GUIDENCE NEEDED WITH PROJECT

[richrdstone]

I want to do a poster that will be framed.  What I would like to do is a picture of a laady on her motorcycle in the lower left corner. Some text that she wrote above, as the main focus of the pic, and maybe have the text on a background of clouds.  not sure if I want portrait or landscape orientation. 

first problem is I don;t know how to work with the text to get what I want.  second problem is I don't have a lot of imagination to see the finished product.

I would like to have it printed to 20x30 or about that.

So, where do I start?

[Tpgettys]

Hi richrdstone ,
The first thing to understand is whether you have any of those components already. For example, do you have the text already?

[cats4jan]

Phase 1

To save money, look at Michael’s or a similar framing store to figure out standard frame size. Once you determine size, start your project at 300 pixels per inch for best print results.

(300 pixels per inch is optimal print resolution, although it has been said that when you do posters, you can get away with fewer pixels per inch because a poster is usually viewed from a distance.)

Thus, if you decide on a 20 inch by 30 inch poster and you want a resolution of 300, you should start with a project that is 6000 x 9000 pixels.

I have never had oversized things printed.  Check into sources for printing.  You may not be able to locally get it printed in that size - it may have to be mail ordered at a place like Shutterfly, and that will entail getting it mailed to you - which may be a hassle.  Again, do the research before embarking on the project.


If your text is long and you wish it to be on one or two lines, landscape orientation may work better than portrait.

If you are going to use multiple lines for your text, portrait mode will work better.

However, for the size you are proposing, most often we see portrait orientation.   (And be aware, ready-made frames may not already be set up to hang in landscape orientation - as this size most often hangs portrait-wise.)


As for working with text, just google working with text in pse and you will get youtube videos from basic to complex. Not knowing your skill level, I cannot recommend a specific video.

I also suggest you goggle posters - to see examples.  You may find one you like and it would be simple to use their basic idea for your poster.


To provide further advice, we would need more info about your project.


I can't stress enough -- - Keep all your layers and save your project in psd mode. Saving in psd will allow you to reopen your project and make changes. If you flatten your project - i.e., save it as a jpg - your layers will all merge into one and you will not be able to make changes. 

[Lillias]

In an effort to try and help you visualize this project I have done these. Obviously the text would be different in your case but hopefully it will give you an idea as to whether this is the kind of thing you want or not.
When you say you don’t know how to work with the text...can you expand on that..for example do you have any idea what font you would like...how you would like it to look etc:

The Images I used for this are from Pixabay and Pexels.

[cats4jan]

Great visual, Lillian. Really brings home the  differences.

[stinson]

Jul 17, 2021 19:40:25 GMT cats4jan said:

Phase 1

I have never had oversized things printed.  Check into sources for printing.  
  

I can attest to Aspen Creek Printing.  I have had posters for my mom's 90th printed as well 20x30 prints for my wall.  If you do the 300dpi as suggested then you won't have a problem with quality.  

Good advice on the PSD with layers.  

[Sepiana]

Jul 17, 2021 19:12:12 GMT richrdstone said:

I want to do a poster that will be framed.  What I would like to do is a picture of a lady on her motorcycle in the lower left corner. 

I would like to have it printed to 20x30 or about that.

So, where do I start?

Hi richrdstone,

1. Start with a new document -- File>New>Blank File. As you are going to print it, I would recommend a resolution of 300.
2. Copy/paste the Lady/Motorcycle picture onto your file. Or do File>Place to bring it onto your file.
3. Use Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmmd-T) to reposition/resize your picture as needed.
4. Once you have everything the way you want, you can proceed to add the text.

NOTE:

You could create two files, one in portrait orientation and another one in landscape orientation. This will help you choose which one you like best.

Jul 17, 2021 19:12:12 GMT richrdstone said:

Some text that she wrote above, as the main focus of the pic, and maybe have the text on a background of clouds.

1. Copy/paste the Clouds picture onto your file. Or do File>Place.
2. Activate the Type tool, click on the Clouds picture, and start typing.
3. Once you are done, use Free Transform to reposition your text (if needed).

Jul 17, 2021 19:12:12 GMT richrdstone said:

first problem is I don;t know how to work with the text to get what I want.

See if these Adobe documents will help. Post back if you have any further questions.

Add text to an image in Photoshop Elements

Edit text in Photoshop Elements

[richrdstone]

Wow, I just posted the question and already I have 5 replies.

I said poster, but maybe I should have said print. I want good quality. What about the wrap around prints, would that be an option for this?

there is a lot of text, it willl be the main point, so I'm guessing it will be the top layer and the the under layers will be cut back in opacity?

So far I have typed out the text on a blank file. I set canvas size to 20x30

[Sepiana]

Jul 17, 2021 22:09:29 GMT richrdstone said:

What about the wrap around prints, would that be an option for this?

That will be a good option. You could check Adorama's printing services -- Printique. They do an excellent job.

Canvas Prints - Custom Canvas

Jul 17, 2021 22:09:29 GMT richrdstone said:

there is a lot of text, it willl be the main point, so I'm guessing it will be the top layer and the the under layers will be cut back in opacity?

When you enter your text, Elements will create a Text layer directly above the Picture layer which was selected at the time. Nothing happens to the Opacity of the Picture layer underneath. 

These video tutorials explain the process.

Photoshop Elements: Add Text

How to Add and Edit Text in Adobe Photoshop Elements

[blackmutt]

If you have a Walmart, I have had good luck with larger prints and not pricey. For less than 10 bucks you can get a pretty good sized one as a test.

[pontiac1940]

richrdstone
Fun project. Several including Sepiana have provided examples and lots of info. 

Your final print will be large (and as others suggested) at 300 ppi for good print quality. It is important that your motorcycle image be of adequate pixel dimensions so that is does not become pixelated in the final image file (and print). 

I quickly created another example. The top image is the example "final." The text is simply "Lorem Ipsum" filler text. See comments about the layers below. Click on the images to see larger versions.



I hope this below makes sense. Briefly, I started with a moody mountain-sunset-rain-shower image. Along the way it was duplicated and blurred. I added two sets of text: the title and the nonsense "Lorem Ipsum" text. I played with the text size and colors so it was more readable. The eagle photo was take yesterday and in the separate eagle image I isolated just the eagle's body and copied it into the sample poster and then played with positioning and angle. 

The layers are shown to the right (below) and I tried to draw arrows from each layer to the layered image. Depending on compexity, there could be many more layers.   

[cats4jan]

Jul 17, 2021 22:45:07 GMT Sepiana said:

When you enter your text, Elements will create a Text layer directly above the Picture layer which was selected at the time. Nothing happens to the Opacity of the Picture layer underneath. 

I read this to mean he, himself, envisioned making the picture layer less opaque so the text shows up better - not that adding text automatically would make the picture layer less opaque.


No matter what - Clive's example shows how making the background photo layer blurry makes the text and bird stand out.  The two-colored text really works, too.

Excellent work, Clive. Great example of a project with lots of text - yet the bird is still the focus.  Maybe you should make this project for real - it would be a great addition for the BOP Centre.

[cats4jan]

For a much simpler, straight forward look -- easily converted to a rectangular composition.

[Sepiana]

Jul 18, 2021 1:10:49 GMT pontiac1940 said:

It is important that your motorcycle image be of adequate pixel dimensions so that is does not become pixelated in the final image file (and print).

One way to handle this scenario (inadequate pixel dimensions) is not to do a Copy/Paste job but to use the File>Place command to bring the motorcycle file onto the project file. The motorcycle file will be brought into Elements as a Smart Object.

I believe richrdstone is using PSE 2020. Then, he has another option -- drag the motorcycle file from the Photo Bin onto the project file in the workspace. In this version, a file dragged from the Photo Bin will come in as a Smart Object.

All About Smart Objects

[pontiac1940]

cats4jan

Thanks Janice!