STEP BY STEPhttp://www.digitalcameraworld.com MARCH 2020 DIGITAL CAMERA^73
1
Paste in your first pic
Copy the Triptych Pack folder on the disc to your computer,
and open Photoshop CC. Go to File > Browse in Bridge and
look through the various templates to find one you like.
(I used Handpainted Triptych 18 here.) Double-click the
template to open it in Photoshop CC. Now go to File > Open
and load up the image you’d like to use in the central frame
in your triptych. (I used Puffin 1.) Press Ctrl/Cmd+A to select
it, then Ctrl/Cmd+C to copy it, then Ctrl/Cmd+W to close it.
Back in the Triptych document, press Ctrl/Cmd+V to paste
in your image. It will be placed over the top of the template.3
Paste in your other pics
At the moment, you’ve selected the part of the pic you want
to be visible; to tidy up the edges and lose the overhanging areas,
go to Select > Inverse to select the outer parts. Press Delete to
get rid of them, then press Ctrl/Cmd+D to lose the marching ants.
With your central pic taken care of, load your second image,
and select, copy, close, and paste it in as you did in Step 1.
Change the Blending Mode to Screen, resize and position it
with Free Transform, and remove any overhanging edges as
above. Do the same with your third image and place it in the
remaining frame, and your basic triptych will be complete.2
Position your middle shot
Open the Layers panel (Window > Layers) and select the image
you pasted in. To blend it with the triptych, choose the Screen
Blending Mode. The image will appear through the black areas,
but will need to be resized. To do this, press Ctrl/Cmd+T to enter
Free Transform mode, and drag the corner handles until the image
is nicely composed in the middle frame. The edges will overhang,
but don’t worry about this – just focus on the framing. Press
Return when you’re happy, then select the Rectangular Marquee
Tool. Make a selection within the white parts of the frame, taking
care not to chop off any part of the image inside the frame.4
Try an alternative look
To save your triptych, go to File > Save As and select JPEG
under Format. Name the file and click Save. In the JPEG Options
dialog box, pick Maximum Quality and click OK. Your image
will be saved and you’ll be returned to the layered document.
To make an alternative version with a black surround, click
the template layer and press Ctrl/Cmd+I. Select all three picture
layers, then click where it says Screen and change the Blending
Mode to Multiply. You can now save out your black version in
the same way as above – just remember to give it a different
name to your version with the white surround.