that I want.  The important part about this step is you will want to take your time and even use the pen tool to really refine your selections.  

Step 3:

After each photo is to my liking, I then use the color correcting tools like levels, curves, and the like to get each image to have the same lighting, color, and contrast.  It is also important to consider this while choosing your photos, many photos might have similar lighting conditions and are easier to blend with others.  

Step 4:  

Once that is done it's time to add effects like blurring, sharpening, and transforming.  The tools are endless and you can use my favorite effect, the perspective warp tool, to change and angle of view of an object.  Also adding shapes, clipping masks, and smart objects to retain the editing capability is also a good thing to practice.  

Photoshop is an amazing program and the possibilities are endless for what you can create.  Using free sites like Unsplash and just Photoshop, which you can get for as little as $10/month, you can start creating fun collage all on your own.  

One of my favorite two designers who do this are Joe Cavazos and Dustin Cooper.  Joe has started a wave of designs using the pixel stretch and the designs that he and others have come up with are amazing.  

Next time you hit a creative block look through Unsplash and start getting inspired to create something out of existing content that's already out there to use for free.  

Best of luck.  Keep creating.