Expert: LizaL - 11/3/2004

Question
I am a digital photographer and do most of my own printing.  Is
there a photoshop cs plug in for Mac that has photo templates say
to print proofs on or composite sports teams, calendars, etc?

Thank you

Answer
Hi Cindy,

I hope I'm understanding you correctly here, and if it sounds like I've missed it, please don't hesitate to post back and tell me!

You ask about photo templates, and for that I would suggest using Contact Sheet II, which is an automation in Photoshop CS. This would be good for you in terms of printing proofs.

Look under the File pulldown menu, select Automate, then select Contact Sheet II. It's a pretty straightforward dialog box: You specify the folder of images you want for your proof pages, specify a layout (how many pictures to a page, how many columns, etc.), then hit OK. A contact sheet of these images will be produced.

Picture Package, another automation that's found in the same place as Contact Sheet II, is similar. With Picture Package, you can select a single picture at the beginning of the automation, and sort of create your layouts before you say OK and let Photoshop assemble them.

You also mention compositing here -- and I would suggest trying Layer Comps. This command is found under the Window pulldown menu. Basically, a layer comp is a snapshot of your layers palette. As you're working, and as you create layers and put images on those layers, you might find you  have different ideas for laying out the final page of images. You can accomplish this by first arranging the images the way you want them, then selecting the Create New Layer Comp button on the Layer Comp palette (this button is found beside the Trash Can, in the palette).

The idea is that you can create different layouts, based on the layers in your Photoshop document -- that is, making different arrangements with photos and type, and any related effects you might apply to those layers. And Layer Comps will help you switch back and forth to those different arrangements.

Layer Comps, to me at least, can be confusing. I have to admit I don't use them very much. But I've found a link with a good tutorial, and I hope this explanation helps:
http://www.adobe.com/tips/phs8lyrcomp/main.html

But do experiment with Contact Sheet II and Picture Package, and let me know how it goes! If you need any more info, please don't hesitate to post back.

Lisa