It takes just one click to make consistent photo spots for your scrapbook layouts.
But first, the back story.
I've been working busily on my 2013 Project Life Memorabilia album. While I've got almost a full album of tickets, maps and souvenirs from the 5 destinations on our trip, I've only created one page so far.
Yes, that's it. 18 months later and I've created one page. I still feel the pull to scrap these pages, so it's time to change all that!
Templates are great for fast scrapping but when I want something a little more simple and flexible I need to make my own.
The extended family shared their phone and camera photos so I have photos of all sizes, shapes and resolutions to work with. I'm keeping these pages simple and wanted a way to create my layouts quickly.
Enter the Shape Tool
To create fast easy spots for your photos, you can create them yourself using the shape tool.
- Select the rounded rectangle tool (under the rectangle tool in PS and PSE)
- Click and drag to draw the rectangle
- Use the shape layer like it is a template: Put the paper or photo layer above the shape layer and press Ctrl+G (Ctrl+Alt+G in Photoshop) to create a clipping mask.
But, my process is even simpler.
Make it even easier
Did you know you can preset the size of your shapes?
Select the Fixed Size option from the tool options panel and type in any measurement in the W and H boxes below. Regardless of your measurement preferences or page resolution Photoshop will do the maths for you. Even though I work in centimeters in PSE, I just type in 4in x 6in.
Then you simply click once to create the shape.
Link it
If you prefer not to merge your layers (I leave them as is) link your layers so you can move the photo and shape together. If you skip this step you may accidentally move your photo around without the shape coming along for the ride.
In the Layers panel, click on the photo layer thumbnail and then hold down the shift key and click on the shape. Then click the chain icon to the left of the thumbnail to link the layers. (In Photoshop, press the link layers button in the layers panel - it looks like a chain.)
Shadows
Remember if you are clipping a photo or paper to a shape, you need to apply your shadow to the shape itself so that it will be visible on your layout.
Rounded Corners, Or Not
If you want to match rounded corners, you can select the rounded rectangle option and type in a radius for the curve of the corners.
I am happy with 0.24 in radius for my pages that I want to match with Project Life cards. (I'm not exactly sure of the dimensions it is supposed to be and have googled it to no avail!)
In digital we rarely think about photo sizes, but I found can it give a consistent look throughout projects and get the job done faster!
Have you ever tried scrapbooking with preset sized photos?
Leave a Reply