Creative Effects Challenge No. 170 - Three Photo Triptych

[Tom]

The tutorials I have seen for making triptychs use a single image and divide into three panels in one way or another.  A question about making a triptych with 3 different images came up few months ago. This video tutorial shows one way to do that using Photoshop, but I wanted to try a different approach and one that is Elements-specific.

Part I: Create a template triptych file

I first made a sketch of my layout.

It has 3 panels that are 4x6 inches each, with a 1 inch border all around and between each panel, so the image will be 16x8 inches.

1. Create a New File (Ctrl+N), name it Triptych Template, set the Width to 16 inches, the Height to 8 inches, the Resolution to 300 ppi and the Background Contents to Transparent.
2. Create a new layer (Shift+Ctrl+N) and name it Panel 1.
3. Since the resolution is 300 ppi, a 4x6 inch panel will be 1200x1800 pixels.  Select the Rectangular Marquee tool, set the Aspect to Fixed Size and set the width to 1200 and the height to 1800 pixels. 
   
4. Create the first panel by clicking in the new layer.
   
5. Select the Paint Bucket tool and click inside the rectangular panel to fill it with black.
   
6. Duplicate this layer twice (Ctrl+J), then use the Move tool to slide each panel into place.
7. Rename the new layers Panel 2 and Panel 3.
8. Save this file (Ctrl+S) so you can reuse it to make other triptychs.
   

Here is what my screen looks like at this point (click for full-size view):

Tip:

You can use Align and Distribute in the Move tool to help position the panels, but I found it easiest to use Guides (see the screen shot above).

Part II: Add your images

I now incorporate my three images, clipping each to one of the panels.

1. Now is the best time to Save As... using a different name so you don't overwrite your template!
   
2. Open one of your images.
   
3. Click the Photo Bin button (screen bottom left), select your template file, then drag your image up into the template.
   
4. Position the image layer above the panel layer it is to appear in and clip it to the panel layer (Layer | Create Clipping Mask)
   
5. Select the Move tool and drag the image into position.  Resize the image as needed so the subject appears in the panel correctly.
   
6. Repeat steps 2-5 for the other two images.
   

This is what my screen now looks like (click for full-size view):

Part III: Finishing touches
The unused layer at the bottom is intended for a background image.

I added a drop shadow and bevel to each panel (NOTE: these styles are added to the panel layers, not to the image layers!)

Here is my finished triptych (click for full-size view):

If you have any questions (and I do expect that there will be some!) do not hesitate to ask.

I look forward to seeing your results!