How to create a contact sheet in Photoshop

Summary

This video explains the importance of creating contact sheets in both film and digital photography. It demonstrates how to export images from Lightroom as small JPEGs and use Photoshop's Contact Sheet Two feature to arrange them on an A4 sheet. The process includes adjusting the layout, resolution, and captions, ensuring a streamlined method for organizing images, whether for a project, proof set, or book. The video also highlights helpful settings, such as rotating images for best fit and using auto spacing for optimal image placement, providing a detailed yet simple guide for photographers.

Takeaways

• 😀 Contact sheets are crucial in film photography for providing a physical reference of all images taken on a single film.
• 😀 Digital photography offers software like Lightroom and Adobe Bridge, but printed contact sheets offer a more tactile and useful view of images in projects or books.
• 😀 Contact sheets are valuable for viewing images in sequence and understanding how they interact, especially for projects or client proofs.
• 😀 Photoshop is the best tool for creating contact sheets, as it allows for easy layout and customization.
• 😀 When exporting images from Lightroom, export them as small JPEGs (1000px on the long edge) to keep the file size manageable while maintaining adequate quality for the contact sheet.
• 😀 After exporting images, it’s important to manually load them into Photoshop rather than opening them automatically.
• 😀 In Photoshop, use the 'Contact Sheet II' feature found under `File > Automate` to generate your contact sheet.
• 😀 When using Photoshop’s 'Contact Sheet II', selecting a folder of images is much faster than choosing individual files.
• 😀 Set the document size (A4 for landscape) with a resolution of 300 pixels per inch to ensure high-quality print results.
• 😀 Choose the layout and number of columns and rows for the contact sheet (e.g., 3x3 for 9 images) and use the Auto Spacing option to make the layout look neat.
• 😀 The 'Rotate for Best Fit' option in Photoshop helps ensure that both portrait and landscape images appear the same size, preventing inconsistencies.

Q & A

Why are contact sheets important in film photography?

Contact sheets are important because they provide a physical visual reference, allowing photographers to view all images from a film roll on a single sheet. This helps in reviewing and selecting images more effectively compared to digital viewing methods.

What is the main advantage of using contact sheets over digital software like Lightroom?

The main advantage is that contact sheets allow you to physically print and cut out images, which makes it easier to arrange and see how they work together in sequences, especially for projects like books or image series.

What is the best software for creating contact sheets?

Photoshop is considered the best software for creating contact sheets, as it provides a robust set of tools and options to automate and customize the creation process.

What settings should you use when exporting images from Lightroom for a contact sheet?

Export images as JPEGs at 100% quality with the color space set to Adobe RGB 1998. Resize the images so the long edge is 1000 pixels to provide adequate quality without exporting full-size images.

Why is it important to set the export to 'Do Nothing' after exporting images from Lightroom?

Setting the export to 'Do Nothing' prevents the images from automatically opening in Photoshop, allowing you to manually load them into Photoshop in a controlled manner for the contact sheet creation.

How do you start the process of creating a contact sheet in Photoshop?

To start, go to File > Automate > Contact Sheet Two in Photoshop. This will bring up the Contact Sheet Two dialog where you can choose your settings and folder of images.

What are the key settings to configure in the Contact Sheet Two dialog in Photoshop?

In the Contact Sheet Two dialog, select 'Folder' to easily choose your image folder. Then, set the document size (A4, 300 DPI), orientation (landscape or portrait), and the layout for image placement (e.g., down first or across first).

What is the benefit of using 'Auto Spacing' in Photoshop's Contact Sheet Two?

Using Auto Spacing ensures that the spacing between images is automatically adjusted for optimal layout, saving time and ensuring consistent presentation.

Why might you want to use 'Use File Name as Caption' in a contact sheet?

This option is useful if you need to display the file names alongside the images for reference or organizational purposes. However, it can make the images smaller, so it's not always necessary.

How can you adjust the number of images displayed per contact sheet in Photoshop?

You can adjust the number of images per contact sheet by setting the number of rows and columns in the Contact Sheet Two dialog. For example, you can choose to have three columns and three rows, or any other arrangement that fits your needs.