Polyptych

Triptych Directions

1. In Lightroom, Ctrl + click your images to select the images for your triptych
   
2. Right click and select ‘Edit in’ > ‘Layers in Adobe Photoshop’
   
3. Photoshop will launch and open your images as separate layers in a new document.
   
4. Using the Free Transform (ctrl + t) and/or Crop ( c ) tools, resize your images so they are the same size.
   
5. To make sure all images are the same size, use the Crop Tool ( c ) to resize and crop any part of the images outside the canvas size.
   
6. Now, using the move tool ( v ), I prefer working with Auto Select on, click on your first image and move it to the left so the right edge aligns with the left edge of the center picture. You will see a magenta guide appear along the edge when it is aligned.
   
7. Repeat the step of the next image, moving it to the right.
   
8. Next, select ‘Reveal All’ from the ‘Image’ menu, this will reveal the ‘hidden’ images and enlarge your canvas size.
   
9. If you would like spaces in-between your images, select the image on the left and have the Move Tool ( v ) selected. Hold down shift and use the left arrow key on your keyboard. Count the number of times your tap the arrow so you can replicate in the opposite direction for the right image. (5-10 usually looks good). Holding down shift jumps 5 pixels, without shift you move just 1 pixel.
   
10. Repeat step above for the image on the right using the right arrow key.
    
11. Select ‘Reveal All’ from the ‘Image’ menu, this will reveal the ‘hidden’ images and enlarge your canvas size.
    
12. To create a border around the entire image, goto Image > Canvas size and select ‘Relative’. Change unit to PIXELS and in the height & width take the number of ‘taps’ on the arrow key, multiply by 5 and then double the number. That will give you an even border all the way around the image, the same width at the spaces between the pictures.
    
13. To add a color to the background, add a ‘New Layer’, then click and drag the layer (in the layers panel) below the photo layers.
    
14. Double click on the layer name to rename it ‘background color’
    
15. With the ‘background color’ layer selected, hold down shift and then tap the ‘backspace’ button on the keyboard - this is the shortcut for ‘fill’.
    
16. The ‘Fill’ window will open, now you can select the ‘content’ (aka color) from the dropdown menu- I like to stay neutral with black or white- but you can even select a color from the photograph itself using the ‘color picker’.
    
17. Once your color is selected, click ‘OK’
    
18. Now save your work, I recommend saving your file 2 ways to ensure you maintain editing capabilities with your Layers.
    
    • ‘File > Save’ should save your work as a TIFF file in Lightroom (double check that you can find it there) I don’t 100% trust this method, so I would also….
      
    • ‘File > Save As > filename.PSD’ I highly recommend saving a Photoshop file (PSD) in a location such as your G: > Photo > ‘Triptych’ folder. This will ensure you know where your file is with all of its layers.
      
    • ‘File > Save As > filename.JPG’ You can also save a JPG but this will flatten this image meaning you will lose your layers - make sure you save as a TIFF and/or PSD in addition to a JPG.
      
19. Congrats - you are done!!! Pat yourself on the back and show off your artwork!