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I’ve already covered Print module layouts that use the Single Image / Contact Sheet Layout Style earlier in the year (you can click the link to catch up).
Today we’re going to look at several layouts made using the Custom Package Layout Style. This Layout Style lets you create your own designs using multiple photos. You can place the photos anywhere you like and even make them overlap. It’s also easy to add text.
This is different to the Single Image / Contact Sheet Layout Style which only lets you arrange photos in a grid, a bit like a traditional contact sheet (hence the name).
By the way, it doesn’t matter if you don’t own a printer as you can export the print layout as a JPEG file. You can get a lab (or a friend) to print it out, add it to a photo book or zine, or use an online printing service like Moo to create postcards, flyers or business cards. Or you could use it on an Adobe Portfolio website, a web page, or social media.
Create amazing designs with the Custom Package Layout Style
With a little imagination and know-how you can use the Custom Package Layout Style to create amazing designs. I’ve got three design ideas to share with you, so let’s get started.
Custom Package Layout Style Design 1: Three Photos
Here’s a simple three photo design to get started.
Follow the steps to below to recreate the design and familiarize yourself with creating Custom Package Layout Style designs.
1. You’ll need at least three portrait format photos. Add them to a new Collection, then go to the Print module.
Go to the Layout Style panel and click Custom Package (if it’s not already selected).
2. Go to the Cells panel and click the Clear Layout button to clear the page.
3. Click the Page Setup button (it’s underneath the Collections panel on the left) to set up the page size. If you’re making a print, select your printer from the menu and set Paper Size to match the size of your paper.
If you’re making a JPEG file, select a large paper size to give you a large JPEG you can use for different purposes (I selected A3).
Then set Orientation to Portrait and click OK.
4. Get things set up to help you create your design. I find it helpful to go to the Rulers, Grid & Guides panel and set Ruler Units to Centimeters (if you prefer inches, go for that), Grid Snap to Grid and check the Show Guides box and all the options underneath (you can check fewer options if you want).
Then I open the Cells panel and Filmstrip. That gives me a page layout like this to work with.
5. There are two ways to get photos onto the page. First, click and drag a photo from the Filmstrip onto the page. You’ll then need to resize it by clicking and dragging the corner handles. Hold the Shift key down to retain the photo’s aspect ratio.
Don’t worry about getting the size exactly right. You can make final adjustments when you have all three photos on the page.
The other way is to click one of the buttons in the Cells panel. If the size you need isn’t there, click the arrow on a button and select it from the menu, or select Edit to enter your own sizes. This method is useful if you know what size you want your photos cells to be.
Again, you can use the corner handles to resize the photo.
6. Add two more photos to the page and move them into position. The important thing is that they are both the same size.
Click and drag the photos to move them around. Try and center them in the page, right to left. It should look something like this.
7. Before you go any further, click the Create Saved Print button at the top. You need to do this to save your work. Lightroom creates a Print Collection with your photos and layout.
Give the Print Collection a name. Make sure the Include only used photos box is unchecked and click Create.
8. Experiment with the layout. You can change a photo by clicking and dragging another image from the Filmstrip to the relevant photo cell. This is what I came up with.
9. You can add text to any Print module layout. This is how you do it.
Go to the Page panel, check the Identity Plate box and set Rotation to zero. If you have an Identity Plate ready to use, select it by clicking the white triangle in the preview field. You can also set the text color using the Color Override color swatch.
Now all you have to do is click and drag the Identity Plate into position. You can resize it by clicking and dragging the square toggles around its edges. This is what mine looks like, using “Andrew S. Gibson | Fine Art Photography”.
10. If you don’t have a suitable Identity Plate already you can create one. Click the white triangle in the preview field and select the Identity Plate that’s closest to what you need. Click the white triangle again and select Edit from the menu (it’s at the bottom).
This opens the Identity Plate Editor. Create your new Identity Plate, then click the Custom menu and select Save As. Give the new Identity Plate a name and click Save, then OK.
Your new Identity Plate replaces the old one. Click and drag until you’re happy with the position.
Custom Package Layout Style Design 1: Three Photos (variation)
These techniques are the basis of all Custom Package Layout Style designs. Now it’s up to you to use your imagination and see what you can come up with. For example, you could repeat the same idea with landscape format photos, to get something like this.
Custom Package Layout Style Design 2: More multi-photo layouts
As your confidence grows you can try funky multi-photo layouts like the ones below. These are an easy way of fitting more than one photo into the same frame. You could even set yourself a challenge to see how many photos you can fit in one design.
The key to success here is not just creating the layout itself. You need to select photos that work together as a set. The first layout is a great example as it uses five photos, all made in China, dominated by the color red.
Here’s a set of photos made in different gardens, developed in the same style.
Another set of flower photos, again developed in similar styles so they look as though they belong together.
Plus a set of black and white photos. This layout shows how you can mix aspect ratios by combining three square images with a rectangular one.
Feel free to copy these designs. Figuring out how to create them is a great learning exercise for the Print module.
Custom Package Layout Style Design 3: Arty layouts
So far we’ve used photo cells that match the aspect ratios of the photos used in the design. In other words, I haven’t showed you any examples that use cropped images. That’s about to change. Here’s the design I’m going to show you how to make.
Here’s how you can do it. Before you start, think about the photos you’d like to use and add them to a Collection. Put plenty of photos in there to give you more choices for your layout design.
1. Go to the Cells panel and uncheck the Lock to Photo Aspect Ratio box. When this box is checked, the photo cell expands to fit the aspect ratio of the photo. So, for example, if you place a square photo cell on the page, then add a rectangular photo to it, the photo cell will change size to match the photo. We don’t want that to happen, so it needs to be unchecked.
2. Click and drag a landscape format photo to the bottom of the page, like this. It doesn’t matter what the photo you use as can change it afterwards, so don’t waste too much time thinking about it.
3. Go to the Cells panel and click one of the buttons to add a new photo cell to the page. It doesn’t matter which one it is as you will change the size afterwards. Click the Rotate Cell button (in the Cells panel) to turn it and resize it so it’s long and narrow, like this.
4. Hold down the Option (Mac) | Alt (PC) key, click inside the photo cell you just added and drag it to the right. This creates a duplicate of the cell. Repeat to create a third cell. You may need to resize them so that they fit the space elegantly. The result should look like this.
5. Now click and drag photos from the Filmstrip to fill the photo cells you just created. You can reposition a photo inside a cell by holding the Cmd (Mac) | Ctrl (PC) key down and clicking a dragging a photo (the cursor changes to a grabber hand).
Be prepared to experiment with photo selection to create a design that looks great. I created two layouts using this design, the first using some black and white photos from South America.
And another with black and white photos from China.
You can experiment with this idea in different ways. Here’s another layout design that uses a mixture of square and long, thin photo cells for inspiration.
Don’t forget to click the Create Saved Print button at the top to turn your layout into a Print Collection.
Final thoughts
Hopefully these designs have given you plenty of ideas for layouts you can create in the Print module. Remember these designs are not just for prints – you can use them in zines, photo books, websites and for making postcards or business cards.
The idea is to make something with your photos. At the same time you’re developing eye for editing, as in selecting which photos work well together and what order to display them in. It’s great fun, and gives you something to do on a rainy afternoon or cold winter’s evening.
You can learn more about the Print module in my ebook Mastering Lightroom Classic: Book Three – The Other Modules. You’ll learn how to make great print layouts like these, and create fun and interesting projects using the Map, Book, Slide show and Web modules.
Click here to learn more and grab your copy today 🙂
