Adobe Photoshop has some great tools to put a portfolio on the web…
For a really comprehensive course covering how to create web graphics with Photoshop, check out our Photoshop for Web Graphics course in Brighton, Sussex.
The Metadata Tab
- Open Adobe Bridge (or File Browser in older versions) and navigate to the folder of images that you want to include in your Gallery.
- Select an image and view the metadata tab. Some fields have a pencil next to them which means the fields are editable. Fill in the description (this will be the caption on the Web Page). Fill in the credits for the image.
- Check the apply (tick) box at the bottom of the window to apply the custom fields to the image they will now be attached to the image and travel with it.
Working With your Photoshop Gallery
Note – to use this feature in Photoshop CS4 you will need to download the Optional Plugins from the Adobe website
- Choose Tools> Photoshop> Web Photo Gallery in Adobe Bridge (in CS2 use Automate> Web Photo Gallery from the file browser’s menu) and select a style.
- The preview is visible on the right – some options are not available for certain styles. Fill in your email address. The Source Images section is where you choose the images and decide where to save the gallery.
- To choose a folder, select an entire folder of images to be processed or Selected individual Images From File Browser (Or Bridge) You need to do this before opening the Web Photo Gallery dialog box.
- Hold down Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) and click on your chosen images to select them.
- Click on Destination and either create or select a folder to save the gallery.
Naming your Photoshop Gallery
- Under options, you will see a drop down menu.
- Choose Banner. This is where you will enter the title of the gallery and personal information.
Select your Compression Settings
- Select “Large Images” from the drop down menu
- You can choose the default or increase the size if you wish. There is a slider that says “File size.” This sets the jpg compression. Moving the slider to the right will increase quality, but it will take longer for images to download.If you are unsure, a setting of 5 is a compromise between high qulity and fast loading.
Security Settings
This allows you to watermark your images.
- Choose “Security” from the drop down menu.
- Select “custom text” can type in any message you like for a watermark.
- Choose the font size and placement of the watermark.
- Select a color and opacity. If unsure use White and opacity 38%.
- Hit OK.
When Photoshop has finished, it launches your gallery in your browser.
Upload Your Photoshop Gallery To The Web
You will need to find a web hosting company if you don’t already have one. You can then upload all the files in your chosen folder (the one we exported to) to the internet via FTP.
There are many easy-to-use ftp programs available such as cuteFTP for windows or Fetch for Mac.
