Creating borders and especially triptychs can be quite confusing if you’ve never done it before. Since these are fairly commonplace on NPN to create a certain aesthetic, I wanted to make it easier for everyone. So I created a set of Print Templates for Lightroom and actions for Photoshop, free for paying NPN members!
It is important to note that these were developed for web use, not printing. They were designed specifically for NPN to be as simple as possible to create a border or triptych without much thought involved and be ready to post on NPN at an appropriate web size.
Please see the videos at the bottom of this post on how to install
I failed to mention a couple of things in the videos: Change the border color:
In Lightroom under the Page panel, click the color for the Page Color Background
In Photoshop double click the Color Fill layer at the bottom of the layer stack
Reorder the photos:
In Lightroom make sure the Header bar is visible in the print module under View > Show Header Bar. In the header bar click Create Saved Print. This will create a new collection of only the 3 images. Now in the Toolbar where it says ‘Use:’, select All Filmstrip Photos. Now in the filmstrip, you can rearrange the photos as you like.
In Photoshop you just use the move tool, select the layer you want to move, and with snapping turned on you can move it on top of another image. Then select the layer below (make sure Auto-Select is turned off in the options bar), and move it to the position of the previous image and Photoshop will snap it into place.
Please let me know if you have any questions or find any problems!
First thanks @David_Kingham,
Please forgive my lack of knowledge but what is a Tryptych? The video explains adding to Photoshop CC but not to Adobe Photoshop Version: 23.3.2 (Desktop). But, I think I figured it out, open Ps go to Window>Actions(Alt+F9)>Load Actions.
@David_Kingham , THANK YOU So much! This is awesome - and a great value add from NPN!
Yeah, “actions” in PS aren’t rocket science, I have lots of them… but when someone else does the work and provides the action, I’m all for it! I used to have my own frames years ago, but then stopped doing when the new NPN 2.0 came to be. Personally, I like the presentation look and for me, just adds a little bit of “pride of ownership” kind of thing… not quite sure how to say it. Yeah, it can be argued whether or not framing is beneficial to presentation and critique - I get the arguments for or against. This may just be me, but framing the image for critique is like telling the viewer, hey, this image is important to me, I’m proud of it and I want to display it like it were in a gallery… No biggie, but just a little extra touch. I like it.
Ok David, you asked and so here ya go. And a great opportunity too since ICM’s aren’t really NPN fare… but I can show as an example of using your Action in creating a Triptych for the web!
I did add a little extra on my own. And for those who aren’t familiar with actions, you can easily modify the actions. first make a copy so you don’t ruin the original… Then set the “playback options” of the Action panel to “step by step.” (or you can just run the action, open up the steps, highlight the last step and then press the record button). Then hit record and apply whatever steps you want to take. In my case, I added a Text Type layer, made adjustments, picked font/size, centered, etc. when done, click the stop button and now you have a new action with your modifications. Ok, over simplified and I’m sure most can figure it out.
anyway, here’s a quick triptych of some ICM’s I did while in Yosemite during my recent visit.
Fantastic Lon! I think subjects like ICM work great in a triptych format, sometimes one image just doesn’t tell the complete story. Looking forward to seeing more of these!
Then set the “playback options” of the Action panel to “step by step.” (or you can just run the action, open up the steps, highlight the last step and then press the record button). Then hit record and apply whatever steps you want to take. In my case, I added a Text Type layer, made adjustments, picked font/size, centered, etc. when done, click the stop button and now you have a new action with your modifications. Ok, over simplified and I’m sure most can figure it out.