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scper
Participant
November 10, 2019
Question

big collage with many photos - how to manage size vs print resolution?

  • November 10, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 1124 views

I am making a big collage to be printed high res at poster size. Here are the complications:

  • I want to combine 20-40 small, high res photos.
  • I want a manageable file size as I work in PS to develop the collage.
  • Each photo will need filtering and effects that can't be decided until I see the photos next to each other.
  • Meanwhile I need to preserve high res individual images so that I can ultimately print the collage on an ink jet or commercial printer.

I will greatly appreaciate any tips, links, or suggestions on how to do this effectively (and what to avoid).

Neither of my guesses so far seem right:

1) slide 20-40 individual photo files around on my desktop, make the edits in each individual file, combine at last possible moment?

2) experiment in one collage file with heavily downsampled versions of each photo; re-do the collage with high res photos at end?

I'm running CC on a newish iMac with 8Gb memory and latest OS.

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

michelew83603738
Community Expert
michelew83603738Community Expert
Community Expert
November 11, 2019

I would think you would bring in each image as a smart object, therefore you could size and re-size without losing resolution from its original. You could also go to that smart object and apply any filters and affects within it, or create smart objects of several images that might need the same filters and effects applied to them, that way everything isn't on that one layers panel, making it a little more managable and the working canvas can be sized as needed.

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    scperAuthor
    Participant
    November 11, 2019

    Great I will try that, thanks!

      Nancy OShea
      Community Expert
      Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      November 10, 2019

      At what distance will this collage be viewed?  That will decide how much DPI you need.  And DPI does effect fielsize. 

       

      Make copies of your original images just in case you ever need to revert to them.

      Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
        S
        scperAuthor
        Participant
        November 10, 2019

        The collage would be viewed at close-ish range (on a wall, like a painting). Closer inspection should allow viewer to see details within the individual photos that compose the collage. Each individual photo is about 2x2" (6x6 cm) square.

        S
        scperAuthor
        Participant
        November 10, 2019

        Don't guess.  Ask your print professional what size, DPI and color preset they want you to use.  


        It sounds like you are saying that there is no general strategy for dealing with this, it is all printing specific.  I'll go to a commercial printer if I msut but ideally, I'll print on my inkjet printer, say, 13" x 19", 600 pixels/inch. When I create that document in PS, and add even a couple photos, I quickly exceed 100 Mb in file size and the document becomes impossible to work with. So I'm looking for tricks and strategies to have a workable file size during my assembling and experimenting phase, yet get back to a high res version for printing...

        I fear I'm not being clear ... put another way: if David Hockney wanted to remake his famous photo collages with PS instead of polaroids (ex. https://thedavidhockneyfoundation.org/chronology/1982) how could he maintain resolution without creating a document too large to work on?

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