Building a Collage

Here are the steps:

1. Open a blank canvas
   
   • On the main menu bar select File > New (or click the New icon). You will see a dialog box like the one below
   • Select the resolution and width and height that are appropriate for your purpose
   • You can select the canvas color using one of the radio buttons in the Contents area. If you want a color other than white, set your background color to your choice and use the Background Color radio button. We have used White in our example
   • Click OK

   

2. Open the first image
   
   • File > Open, navigate to file and click Open
3. Copy the image and close the file
   
   • On the main menu bar, Select > All (or keyboard shortcut Ctrl-A, i.e. hold down Ctrl key and then press the A key)
   • On menu bar, Edit > Copy (or shortcut Ctrl-C)
   • On menu bar, File > Close (or shortcut Ctrl-W or click the "x" in upper right corner of the image)
4. Paste the image onto the canvas
   
   • On menu bar, Edit > Paste (or shortcut Ctrl-V)
5. Reposition the image on the canvas
   
   • Select the Move tool in the Toolbox (see figure below)
   • Click on the image and drag the it to where you want it to be (to drag, hold down the left mouse button while you move the mouse. In Photoshop Elements, there will be a little circle in the middle of the image)



6. Add additional images
   
   • Repeat steps 2 through 5 for the additional images you want to add to your collage. (You can have the images overlap one another if you want. Each image is a separate layer. You can adjust which image overlays which by moving the layers within the layers palette. To move a layer, click on it and drag it to another location among the other layers. Experiment with this to get an idea of how it works)
7. Add text
   
   • If desired, you can add text to the collage.
   • Select the Text tool on the toolbox (see figure below)
   • Select the font style, size, color, etc. from the Text menu bar that appeared when you selected the Text tool
   • Position the cursor where you want the text to be and left click
   • Type your text. If you need to reposition your text, you can select the Move tool and move the text box just like you moved the images



8. Save the collage
   You may want to save the collage as a PSD, i.e. a Photoshop file, so you can add to or modify your collage at any time without having to recreate it
   
   • Flatten the image (Layer > Flatten Image) (this step may not be necessary)
   • Save as a JPEG file (File > Save As and choose the type as JPEG, give it a name, and choose a quality setting - higher quality means larger file)
   • See the first figure below for the final result. The second figure below shows the use of overlapped images on the collage

Example from a photo album: