Chapter 15. Creating Projects

If you’re into making scrapbooks, greeting cards, or other photo concoctions, Elements is the perfect tool for you. You can dress up pictures in all sorts of creative ways without any other software. Elements is crammed with add-on graphics, frames, and other special effects; it even lets you create multipage documents.

This chapter kicks off with an in-depth look at how to create photo collages. Once you’ve got those steps under your belt, all the other projects (summarized starting on Photo Books) use the same basic method. You’ll also learn how to create photo books and calendars using Shutterfly, Adobe’s online photo-printing partner. (There’s also a special edition of Elements sold only at Costco that includes a link to their online printing service. And if you aren’t in the U.S. or Canada, you may see Photoworld, Service Photo Online, or Online Photo Service as your options for ordering photo books and calendars.) To learn how to create slideshows with Elements, flip to Chapter 18.

Note

Most of the templates you use for these projects are actually stored online, so you’ll need an Internet connection the first time you choose a new template. After that, the template is stored on your hard drive so you don’t have to be online to use it, just like the artwork in Elements’ Graphics panel (Working with the Graphics and Favorites Panels).

Photo Collages

The Create button (at the upper right of your screen in both the Editor and the Organizer) helps you make ...

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