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Post Processing » Preparing Page Layouts in Photoshop
Preparing Page Layouts in Photoshop
by Joe Holler
Posted: September 28, 2011
One creative way to showcase your digital imagery is to make a photobook of your work. There are many photobook printing websites from which to choose. Two that I have used are Shutterfly and Blurb and I like them both. With Shutterfly, you upload your images to their server and create you page layouts while online. With Blurb, you download a program and do all of your page layouts on your own computer, then upload everything at once when you are finished. Both provide you with basic page layout templates.
Although there are a number of templates to pick from, your design is still rather limited. If, for example, you would like to have one image overlap another, you will be out of luck, since there are no templates in which one image overlaps another. For custom layouts I prefer to make my own using Adobe Photoshop. I am only limited by my imagination as to how I want my pictures arranged on the page.
My Template
The example I am going to show you is specifically created for a 10 inch by 8 inch book from Blurb. To help lay out the pages, my friend, Wren McMains of Cherryfield Photography, and I have created page layout templates into which I place the images.
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| This is the basic template that I created to use throughout my photobook. |
On this template, you will notice that we have included several inactive layers. I will explain each of these as we proceed.
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| A simple color gradient will provide a background for my pages. |
Where to Start
The only active layer so far is the background layer. The first thing I do when starting a book is to choose some color or texture or create a background for all of the pages. This time I just used the gradient tool to make a background that fades from pink to blue. Save this as a PSD file and open it every time you start a new 2-page spread.
Now it is time to start placing images on the template. There are several ways to do this. You can open your image into Photoshop and cut-and-paste or click-and-drag the image onto the template or you can use the Place method. Place is located in the File menu or by using Alt+Shift+Ctrl+D. Click File and select Place, navigate to the image you want and click OK.
The advantage of using the Place method is that the image will be a Smart Object. You can tell it is a Smart Object by the fact that the image will have an X on it. According to Photoshop:
Smart Objects are layers that contain image data from raster or vector images, such as Photoshop or Illustrator files. Smart Objects preserve an image’s source content with all its original characteristics, enabling you to perform nondestructive editing to the layer.
 |
| Using the Photoshop Place command to import the image automatically makes it a Smart Object. |
In other words, you may want to change the size of your image, which you will be able to do without changing the quality of the image. If you use cut-and-paste, and then resize the image, you will be reducing its quality. This is a huge advantage for me, since I often resize the images several times before I get them just the way I want them.
Now hold the Shift key down, to preserve the proportionality, and click and drag a corner of the image to resize it. Then click on the image and drag it into position.
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| Adding a drop shadow to the images is simple when you create a separate layer for them. |
I like to use drop shadows under my images. So I made a layer in the template called Effects Example, on which I have the drop shadow. Hold the Alt key down and click on the Fx symbol on the Effects Example layer and drag it to the layer for the image that has just been placed. This way I get the same drop shadow on every image throughout the book.
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| More images have been added to the page, using the Place method. |
Repeat the Place procedure to add the other images to the page layout (and note they all have the drop shadow).
Adding Text
When I start a new book, I decide what font, size and color I want to use for the text. That is the reason for the Text Example layer. Activate the text layer by clicking on the eye in the Layers palette. You will see some text appear on the page.
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| There are many options available when you add text to your images. |
On the Character palette, use the drop-down menus to select a font and font size, and the color picker to select a color for your text. If the Character palette is not visible, it can be activated by clicking on Window and selecting Character from the drop-down menu. Next, deactivate the Text Example layer by clicking on the eye again.
Now you are ready to add text to you page. Click on the Text tool on the tool box, click and drag on your page to create a text box; once this is complete you can insert type or type your text in the box. When you’re done, click on the Pointer tool at the top of the tool box and click and drag your text into position.
If you activate the Rule of Thirds layer you will get red lines on you page that will help you to position your images and text esthetically. Don’t forget to deactivate this layer before you save your final image or else you will get red lines on you page. Guidelines won’t be saved but these lines will.
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| Starting to design a full page bleed on the right side of the layout. |
Creating a Spread
On the right side of this spread I want to use a full page bleed. That is the purpose of the other two inactive layers included in the template labeled RH Page CM, and LH Page CM, which stands for Right Hand and Left Hand Page Clipping Mask. Click on the RH Page CM layer, and then place a picture on the page. This will cause the layer for the new image to be placed above the RH Page CM layer in the Layers palette.
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| When you create a clipping mask the page will be black and the image can be dragged into its proper position. |
Hit Enter to commit the image to the page and the X across the image will disappear. Don’t worry about where the image is on the spread now. Right click on the new layer and select Create Clipping Mask from the drop-down menu. The right hand page will become black. Then activate the RH Page CM layer by clicking on the eye for the RH Page CM layer. Last, click and drag your image within the clipping mask to position it.
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| Once you are satisfied with the page layout, use the Crop tool to commit to the page crop. |
At this point the spread is done and I save it as a PSD file. When I am done with the whole book, I write an action to crop the left and right pages out. If you are unfamiliar with actions and batch processing, then you will need to crop the pages prior to that. Chose the Crop tool from the tool box and highlight the left page and press Enter to commit the crop.
Save this page as a JPG by clicking on File and selecting Save As. In the Save dialog box, give it a name and in the Format drop-down menu choose JPG.
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| Return to your layout by clicking Move in the History palette. |
In the History palette, click on the step immediately preceding Crop to return to the spread. Repeat the crop for the right side of the spread, save it and you are finished with this spread. You are now ready to drag and drop your saved pages into any printing website's book template.
Using Photoshop to make page layouts is far more creative than using the basic templates supplied by the book printing websites. Give it a try. This is what the meant by Freedom of the Press!
Helpful Hint: When I make a book using Blurb, I usually stay under 120 pages to take advantage of their price structure. For me, that is using approximately 360 images. If I have all of these images in one file folder before I start, it would be easy to make a mistake and have the same image appear more than once in the book. So, I make a folder inside of the main folder called Used. Every time I place an image on my spread, I move that image to the Used file folder. While you are placing the second image, you can click and drag the first image to the Used folder right inside the Place dialog box.
ring Page Layouts in Photoshop
Author: Joe Holler
Category: Post Processing
Teaser copy: Go beyond basic templates by learning to design your own page layouts in Photoshop to create a photobook of your digital images.
Search terms: layout, Photoshop, Blurb, Shutterfly, templates, digital, image, photo, page, picture, guidelines, bleed, line, trim, layer, paste, smart object, cut, drag, crop, edit
One creative way to showcase your digital imagery is to make a photobook of your work. There are many photobook printing websites from which to choose. Two that I have used are Shutterfly (insert hyperlink: shutterfly.com) and Blurb (insert hyperlink: www.blurb.com) and I like them both. With Shutterfly, you upload your images to their server and create you page layouts while online. With Blurb, you download a program and do all of your page layouts on your own computer, then upload everything at once when you are finished. Both provide you with basic page layout templates.
Although there are a number of templates to pick from, your design is still rather limited. If, for example, you would like to have one image overlap another, you will be out of luck, since there are no templates in which one image overlaps another. For custom layouts I prefer to make my own using Adobe Photoshop. I am only limited by my imagination as to how I want my pictures arranged on the page.
My Template
The example I am going to show you is specifically created for a 10 inch by 8 inch book from Blurb. To help lay out the pages, my friend, Wren McMains of Cherryfield Photography (insert hyperlink: CherryfieldPhotography.com), and I have created page layout templates into which I place the images. You can download this template by clicking here (insert: SpreadTemplate.psd).
On the template there are several guidelines - three around the perimeter and two intersecting in the middle of the page. The latter are there simply to help position the images. The perimeter ones help to insure that the image is not trimmed off or too close to the edge of the page. The outermost line of the 3 identifies the area to be trimmed off when the book is printed. The middle line identifies the area that might be trimmed off, for safety sake. The innermost one is a margin. If you keep your images inside of the innermost guideline, you can be assured that none of it will be trimmed off and that the image is not too close to the edge. If you prefer, you can allow your images to bleed off of the page.
(insert template1.jpg, image description: the original template created with Photoshop with image title: Basic template, caption: This is the basic template that I created to use throughout my photobook.
On this template, you will notice that we have included several inactive layers. I will explain each of these as we proceed.
Where to Start
The only active layer so far is the background layer. The first thing I do when starting a book is to choose some color or texture or create a background for all of the pages. This time I just used the gradient tool to make a background that fades from pink to blue. Save this as a PSD file and open it every time you start a new 2-page spread.
(insert template2.jpg, image description: The background for the layouts, a simple color gradient, image title: Template with background color, caption: A simple color gradient will provide a background for my pages.)
Now it is time to start placing images on the template. There are several ways to do this. You can open your image into Photoshop and cut-and-paste or click-and-drag the image onto the template or you can use the Place method. Place is located in the File menu or by using Alt+Shift+Ctrl+D. Click File and select Place, navigate to the image you want and click OK.
The advantage of using the Place method is that the image will be a Smart Object. You can tell it is a Smart Object by the fact that the image will have an X on it. According to Photoshop:
Smart Objects are layers that contain image data from raster or vector images, such as Photoshop or Illustrator files. Smart Objects preserve an image’s source content with all its original characteristics, enabling you to perform nondestructive editing to the layer.
In other words, you may want to change the size of your image, which you will be able to do without changing the quality of the image. If you use cut-and-paste, and then resize the image, you will be reducing its quality. This is a huge advantage for me, since I often resize the images several times before I get them just the way I want them.
(insert template3.jpg, image description: the image imported into the template as a smart object, image title: The image as a Smart Object, caption: Using the Photoshop Place command to import the image automatically makes it a Smart Object.)
Now hold the Shift key down, to preserve the proportionality, and click and drag a corner of the image to resize it. Then click on the image and drag it into position.
I like to use drop shadows under my images. So I made a layer in the template called Effects Example, on which I have the drop shadow. Hold the Alt key down and click on the Fx symbol on the Effects Example layer and drag it to the layer for the image that has just been placed. This way I get the same drop shadow on every image throughout the book.
(insert template4.jpg, image description: adding a drop shadow to all the images by making a separate effects layer, image title: Adding a drop shadow, caption: Adding a drop shadow to the images is simple when you create a separate layer for them.)
Repeat the Place procedure to add the other images to the page layout (and note they all have the drop shadow).
(insert template5.jpg, image description: more images have been added to the layout, image title: Addition images, caption:More images have been added to the page, using the Place method.)
Adding Text
When I start a new book, I decide what font, size and color I want to use for the text. That is the reason for the Text Example layer. Activate the text layer by clicking on the eye in the Layers palette. You will see some text appear on the page.
On the Character palette, use the drop-down menus to select a font and font size, and the color picker to select a color for your text. If the Character palette is not visible, it can be activated by clicking on Window and selecting Character from the drop-down menu. Next, deactivate the Text Example layer by clicking on the eye again.
(insert template6.jpg, image description: text menu with available options, image title: Text box options, caption: There are many options available when you add text to your images.)
Now you are ready to add text to you page. Click on the Text tool on the tool box, click and drag on your page to create a text box; once this is complete you can insert type or type your text in the box. When you’re done, click on the Pointer tool at the top of the tool box and click and drag your text into position.
If you activate the Rule of Thirds layer you will get red lines on you page that will help you to position your images and text esthetically. Don’t forget to deactivate this layer before you save your final image or else you will get red lines on you page. Guidelines won’t be saved but these lines will.
Creating a Spread
On the right side of this spread I want to use a full page bleed. That is the purpose of the other two inactive layers included in the template labeled RH Page CM, and LH Page CM, which stands for Right Hand and Left Hand Page Clipping Mask. Click on the RH Page CM layer, and then place a picture on the page. This will cause the layer for the new image to be placed above the RH Page CM layer in the Layers palette.
(insert template7.jpg, image description: a new layer is created when you design a full page bleed, image title: Creating a full page bleed, caption: Starting to design a full page bleed on the right side of the layout.)
Hit Enter to commit the image to the page and the X across the image will disappear. Don’t worry about where the image is on the spread now. Right click on the new layer and select Create Clipping Mask from the drop-down menu. The right hand page will become black. Then activate the RH Page CM layer by clicking on the eye for the RH Page CM layer. Last, click and drag your image within the clipping mask to position it.
(insert template8.jpg, image description: make a clipping mask to allow proper positioning of the image, image title: Creating a clipping mask, caption: When you create a clipping mask the page will be black and the image can be dragged into its proper position.)
At this point the spread is done and I save it as a PSD file. When I am done with the whole book, I write an action to crop the left and right pages out. If you are unfamiliar with actions and batch processing, then you will need to crop the pages prior to that. Chose the Crop tool from the tool box and highlight the left page and press Enter to commit the crop.
(insert template9.jpg, image description: Page cropping can be done with the Crop tool or as an action and batch process, image title: Cropping the pages, caption: Once you are satisfied with the page layout, use the Crop tool to commit to the page crop.)
Save this page as a JPG by clicking on File and selecting Save As. In the Save dialog box, give it a name and in the Format drop-down menu choose JPG.
In the History palette, click on the step immediately preceding Crop to return to the spread. (insert template10.jpg, image description: the history palette allows yo to return to your page layout, image title: History palette, caption: Return to your layout by clicking Move in the History palette.) Repeat the crop for the right side of the spread, save it and you are finished with this spread. You are now ready to drag and drop your saved pages into any book printing website's book template.
Using Photoshop to make page layouts is far more creative than using the basic templates supplied by the book printing websites. Give it a try. This is what the meant by Freedom of the Press!
Helpful Hint: When I make a book using Blurb, I usually stay under 120 pages to take advantage of their price structure. For me, that is using approximately 360 images. If I have all of these images in one file folder before I start, it wadfPreaould be easy to make a mistake and have the same image appear more than once in the book. So, I make a folder inside of the main folder called Used. Every time I place an image on my spread, I move that image to the Used file folder. While you are placing the second image, you can click and drag the first image to the Used folder right inside the Place dialog box.
