18 min read

Opening, Placing and Importing Images

Open files, place images and logos as Smart Objects, and check that every image has enough pixels for print.

Open or Place?

Two ways to bring in an image

$File \to Open$	$File \to Place Embedded$
$Opens the image as a separate document in its own tab$	$Adds the image into the current document as a new layer$
$Use to edit a photo on its own$	$Use to add photos and logos to your poster$
$You must then drag or copy it into the poster$	$It arrives as a Smart Object, ready to scale and position$

1 Choose File \to Place Embedded\dots and pick the image (or drag a file from your folder onto the document). 2 The image appears with a transform box . Drag a corner to resize (it keeps its proportions), and drag inside to move it. 3 Press Enter (or click the tick in the Options bar) to confirm. 4 The layer shows a small Smart Object icon in the Layers panel. Place Linked does the same but keeps the image as a separate file linked to the PSD — if you move or delete that file, the link breaks. For assignments, Place Embedded is simpler because everything stays inside the PSD.

Before building the design around a photo, check it is big enough. Open it and choose Image \to Image Size : at 300 ppi, how many centimetres wide can it print? If it must fill the whole A3 width (29.7 cm plus bleed), it needs about 3600 pixels across.

Practice

Which command adds a photo to the poster you already have open, as a new layer?

Open or Place?

Two ways to bring in an image

$File \to Open$	$File \to Place Embedded$
$Opens the image as a separate document in its own tab$	$Adds the image into the current document as a new layer$
$Use to edit a photo on its own$	$Use to add photos and logos to your poster$
$You must then drag or copy it into the poster$	$It arrives as a Smart Object, ready to scale and position$

Placing an Image

1 Choose File \to Place Embedded\dots and pick the image (or drag a file from your folder onto the document). 2 The image appears with a transform box . Drag a corner to resize (it keeps its proportions), and drag inside to move it. 3 Press Enter (or click the tick in the Options bar) to confirm. 4 The layer shows a small Smart Object icon in the Layers panel. Place Linked does the same but keeps the image as a separate file linked to the PSD — if you move or delete that file, the link breaks. For assignments, Place Embedded is simpler because everything stays inside the PSD.

Check the Pixels First

Before building the design around a photo, check it is big enough. Open it and choose Image \to Image Size : at 300 ppi, how many centimetres wide can it print? If it must fill the whole A3 width (29.7 cm plus bleed), it needs about 3600 pixels across.

Practice

Which command adds a photo to the poster you already have open, as a new layer?