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flyfalk
Participant
June 3, 2023
Question

total ignorant novice to indesign with simple photograph question

  • June 3, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 407 views

i need to create hundreds of 8.5 x 11 pages that will have either a horizontal or vertical photograph about 4"x5" toward the top, the rest of the page blank.  I need a frame or something that will house the image, but be able to delete just the image later, not everything. Basically i need two templates i can use repeatedly.  I dont want to create a frame each and ever time. Does this make sense? Sorry for my lack of knowledge on this- i am a photographer not a designer. thanks.  I am using Mac.

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    2 replies

    Robert at ID-Tasker
    Robert at ID-Tasker
    Legend
    June 3, 2023

    What is the purpose? 

    What else will be on the page? 

    Do you have names of your photos as a list / database? 

     

    F
    flyfalkAuthor
    Participant
    June 4, 2023

    I'm trying to create a visual diary of my photographs, where the image is at the top of a sheet of paper, then i write (yes with a thing called a pen) notes, thoughts, whatever comes to mind. I dont want to do this all on the computer. Its just not my style and it isnt spontaneous enough. Writing something in a notebook of these images when i feel like it is what i am looking for.  The page would consist only of the image, with the bottom half blank.

    James Gifford—NitroPress
    James Gifford—NitroPress
    Legend
    June 4, 2023

    Very easy, then.

     

    Create the document with whatever standard sized pages you like (letter, I assume.) Since I assume you want to put these in a binder or such, leave a wider inner margin — say, half inch top, right and bottom, and one inch left.

     

    Add as many pages as you want to work with at once (place images, then print). Maybe ten?

     

    Place a graphics frame at the top, from margin to margin and along the top margin. Calculate the ratio of your images and make it the proper depth — I assume as a photographer that doesn't throw you. So you will have a frame that's seven inches wide, and something like 5.6 inches high for a 5:4 ratio.

     

    Pretty up this frame any way you like, with a border, drop shadow, etc.

     

    Give it an Object Style of its own (PHOTO) and when you have everything adjusted the way you like, update that style so there is no + mark indicating override changes.

     

    Copy the frame (Ctrl-C). On each of the other pages, place a copy with Ctrl-Alt-Shift-V.

     

    Save your file.

     

    Now click on each frame, then click Menu | Place or hit Ctrl-D. Select the photo file you want. It should drop in, fill the frame to the ratio you've set or at least to one set of margins. Adjust the image file scale as you like (select the image circle in the center, not the frame itself). Repeat for as many pages as you want in that session.

     

    Print the file.

     

    You could save the file as an archive if you think you'll ever need to reprint it. Otherwise, exit without saving. You might want to keep a blank template file, and a backup of it as well. But you can open any of these files — or a fresh template, or a single "working" file — and repeat the place sequence, which will overwrite the file in each frame. And by using Place, you are NOT embedding what are likely huge files in the InDesign file; ID is just linking in your archive photo files. None of these operations will affect your originals.

     

    Anything unclear?

    James Gifford—NitroPress
    James Gifford—NitroPress
    Legend
    June 3, 2023

    All elements in an InDesign document have to be in what's called a frame. Text frames hold text; graphics frames hold any kind of graphic object.

     

    So what you want to do is place a Graphics Frame where you want the photo to be, and size and scale it as you like. You can then place a photo (preferably linked to an external file, not pasted in as a local graphic) in that frame, and do all kinds of scaling, cropping, effects etc.

     

    When you're done, just delete the graphic inside the frame — the photo — and you'll still have the empty frame to use next time.

     

    You can create one or two files with this page layout and save/use it as a template, or put many pages in any one file for convenience.

     

    You'll want to look into Graphics Frames, Anchored Objects and Placing graphics... ask away if those aren't pointers enough.

    Scott Falkner
    Community Expert
    Scott FalknerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 3, 2023

    I suggest creating two parent pages; one for horizontal images and one for vertical images. Give them appropriate Prefixes, like H and V. 

    James Gifford—NitroPress
    James Gifford—NitroPress
    Legend
    June 3, 2023

    Yep, there's layers and layers of organization and efficiency to build on from that start. (To the OP) Doing repetitive, organized layout is one of InDesign's major strengths.

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