How To Make A Photo Collage With A Matching Color Palette

Color collages are a fantastic way to showcase your photos in a new and interesting way + they are so much FUN to create.

When you put your photos in a collage along with a matching color palette you can inspire the viewer in a way standalone images can’t.

Collages can be a creative way to up-level your social media strategy, promote the essence of your brand or feature products on your website.

In this tutorial I will show you two examples. In the first example I show you how to design a collage for Instagram Story and in the second example I teach you how to create a collage for your website or blog.

How To Make A Color Collage With A Photograph

To design a collage with photos and a matching color palette I use a website called Canva. You can get started on Canva for free. They also have a paid version with more possibilities.

So let’s get started!

How To Make A Photo Collage With A Matching Color Palette In Canva – For Instagram Stories

STEP 1: Go to Canva.com and click on “Instagram Stories”. After you click the workspace will automatically open up.

STEP 2: Make sure to start with a blank canvas.

STEP 3: In the panel to the left side pick “Elements”.

STEP 4: Now scroll down until you see the “GRIDS”. Pick your favourite. I like to use the template with an image on one side and small squares on the other side. I will use the large area for the image and the small squares for the color palette.

STEP 5: To upload your own photo click on “UPLOADS” in the left side menu. Then click on the purple “Upload Media” button.

STEP 6: When your image is uploaded you can drag it over to the photo grid and place it in the large photo area.

STEP 7: Now you’re ready to add your color palette. To begin simply click on the first small square. Then click on the color box in the top menu to open up the color panel.

STEP 8: To pick a color from your photo look under “Photo Colors” which present you the most dominant colors in your photo. I prefer to arrange the colors so they go from light to darker, but you can do it anyway you desire.

STEP 9: When your design is ready it’s time to download it. Click on the “download” button. Choose JPEG or PNG for the best quality. I find that PNG often gives the sharpest result.

STEP 10: Finally, click the purple download button and the design will download to your computer. Now transfer the image onto your phone. You can also download the Canva app on your phone and then access it from there. Share your beautiful design on Instagram. Feel free to tag me if you want me to see it.

In the next example, I will show you how to create a collage for your website or blog. The process is very similar but I want to show you a different way to do it.

Are you ready?

How To Make A Photo Collage With A Matching Color Palette In Canva – For Websites

STEP 1: Go to Canva.com and type “Photo Collage” in the search. Now you will see a selection of ready-made templates.

STEP 2: Find a template that you would like to work with as your starting point and click on it.

STEP 3: When the template opens up you can begin your design process. You can change the background color, the images and the color boxes as well as removing elements you don’t want to keep.

STEP 4: To replace the template photos with your own photos click on “Uploads” in the left side menu. Then upload the photos you want to use. Drag the photos to the board and place then where you want them.

STEP 5: To change the colors simply click on a color in the template and then click on the little coloured square in the top menu. This opens up the color panel.

STEP 6: To pick a color from one of your photos see under “Photo Colors” which shows the most dominant colors in your photos.

STEP 7: When your design is ready click on the download arrow in the top menu. Choose JPEG or PNG.

STEP 8: Download the collage to your computer and enjoy the result.

Below you can see a few more collages that I designed.

Happy creating!

If you would love my best tips on how to photograph FOOD and STILL LIFE I invite you to grab my FREE 5-Day photography course. Click here and start NOW >> It’s 100% FREE!

http://christinagreve.com/free-5-day-photography-course/

5 Creative Tips for Photographing Old Flowers

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I’m sure you love fresh flowers. Am I right? But what about about old dying flowers? You know, those you throw out when they start to look sad and dry…

Why not get creative and turn those old flowers into some FINE ART photos?

You can capture amazing photos of old flowers with all their texture and character. It just requires a few tricks.

So in this blog post, I will show you how I turned this old bouquet (see photo below) into a series of fine art flower photos + I will share five techniques that will help you do the same.

Let’s dive right in, starting with…

1. Use A Macro Lens

The best lens for photographing flowers is a macro lens. For the photos in this post I have used the 100mm Marco Lens from Canon. I love it because you can get really close to the flower and capture their beauty up and close.

This makes it possible to show the amazing texture of the wilted flower petals. If you don’t have a macro lens you can also use a lens like the 50mm or a zoom lens, and then crop it in post production to get closer to the flowers. But the best choice is definitely a macro lens.

2. Move In Close

When you photograph old flowers, it’s important to get close so the viewer can enjoy the details. It’s within the details the story of the dying flowers appear. Showing textures and details of the flowers ageing process will help evoke emotions and interest.

Experiment with photographing just one single flower and then move in close so that one flower fills up most of the frame. This will give power to the flower and make it shine like a star.

3. Fill The Frame

Another great way to capture old flowers is to completely fill the frame with flowers. To do this simply cut off all the flower heads of your old bouquet. Cut some of them so they still have a bit of stem, and cut others so they have no stem left.

This will help you create a more pleasing composition because those flowers with no stem can easily be placed turning directly up against the camera and those without a stem can be placed sideways. Now place all your flower heads close together on a matte surface, and photograph your composition from above.

4. Experiment With Simplicity

You don’t need an entire bouquet to create some artistic flower photos. You can simply play with just a few dried flower petals like I did in the images below.

The key to this look is to use a macro lens, and also pick a background with charming texture. Sprinkle your flower petals out and play with different compositions. Look into your lens and move around until you spot something that looks interesting.

5. Consider The Background

The background will play a major role in the final look and feel of the image. For a dark and moody atmosphere I recommend using a black background. This will give you a timeless and classical look. You can simply use a black piece of fabric or a cardboard. Make sure it’s matte and not too shiny.

Another option is to play with layering. In the photo below I placed various layers of papers; handwritten notes, brown paper and postcards. This technique adds so much to the storytelling but it also takes a bit of the attention away from the flowers. So experiment to see what you like.

In the next two photos I have used a homemade background with a crackle effect. This creates a beautiful antique look as if the flowers are photographed on top of an old French table – but in reality it’s just a piece of plywood that I have painted. I think this adds such a lovely feeling to the image and the antique look also complements the old flowers.

If you would love more tips on how to photograph FOOD and STILL LIFE I invite you to grab my FREE 5-Day photography course. Click here and start NOW >> It’s 100% FREE!

5 Must-Know Photo Editing Tips

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I LOVE editing photos. It’s my meditation and such a HUGE part of my creative style.

I dare say that image editing is 50% of the process to achieving a signature style.

As a photographer working with just the available light, the conditions are not always perfect enough to achieve beautiful images straight out of camera. (almost never in fact).

Yep, it’s called REAL life!

Here’s the good news. With the right skills, you can create stunning images that wow potentail clients, blog readers and Instagram followers.

When you master editing you can finally create show-stopping images that people can’t get enough of and it will help grow your creative career tremendously.

Today, I want to share 5 must-know editing tips.

Are you ready? Here we go:

#1. Take Time to Experiment

The number one most important thing to remember when learning something new is to allow yourself to experiment. Learning photo editing is FUN but it’s also a process. You got to start somewhere and then progress from there. So do yourself a BIG favour and be playful. Test, try, re-edit, repeat.

Get familiar with your your photo-editing software, and learn to stop worrying and enjoy editing. Take it one step at a time and decide to learn to master just one editing technique at a time. Great photos will come, some failures will happen but, if you love the process itself, you’ll never see your efforts as time wasted.

A great way to experiment is to emulate the style of one of your favorite photographers. This is not to copy but to have something to look at as a reference for what’s possible.

When you’re just starting out it can be hard to trust your eyes, simply because it takes time for the eyes to develop the feeling of what to look for. Did you do too little? Did you go too far? Having a photo to look at while practicing can help you discover how bight and colourful or how moody and desaturated your image could actually be.

#2. Edit Only The Best Images

One of the biggest secrets to building a magazine-worthy portfolio is to master the art of curating your photos. When you curate you select the best of the best images. Let’s say you photographed a bouquet of flowers or a cake and you end up with 197 photos of the same object, your finest job is to get those down to 10. Or even better 2-3. I know this sounds scary and in the beginning years this is a struggle for many photographers, so just know you’re not alone.

Rank your favourites images by going through them fairly quickly to make a selection based on intuition and feelings. Maybe set a time frame for yourself of 15 minutes and just do it. It’s really good practice to narrow down fast. Then when you have your curated collection ready look through them one more time and pick 1-3 images to edit.

#3. Watch Your White Colors

When shooting with only natural daylight, your images will often come out looking a bit dull and flat. That is something you will see especially with white areas present in your photo. When you look closely the white color looks more grey or dirty even. Fixing this is key to beautiful, fresh, and stylish images.

To get clean whites you first need to fix the white balance in the photo. If you study your photo closely you will notice that in most cases it will have a color tone affected by the elements in the image, or affected by the daylight conditions. This means if you have the color green in your photo and you took the picture on a sunny day, you photo will most likely be warm in color tones with a green hue. And this will affect the white in the image.

Use the temperature slider in your editing software to adjust the warm/cool tones and try to get it as close to real white as possible. Next, use the basic tools like levels, curves, brightness and contrast to eliminate any grey-ish looking areas.

In my Lifestyle Photography Academy I teach a very unique technique for painting with light. This is a way to paint brightness and darkness into your images almost like a painter painting on canvas – and this is truly the best way to create your own masterpieces. But you can get a long way just using the basic slides and buttons in Lightroom and Photoshop.

#4. Pay Attention To All Colors

I often get asked how I or other photographers achieve their specific style. Maybe you have a favourite photographer and you just love their editing style. You might be wondering if they are using a specific preset. And yes, in some cases they do use presets. I also like to work with presets, but it’s super important to know that presets are just icing on the cake.

So if planning, styling, photographing AND editing the image is like baking the cake. Then the preset is the cherry on top. The entire editing is NOT the cherry on top; that’s the preset. Make sense? No preset will rescue your photos if everything else is not working.

So in order to create a specific editing style you first need to pay close attention to the colors present in the scene you are about to photograph. If you want to create a soft, romantic, pastel look be sure to add colors that support that look. In this case white colors and patel colors will completment this and help you achieve that look in the final editing.

If you are more into creating dark and moody photos, consider using dark colors like brown, black and grey. Colors blend with the available light and that is why it has a HUGE impact on the look and style you create. Color is ultimately an artistic choice, so don’t go in thinking there is a wrong or right answer. The right answer is the one you find aesthetically pleasing.

#5. Rock The Basic Tools

The best gift you can give yourself as a photographer is to learn the nitty gritty of image editing. Don’t rely on expensive presets. Most presets are a hassle to work with because they often need adjustments to fit your individual image. Get acquainted and comfortable with what all the buttons and sliders in your editing program and it will transform your photography like nothing else.

And if you need help I offer high-value, in-deepth editing training in the Lifestyle Photography Academy

Enrollment is currently open for a short while and you get:

32 Lightroom videos (this training alone is worth more than the entire course!)
23 Photoshop video tutorials – including a BONUS section with professional retouch videos.

I also show you my personal workflow for creating both light and airy photos as well as the more dark and moody styled photos. I make it EASY to understand and quick to follow.

You can read more about the program and secure your seat here

Warmly, Christina