Melissa is back for another tutorial on using Photoshop Express.   This time she is going to walk you through the steps of the selective color process.  Be careful with this one.  It is fun, but it can quickly go to the cheesy side really quickly.  You all have seen the bad wedding photo of the most random thing being in color and everything else is in black and white.  Well Melissa has found a very tasteful and impactful use for this often misguided and misunderstood editing process.  The floor is all yours Melissa!

Thanks Eric!  Since my first tutorial I have been playing around in Photoshop Express and have learned a few other skills that I would like to share with you all. If you are like me (not a professional photographer or photo editor), Photoshop Express is the thing for you. In my first tutorial we learned how to crop and rotate a photo, basic. Since then, I have learned how to take a photo and turn it into a black and white photo with a pop of color. Some may call this cheesy, and it can be if it is done for no apparent reason.  But when you have a plan of action it can draw your attention to a specific part of the photo or it can convey a message! Again, I’m no professional, but I think this can be a useful skill to know how to do, if it is done correctly and in moderation!  Hopefully you all will enjoy! In this tutorial I decided to use a simple picture of a flower, that is actually provided as a sample by Photoshop. This is an example of the picture I uploaded to Photoshop Express:

After I uploaded my picture I decided I wanted to turn it into a black and white photo, with just a pop of color from the pink petals on the outside of the flower to turn the flower more red. To do this, you will first need to go to the side tool bar and under Effects click on Pop Color. Once you have done this, your screen will change to look like this:

Once your screen looks like this there will be options at the top of the screen, a white box with a red diagonal line through it, a green box, a pink box and a purple box. What I did was clicked on the white box with the horizontal line through it to make the other options below go away. Once you click on this box your mouse will turn into what looks like an eye dropper. From there, you will click on the part of the picture with the color you would like to accentuate. For me that was the outer part of the petals, the more red part of the flower. When I did this the photo immediately turned into a black and white photo, so don’t be alarmed.

From here I wanted to bring out more of the red from the flower, instead of the bright pink the flower was to begin with. If you look at the top of the screen where it says “fuzziness” there is a button you can slide back and forth. When I slid mine the green from the leaves in the background went away and the red in the flower came through. Since I did not want my flower too pink, I only slid the button slightly to the right to bring out a darker red in the petals. Once you are pleased with the color of your photo stop sliding the tool bar and you are finished!

And this is the final product of my photo.  See, not cheesy!

You can see all the other pop color options you have…what an easy way to do an Andy Warhol inspired collage.  Hope you all enjoyed my tutorial!  I think this would be a perfect way to group several photos that are the same theme (flowers for example) to create a really unique pop art wall collage of canvas prints.

Thanks Melissa!  You are so right.  That looks really cool, and I can definitely see doing a whole collection of flowers in that way for a really one of a kind piece of art for your walls.  It goes to show that you don’t need an expensive program like Photoshop when you have tools like Photoshop Express available…and it’s free.  Very cool.

That’s right, you read the title correctly. 70 years MARRIED… Now that’s an anniversary to celebrate! A customer came to me with a big request. He wanted a good, recent photo of his grandparent’s together to showcase at their anniversary party. Problem was, the only recent photo of them included the whole family from a wedding. Not that that’s a BAD thing, it just wasn’t what they were looking for.

Here’s the original photo.

Could it be done? To be honest I’ve had a lot of Photoshop experience but I wasn’t convinced it was possible. They were willing to let me experiment, and off I went! Here are a few samples of the work-in-progress stages…

It took 3-4 hours altogether, but finally I had it to a place I was happy with.

The customer was so thrilled with the results that we decided to add the OilWorks digital painting enhancement for that extra special touch. This was, afterall, his grandparent’s 70th ANNIVERSARY (I’m still tickled over how amazing that is!) and this piece of art was going to inspire generations of their children to enjoy life-long relationships. I also liked the idea of painting over the image since, being a perfectionist, some of the digital retouching was still noticeable to me and I knew that would blend everything together.

Ta-Da! We printed a copy on canvas and we gave them the digital file which they used to make T-shirts for the party! It was definitely a hit. One more time, here’s a before and after glance…

Does your child love to draw, paint and create wonderful little pieces of art?  Of course they do.  Kids love to explore their creativity…at home and at school.  You probably have a stack of their creations lying around the house…thinking if you had the time you will figure out what to do with all that wonderful art from your talented little artist.  Here are 3 ideas that you can use to display your little ones art.  You will be surprised too…quite often when their art is displayed together it has a pretty cool abstract art installation feeling to it…plus some sparkles, macaroni, and plenty of elmer’s glue.

Idea #1 – Create a photo canvas collage.

If you have so many pieces of art you couldn’t possibly display them all…but you love them all…this might be your solution.  Scan or take photos of your child’s artwork.  Then lay them out in Photoshop save that file and upload it to us and we will take care of the rest.  If you don’t have a scanner or a camera to take photos of the artwork, no worries.  Just contact us at 888.784.5553 and we can make arrangements to get everything taken care of for you.  From the scanning to the layout we can help you create canvas photos of your child’s artistic creations.  The really cool thing (at least to me) about doing this type of display is that it really can go anywhere in the house.  Definitely a great conversation piece and looks like modern art.

Idea #2 – Frame a selection to create a wall collage.

Buy several of the same color and size frame.  Pop the artwork in the frame and start to hang them.  Hanging them in a symmetrical way will be challenging, but it gives the playfulness of the artwork a little bit of order and allows grown ups and kids alike a chance to enjoy them.

Idea #3 – The clothesline effect – Hang their artwork on a wire hanging system.

This is a fun idea if you want to rotate artwork in and out.  Also great to hang good report cards on as well.  I think you can buy this wire hanging system at Ikea.  Pretty simple just clip them up there.  But again, it makes for a fun visual and would be perfect in a playroom or in a high traffic area like the kitchen or mudroom.

We would love to see what you come up with.  Your little one will feel so special when you make their artwork into a permanent piece in your home.  If you need our help creating your canvas photo prints or even printing them on some of our fine art photo paper just give us a shout.  We can help you with this project or any you may have….I take that back, we can’t come over and fix your plumbing or build a deck for you…but when it comes to canvas prints you know where to come.

Here is a fun idea that you can use to decorate any wall space in your house.  Use your child’s or family’s initials or just the first letter in your last name and create a graphic art print on canvas or photo paper.  This is a very easy project to do.  The hardest part will be selecting the right font that conveys the right…personality of your child or whole family.  Here are a few easy steps to making your own graphic art project.

1. Select the font you want to use.  Like I said this could be the toughest part.  I suggest keeping it very simple and clean.  You can always go to dafont.com and peruse some really cool free fonts there.  Warning…you could go a little crazy looking at fonts there…because there are a ton.  I am speaking from experience.  I have found the font I want to use for my project.  It is called Ribbon and you can download it from Losttype.com.

2. I am going make a new image in Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements).  Make your image size the size you want your print to be.  I am going to make my canvas print 20″x30″.

3. Now just type your initial or initials onto the image file.  You can go with a fun background color or even use a pattern in the background.  Or if you are an advanced Photoshop user you can make your letters have a pattern (that will be a later How To).

Here is what mine looks like so far.

Let the letter or letters speak for themselves.  This will look fantastic on a wall by itself as a canvas print or even on fine art photo paper and framed.  When you upload your file to Canvas Press and do want to order a photo canvas…well i guess it’s more like a “letter” canvas… choose the color border option and choose the same color that is on the background of your print or you can manually enter the color value (called the hex value…starts with a # and has 6 digits after it).  That way your entire letter will stay on the front of the canvas.

So there you go…quick and easy.  You design it and leave the canvas printing to us.  This idea is great for a living room or kid’s rooms.  We would love to see what you come up with.  Here are a few other examples of what people have done with using letters and initials as wall art.  Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day can get a little stressful.  Especially for those who love to procrastinate.  Guys, I’m looking at you.  Valentine’s Day is TOMORROW…just in case it slipped your mind.  As of now, it may be too late to give them a few canvas prints from Canvas Press for Valentine’s Day, so now what.  Well, it may also be a little too late to buy flowers and have them delivered (unless you want to pay a $20 guarantee delivery fee) and I wish you the best of luck of finding something good at the grocery store.  But there is still enough time to get them something good.  You may need to do a little more work than you are used to, but in the end I promise your sweetheart will love it.

Idea #1 – Frame a Poem, Quote, or Song Lyrics

- You will need computer, card stock, a printer, and a frame (size of your choice)

• Find a poem, or a quote either about love or maybe it encompasses the way you feel about your loved one.
• Pick out a good font (please avoid comic sans) and write that poem or quote on your word processor software (ie Word, Power Point, or even Photoshop)
• Align it however you like…be creative
• Print it out on the card stock you have…even resume paper would work in a pinch
• You may need to cut it down a little to fit in the frame size you chose…that’s not too tough.  Be sure to clean the inside and outside of the glass of the frame…it’s not cool to get a dusty dirty frame.
• That’s it you are done.

Now you have a one of a kind gift that she or he will love forever.  See an example of what I’m talking about below

Idea #2 – The Love Coupon Book

-You will need your computer, card stock, printer, hole punch and ribbon (or something to keep it all together)

• Write out about 10 different coupons that your Valentine would appreciate on about a 4×4 space on Word, Power Point or Photoshop.
• This could be a back rub, a foot massage, breakfast in bed, or even emptying the trash for a month…whatever.  You know what they would really appreciate.
• Print out the coupons on your card stock.  Don’t be afraid to use some color graphics on these…hearts, expiration dates, try to make them look like coupons.
• Trim the card stock to the appropriate size and use your hole punch to punch holes in the same place.
• Bind them together with ribbon or a ring clip.

That’s it.  It makes for a nice little surprise on Valentine’s Day.  They will love it.

Idea #3 – Just Frame a Photo

-You will need to get a photo printed (either at a photo lab or on your own printer) and a photo frame.  I suggest Hobby Lobby or Aaron Brothers.

• This is a no brainer.  Pick one of your favorite photos of the two of you.  Get it printed…write something really nice on the back of the photo.  Pop it in the frame and you are good.
• The advanced version of this would be to add some writing or quote on the front of the photo using Photoshop or Photoshop express.  This is a combo of Idea #1.
• You could frame several photos and give them to your special person as a collection (maybe from your last vacation or just the 2 of you goofing around).  Makes for a great wall collage.

That was easy enough.

Idea #4 – Instagram / iPhone photo book – My favorite idea

-You will need your computer, your iPhone camera roll (possibly Instagram), photo paper (card stock may work for this again), a printer, hole punch, and some ring clip binders…If you can’t give photo canvas prints as your Valentine’s gift this may be just as good

• Go through your iPhone and/or your Instagram camera roll and choose some photos of the two of you together or maybe a few photos from a trip together.
• OR you can do a quick photo essay about your loved one and photograph things they would love…again, be creative but be quick too.
• Size the photos to print about 5″ x 5″.  Or 5×7 if you include regular iPhone photos (Instagram photos are square).
• Print the photos on your photo paper or on the card stock
• Be sure to make a title or front cover to your mini photo album and personalize it.
• Line all the photos up and punch holes in the same spot on each photo to keep them lined up.
• Bind them with the ring clips, or even better, with a little ribbon.

Now you have a gift that you both will love to look at.

Be sure to remember next year…and maybe you can order some canvas photo prints for your one true Valentine…or maybe you have several special Valentines in your life that you need to get some for.  That’s what we are here for.  We hope everyone has a great Valentine’s Day tomorrow.

Every once in a while it can be a good idea to reward the kids.  I know, I know…that’s why I said “every once in a while”.  You can do this letting them do something they don’t normally get to do.  Jumping on the bed, wearing Mom’s make-up, having a foam fight, having a water fight, drawing on each other…or themselves.  Sure they are going to think you are the coolest parent ever by letting them do this “special activity”…but you have ulterior motives.  You are after some one of a kind fun photos.  Letting your kids do something they can’t normally do will ensure you get a lot of smiles and some memories that will last for a long long time…both for you and possibly more importantly…your kids.  Especially if you make a few photo canvas prints out of them (wink, wink).  They will always remember the time Mom or Dad let them cover each other in mud.  Just be sure to have the hose ready to spray them off before they go in the house.  Oh and be sure to set a few ground rules…especially if water, mud, or paint is involved.  Mom and Dad are out of bounds (or whoever is holding the camera).  Make this a surprise or a day to look forward to as a reward for good grades or for doing their chores for a month straight.  I promise you will get some great unexpected photos of your kids as they run wild with reckless abandon.

So start thinking about something you normally would let your children do, then plan something special for them and let them have at it.  Be sure to have your camera up and ready and keep clicking because the action will happen fast.  If you shoot as much as I do you will probably end up with close to 100-200 photos in a very short time period.  Which is completely normal.  Just follow your photo organization like we talked about in Creating a Workflow System blog post.  There will be plenty of photos to choose from to print or create canvas photos with.  These photos would be perfect to decorate your kids room with too.  The photos will be oozing with so much personality and fun that it may be hard to choose.

Now, if you do so choose to create a canvas print or several canvas prints from photos you took here are a few tips to consider when you are taking and processing your photos.

1. Shoot outside if it’s going to get messy (unless you put that plastic painters sheet over everything inside).  Shooting outside will allow you to stop the action and will prevent blurry photos.
2. If what you are doing involves bright colors like markers or paint then be sure up increase your photos contrast and saturation to really make those photos pop.
3. If your fun involves mud or dirt, then maybe a black and white or sepia toned image might be worthwhile looking into.
4. To get close in or even a part of the action without risking your camera you can cut a circle in the end of a plastic shopping bag and place that over your lens then use several rubber bands to make sure the bag won’t move.  Then pull the rest of the bag over the camera and leave just the eyepiece so you can still look through the viewfinder.
5. Beware of stray water balloons, nerf darts, flying spaghetti noodles…and whatever other chaos that might be happening.
6. Have fun.

Smart phones have made it so easy for us to communicate and share what we see every moment of every day. The advancement in the technology in just the iPhone’s camera alone is amazing. This little camera is about to replace the need to carry around a point and shoot camera. The optics and capabilities of this little gem is only going to get better over time. This has spawned a movement called “iPhoneography“. Basically people showing off photos from their everyday life with their iPhone…but doing it in artistic ways with the help of camera apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic (just to name a few). There are even art galleries opening their doors to artists who use the iPhone as their tool of choice. With the iPhoneography craze building there have been several pieces of “equipment” that you can purchase to make the most of that camera on your iPhone. This equipment can range from kitschy to pretty cool. But who am I to be the judge. I am a photographer and I can get a little geeked out over pretty much any photo toy.

The biggest takeaway I would like you to get from this is that you should know that the photos you take with your iPhone or other smart phone are good enough to print on canvas or large photo prints.  It’s pretty amazing how large of a canvas print we can make from a regular iPhone photo…no matter what little gadget you purchase. So if you want to do a little artistic experimentation…or just have some fun…check some of these tools out, go out and take some photos and maybe create a few canvas photo prints with what you captured. We would love to hear the process you used.

Here are a few different iPhone camera accessories to check out.

First off from Photojojo is a trio of lenses and a special case to hold them.  The lenses are a Macro/Wide lens $20, a Telephoto $20, and a Fisheye $25.  Buy all three for $50 as a package deal

These next two are from iPro lens system.  You can get the case, the wide angle, and the fisheye lens for $199

This one is from cOnice zoom lens for the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S, and Sony Xperia X10.  You will make a statement with this lens.  Retails for just under $50

These next two shots are showing off Photojojo‘s iPhone lens dial.  Take those three lenses that I showed you at the top and insert them in this handy case and you can film movies and take photos without the trouble of changing those pesky lenses out.  Just rotate them.  Seems a little bit clunky but oddly desirable.  The case with the 3 lenses sells for $249

And the grand daddy of all the iPhone lens mounts…People thought this was a hoax when it first came out, but it isn’t.  You can now mount your SLR lenses onto your iPhone.  Thank you Photojojo (again).  This unique gadget will let you mount any of your regular SLR (or DSLR) lenses to your iPhone to get a little more creative and control over your image.  The SLR mount runs $249 (the big lens is not included).  Pretty crazy.

So there you go.  If you are looking for a way to expand your iPhone photography skills and have a little fun doing it these are just a few of the gadgets and tools out there you can use.  We can’t wait to see what you come up with…using your iPhone, your point and shoot, or your SLR…we love seeing the amazing artwork that people order each and every day.  As always, if you want to print a photo on canvas you know where to come…that’s right CanvasPress.com

First off, let me explain what I mean when I say “Replaceable Art”.  This is a term I just created out of thin air that means any art that is changed out monthly, seasonally or every couple of years.  I ask this question because I have personally seen many friends and people in my social network talk about how they like changing up their house decoration every so often…including the artwork or personal photos that hang on their walls.  My wife and I are guilty of the same act of recycling and changing our home decor.  We find ourselves constantly changing what is hanging on on our walls based on the season.  We go all out for pretty much every season and then we take it all down and start again.  It is kind of nice to have a stockpile of photos and art that are stored when you don’t need them but we can always break them out when the season…or our taste requires.  That is what brought up this question that I posed in the title.  Is replaceable art just a fad?  Well, I have some thoughts on the matter.  I also have a few ideas for folks who don’t think it’s a fad and think of it more as a lifestyle choice.

I think there are a couple of factors at play for people who like to change things up in their abode rather than investing in one or two expensive pieces of art to hang on their walls.  I think the economy over the past couple of years have gotten people thinking about thrifty ways to decorate their walls which has lead to this huge surge in a DIY (Do It Yourself) movement.  Another reason is personal taste.  Some folks would rather have family photos adorn their walls than expensive art.  But photos can go out of date rather quickly so new ones will pop up each year.  And at last you have folks (like my wife and I) who just simply get bored at looking at the same stuff on our walls for more than a couple of months.  I am sure there are a bunch of other factors too like the difference between the Baby Boomer generation and Generation X…and Y but I don’t want to get too cerebral here.  This is just an opinion but I think that people will continue to gravitate toward having art that is easily replaceable on their walls than invest in something that will stay on their walls for 10 or 20 years.  Arguments are welcome.

This opens the door to all kinds of fantastic ideas that you can use to keep the art or photos on your wall fresh and exciting.  I have some ideas about using a mixture of photos on canvas, photo paper, and art canvas prints that can be used throughout the year and is a relatively smaller investment than a one of a kind piece of art…And who is to say that the stuff you create isn’t one of a kind…of course it is.  And that is what makes it even better.  I am going to use the example of decorating by season.  Here are a few ideas that you can use to decorate your walls throughout the year (and please add your own in the comments).

Spring

• Go grab some photos of some wildflowers or go to a field and take photos of your kids flying a kite.  Those could make beautiful canvas prints or go smaller and just print them as photos to put in smaller frames…You don’t always have to go big.
• Photos of your family in your Easter Sunday clothes.  I can see great wall collage of the photos from the Easter Egg hunt.  Be sure to photograph the details…that is what makes a great photo canvas collage work.
• Spring is a time of fresh greens.  Have your kids do an art project of all different shades of green.  Now this is something you can have forever and display each Spring.

Summer

• Take some photos of your kids at the pool or at the beach and display some on photo frames that you can rotate the photo in and out of and print one as a photo canvas to be the centerpiece
• Think about 4th of July and doing a few pieces of word art as a wall collage – great sayings like “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and maybe include a line from the Star Spangled Banner.  Use different tones of Red, White, and Blue in your art.
• Think about what color Summer makes you think of.  Go to a local hobby shop, grab a canvas and that color and paint something…anything.  Use a stencil or paint by numbers or trace it on the canvas first then paint it.  Just try it…it’s fun.

Fall

• Of course you can have a ton of fun with Halloween.  You can even do a few online searches for creepy images and get those printed as canvas prints or have them sprinkled around your house in photo frames.
• Take pics of your kids in their Halloween costumes and display those as desktop photos to add the the fright fest.
• Thanksgiving conjures up images of fall leaves and cooler days.  Go out and find those changing leaves and take some close up photos of them.  A single orange or red leaf or collection of leaves can have a bold but playful impact as photos on canvas.  You could even just dry out the leaves and frame them for a unique piece of natural art.
• There are a ton of craft activities that you and your kids can do together…One of the best is the painted hand print turned into a turkey…classic.  You can do that on a nice cardstock or water color paper that you can buy at a hobby store then frame it and have it for Thanksgivings to come.

Winter

• Of course there is the big obvious Christmas.  Christmas photos, Christmas crafts, and even lyrics to Christmas carols are things you can print on canvas and enjoy around your house for the season.
• Or you could go with the less obvious and decorate in the icy blues or new funky colors you see for the Christmas holiday.  Take a cue from department store ornament colors to help you create your color palette.  Bright fun colors are great to decorate with…especially if you have young kids.
• Start a tradition each year by taking a family photo in front of the tree or on your vacation and display it somewhere in the house during Christmas.
• Don’t forget about Valentine’s Day (That is still in the Winter season…right).  Remember when you were in grade school and your art project was to make paper hearts.  Do it again.  Make big ones and small ones and have your kids make them too.  Make paper heart garland and frame a few of your favorites.  You could also Modpodge a heart onto a blank canvas (or embellish a canvas print you already have).

These are just a few ideas that are floating around in this noggin’ of mine.  I would love to hear more ideas on transitional and replaceable art that you have going on in your house.

We are back from New Orleans, and oh what a trip it was.  I think the only bad part about the trip was the traffic that we hit getting into New Orleans…the 8 hour trip turned into a 10 and a half hour trip.  But after that it was smooth sailing.  We met a ton of terrific photographers and everyone was so nice.  We answered a lot of questions about our photo canvas prints, our aluminum prints, and where the bathroom was (kidding).  It was a very large trade show with some very large printing companies…but I think we did a great job of standing out from the crowd.  People could come up and touch the canvas prints and ask us specific questions about the best ways to produce a photo to canvas or photo to metal print.  We did get to have some great New Orleans food and checked out a few of the local flavors.  Here is a taste of what I caught from just my iphone during the trip.  Next week I will share what we caught on our regular cameras…you can tell us which you like better.

A few from the trip there.

Here is what our booth looked like.  Very nice.

Here is our owner (Doak) enjoying a fruity cocktail…he is a man’s man.

Had to include some food shots…this is the double cut pork chop I ordered from Emeril’s…possibly one of the best things I have ever eaten.  I am still dreaming about it.

A few shots from the actual trade show.  Canon had a cool graphic wall behind their booth.

This was part of another booth…I can’t remember which company it was though.

The is the view from La Bayou restaurant on Bourbon Street.  Excellent view, excellent food.

This is the Leica M9.  This little camera retails for…hold your breath…$7,000.00.  You can pass out now.

Yup, you could even get your photo taken with an albino alligator…or is it a croc?

Part of an exhibitor’s booth.

These are the buttons we were passing out.  There is only a few left if you want one.

We’ll end it with a few night time shots of downtown New Orleans.

Oh, and this is the inside of Mother’s.  You have to eat here if you are going to New Orleans.  It’s a dive, but the sandwiches are amazing…and huge.

Doak and Caroline patiently waiting for me…and Doak’s mom Diane to finish taking photographs.

One of the up and coming trends we are seeing in photography is called iphoneography.  That is the term used for the phenomenon of people using their iPhones (and other smart phones) to capture the world around them.  Two of the most popular camera apps for the iPhone that can add a little extra flavor to your photos are Instagram and Hipstamatic.  They each have a variety of film “looks” that will alter your photo.  With Instagram you take the photo first (or choose an existing photo from your camera roll) then pick which film effect to apply to the image.  If you don’t like it you can always change the filter.  Hipstamatic is a little more like having a traditional film camera.  The app comes with a variety of lenses and film types.  Each combination will give you a different look to you photos.  They are both equally fun to play with to create some amazing photos.  One other large difference between the two is Instagram is built as a social community of people sharing their photos.  Like Facebook, you can follow people…like their photos and make comments.  It is fun because it is all visual based.

If you have played with either of these apps you know how cool you can make ordinary things look.  They are both perfect for taking photos of everyday experiences, but they can also challeng your creativity by trying to create cool little art photos.  This new trend called iphoneography is definitely proof that the best camera you can own is the one that is in your hands.

Ok, so you have taken some photos with Instagram and Hipstamatic.  What now?  Rather than having those photos (that are just oozing with awesomeness) get stale on your camera, let me show you how to make a simple photo collage that you will love forever…and will probably make your friends want one too. This is a super easy to create the collage because both camera apps make your photos square…so there won’t be any hard math involved.  The hardest decision will be how large of a collage you want to do.

I have organized about 25 photos from a beach trip my family took this past summer.  It was the only time during the year that the whole family was all together so it was extra special (Mom, Dad, 4 adult kids, their spouses, 6 little ones, an Aunt, and 2 family friends for a total of 19 people..whew).

Here are the steps I took to create this one of a kind canvas print collage:

1. I sized each of my photos to 5″x5″
2. After sizing my images, I created a new file in Photoshop (25″x25″ at 180 dpi).  One of the nice things that we offer is custom sizing for our canvas prints.  You don’t have to worry about sticking with a certain size.  Feel free to experiment.
3. Now I just need to do copy each of my photos into the 25″x25″ file I created and arrange them however I like them (Each photo will be on a separate layer).  I went ahead and did mine in chronological order…that will help jog my rusty memory on what happened when.  After I have them all arranged I am pretty much finished.  I just need to flatten my image in Photoshop, save it as a JPG, and upload it to Canvas Press.
4. Once I have uploaded it to Canvas Press.  I am going to choose the 1.5″ depth canvas.  I am also going change the border style from image to COLOR.  With the color border option selected I will ensure that my entire image will stay put on the front of my canvas.  I think I will choose Black as my border color to give it a “framed” look.  Then, I just choose my size from the drop down menu – 25″x25″ and I can add it to my cart.

Here are a few of my Instagram and Hipstamatic photos that I used and also the final version of my project.  This is just one idea you can do with your iPhone photos.  And don’t think you are limited to doing this with JUST your smart phone photos.  You can try this with your any photos you take.  There are endless possibilities of arranging your photos on canvas and making fun photo collages that commemorate an event, a person, or even a series of art photos.  We can’t wait to see what you come up with.