Category: Weekly Goal

Create a Photo Collage | Digital or using prints | Valentine Day |

For Today’s Valentine’s prep create a digital photo collage that tells a story, captures a vibe, or highlights a theme. Here’s a practical guide you can use right away, plus ready-to-use ideas.

The Basics:

Have a Purpose: Decide what the collage should convey. A memory? A mood?  Pick what idea you want to share with the collage. 

Choose a Format: Pick the size for the collage.  A size that your printer can print makes collaging and framing easiest.

Mix photos to have a variety: Mix the types of photos you are using -wide, medium, close-up.  Include both people and context to balance the collage.

Be Cohesive: Use a limited color palette or a single filter, if you are making a digital collage, to make images feel connected.

Text placement: Add a short caption or date if it helps tell the story, but don’t overdo it unless text is part of the collage.

Photo selection tips

8–15 photos is a good starting range for many templates; fewer for a bold, simple look, more for a full narrative. Include:

  1 main image 

  3–5 supporting images that add context or contrast

  2–6 detail shots (textures, objects, places)

Make sure to have a Balanced number of people, places, and things in the photographs to avoid a photo‑heavy collage that feels lopsided.

Choose at least one wide establishing shot and one close‑up or candid moment for the collage.

Check variety in lighting and color to avoid a jarring collage. For examples look at Pintrest or Adobe Express.

Layout ideas

Grids: Equal-sized images in a clean grid; good for social posts.

Main photo and a grid: One large center photo with smaller images radiating around it.

Timeline strip: A horizontal or vertical line of images that tells a chronological story.

Overlay and caption: One image with a semi-transparent color wash and a short caption/date. Easy to create with a digital file.

Design and editing tips

Aspect ratio: Decide early (square for IG posts, 4:3 or 16:9 for prints/wallpaper).

Color: Apply a unifying filter or adjust white balance so skin tones look natural and colors don’t clash.

Borders and shadows: Soft white/gray borders or subtle drop shadows help images separate without feeling busy.

Text: Use 1–2 fonts total; keep captions short (dates, locations, a few words). Ensure readability against any image.

Spacing: Leave consistent margins around images; avoid crowding—negative space helps the collage breathe.

Resolution: Export at least 300 PPI for prints; 1080×1080 or 1920×1080 for social, depending on platform.

Tools and templates to try

– Canva: Large library of collage templates; great for quick, polished results.

– Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Spark): Easy templates and text options.

– Google Photos: Simple collage maker built into Photos app; fast for quick sharing.

Step-by-step easy workflow for a digital Collage

1) Define purpose and size: choose your final format (e.g., square 1080×1080).

2) Gather photos: pick 8–15 images that tell the story; grab a main photograph.

3) Pre-edit: lightly crop to the target aspect ratio; adjust exposure/white balance if needed.

4) Choose layout: pick a template or sketch a simple plan (hero center, others around).

5) Arrange and tune: place images, adjust sizes, add a subtle color wash if desired.

6) Add text only if it adds meaning: date, location, short caption.

7) Export: save high-resolution for prints; export optimized size for web.

8) Quick check: view on a phone and on a computer screen to ensure readability and balance.