A detailed tutorial on how to turn a single digital photograph into a realistic looking polaroid montage.
- Open your desired photo in photoshop
- Duplicate the background layer (Layer => Duplicate Layer...)
- Add a slight bevel to layer (Layer => Layer Style => Bevel and Emboss...)
- Create a new layer (Layer => New => Layer... ; Shift-command-N)
- Create a polaroid frame template
- With the rectangular selection tool create a vertical rectangle
- Fill with white (Edit => Fill ; shift-F5)
- With the rectangular selection tool create a square inside your white rectangle
- Fill with black (Edit => Fill ; shift-F5)
- Add a drop shadow to layer (Layer => Layer Style => Drop Shadow...)
- Select all layers excluding the background
- Group Layers (Layers => Group Layers ; command-G)
- Repeat the following steps until the image is covered with polaroid frames:
- Duplicate group (Layer => Duplicate Group...)
- Open group, if not already open, by clicking small triangle on left side of group
- Select the polaroid layer
- With the position tool selected move the frame to a new location (v)
- Slightly rotate the frame (Edit => Transform => Rotate)
- Select the image layer
- With the position tool selected slightly nudge the image using arrow keys (v)
- Slightly rotate the image (Edit => Transform => Rotate)
- Slightly scale the image proportionally (Edit => Transform => Scale)
- Hide the image layer by clicking the eye on the left side of the layer
- Repeat the following steps for all groups
- Select the polaroid layer
- With the magic wand selected click inside the black of the template (w)
- Expand the selection by one pixel (Select => Modify => Expand...)
- Invert the selection (Select => Inverse ; shift-command-I)
- Show the image layer by clicking the eye on the left side of the layer
- Drag the image layer above the polaroid template layer within the group
- Delete the selection (delete)
- Merge the grouped layers together (Layer => Merge Group ; command-E)
- Hide newly created layer by clicking eye on left side of layer
- Unhide all layers by clicking on the eyes to the left of the hidden layers
- Rearrange layers to give the best perspective on photograph
- Select the background layer
- Select the entire layer (Select => All ; command-A)
- Fill with white (Edit => Fill ; shift-F5)