Digital Collage Photography

In this lesson you will learn how to create a digital collage by combining photographs you have taken together with ones you find on the Internet and then using the eraser tool in Photopea you can create a fantastic digital collage.

This lesson is in three parts:

Part 1 - What is a collage?
Part 2 - Taking photographs for a digital collage.
Part 3 - How to edit images together to create a digital collage.

WAGOLL:

Below are some of the digital collages you will be able to create following these tutorials. Click on the 'student examples' link to see real student's creations.

Student Examples

Collage Artist Examples

Part 1 - What is a collage?

1. Before we take photographs I want you to spend some time looking at the work of a fantastic artist called Veerle Symoens. She is a master of creating collages. She would do this by ripping out colourful images from magazines and pages in books and layering them together. Look through her website by clicking on this link: http://www.veerlesymoens.com/collages.

2. Then do a Google image search for 'Digital Collage Artists'. Have a look at way a digital collage is similar and different to Veerle's physical collages.

3. Choose your favourite collage. This could be one of Veerle Symoens or a digital one and save it to your device.

4. Describe what it is that makes the image a 'collage'. Discuss what you like about it, what it makes you think and how it makes you feel.

Part 2 - Taking Photographs for a Digital Collage

1. Watch this YouTube video which will show you how to take the photographs you will need to create your collage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VwlG-ReqGw

2. Take a variety of interesting photographs. These can be of yourself, a family member, fabrics, wallpaper, interesting textures etc.

3. Next find a selection of images off the Internet. Again these could be of patterns, people, landscapes such as beaches, fields etc. Or you could save some of the images I found/took below. These are copyright free either taken by myself or saved from https://pixabay.com/

Part 3 - How to edit images together to create a digital collage

There are now two options that you can use to create your digital collage. Read carefully the two options below and choose one:

Option 1 - Using Photopea to edit your images together to create a digital collage:

1. Watch this YouTube video which shows you how to use Photopea to edit all your images together into a collage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6mG7-XILuY&t=4s You will learn how to use layers and the eraser tool.

2. Create your digital collage following the instructions above (remember there are a selection of images you could use in part 2 should you need them).

Option 2 - Create a real collage using your images and make it digital by photographing it:

Print out all the images you want to use to create your collage. As you are making a physical collage you can also use magazines, old books and other printed material in addition to the photographs you took yourself.
Rip the images into strips or interesting shapes. Triangles work really well.
Stick them together onto a piece of paper/card. If you haven't got glue or paper, you can just lay them out on plain area such as a floor or kitchen worktop.
Photograph your completed collage (it is now digital!). Make sure your collage is in focus when you photograph it. Be close enough to get a clear shot. Make sure there is enough light. Turn the lights on or move it near a window. Have another look at Veerle Symoens collages that she has made and photographed for inspiration: http://www.veerlesymoens.com/collages

Further learning:

https://www.photopedagogy.com/layers-of-meaning.html

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