Create a FREE Photo Collage with Picasa
Ever wanted to create one of those cool photo collages that seem so fashionable at the moment? Many people think you need to be a wizard in Photoshop to create something similar to the collage on the left (click on the thumbnail on the left for a larger image, or “right-click, save as” here to download the full size version). However, all you need is a batch of digital photos and a copy of Google’s great photo organizer, Picasa. If you don’t have Picasa installed on your computer, it’s a free download and can be obtained by clicking on the following banner:
Once Picasa is up and running, and you’ve imported your digital photo collection, you’re ready to create a collage. Actually Picasa doesn’t just import photos. It will scan for all the following file formats and place them all neatly in folders for you:
Photo file types: JPG, GIF, TIF, PSD, PNG, BMP, RAW (including NEF and CRW). GIF and PNG files are not scanned by default, but you can enable them in the Tools > Options dialog.
Movie file types: MPG, AVI, ASF, WMV, MOV.
I would recommend playing around with Picasa for a while, getting used to it’s basic controls and options before creating your masterpiece, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to dive right in and get going.
- Select a folder from the left pane that has the pictures you want to use for the collage.
- Select the thumbnails of the pictures you want to use. Tip: hold down the Shift key while you click to select pictures in a sequence (i.e. picture 1 to 10) or hold down the Ctrl key while you select to choose non-sequential pictures (i.e. random pictures in the folder).
- Click the Collage button in the bottom pane.
Once the Make Collage dialogue box opens, you’re presented with 4 options: Picture Pile, Picture Grid, Contact Sheet and Multi-Exposure. For this example we’re just concerned with the Picture Pile option.
Make sure the Type selected is Picture Pile, before selecting an Option from the next drop-down box. Again, you’ll have 4 choices - Use Background Picture (this is the option I selected - see above), White Background, Gray Background and Black Background (see below).
Once you’ve selected your background, you’re ready to save your creation. In the Location drop-down, you can choose from Save As Desktop Picture (makes great wallpaper!), Current Folder, Screensaver Picture Folder or Choose a Folder. I selected Choose a Folder and saved the collage to my Desktop.
Picasa also allows you to edit the collage using it’s built in effects - sharpen, sepia, black & white, warmify, film grain, tint and a whole host of others. You can also crop, straighten, fix redeye or change the contrast and color with the click of a button. All this for free from a great photo organizer/editing tool.
Hope this tutorial was useful. Visit Picasa’s Official web site for more tips and a full review of the software’s capabilities, and if you don’t have the software (what are you waiting for?), click on the banner below. Have fun!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
June 10th, 2007 at 10:19 am
great tutorial…i’m sure i’ll use it!
June 10th, 2007 at 11:23 am
I love Picasa… that’s all I used when I had my old laptop.. it was on windows though. I think I tried to download it on my Macbook and couldn’t for one reason or another. Anyways love the pics with your Mini.. slobber.. drool.
June 10th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Thanks!
Just washed my MINI actually. Getting ready to leave to take part in the MINI Convoy World Record attempt:
http://www.cymru66.com/mini/calling-all-mini-drivers-attempt-on-guinness-world-record-most-minis-in-a-parade/
I’ll try and post pictures later. Should be a fun afternoon
June 10th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Wheeeee…nice
Will try this myself later on…
and would love to see more picture from the convoy too
June 10th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Here’s what I have so far:
http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.speirs/MINIWorldRecordAttempt
Just went for a run to where the event is starting. Leaving now for the real deal…
–Steve
June 10th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
ah this is great i didnt even know picasa did so many things!!! will be using it !!! thanxxxxxx
June 10th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Never heard of Picasa, but looks like it’s easy to use. Photoshop eat too much memories in my computer. I hope this one is lighter than Photoshop
Thanks for the tutorial
June 10th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I agree. Photoshop is fantastic software, but is a huge memory hog. Every version seems to suck up more memory as it becomes more powerful. Picasa is not only a great (free) application which organizes your photo/image collection, but also a basic image editing tool. Good luck with it!
–Steve