Written by Steve Patterson. In this Photoshop Effects tutorial, we're going to learn how to take a single photograph and turn it into a collage of polaroids, with each polaroid containing a small section of the overall image. You can use this effect with lots of different types of images, whether it's a photo of one person or several people. It's great for photos of family or friends, vacation photos, or even as a creative effect for wedding photography.

This is a very easy photo collage effect to create, and as we'll see later in the tutorial, much of the work is simply repeating the same few steps over and over again until you're happy with the results.

Here's the image that I'll be working with in this Photoshop tutorial:

And here's what the image will look like when we're done:

Let's get started!

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Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer

The first thing we need to do for this effect is duplicate our Background layer. With our image open in Photoshop, we can see in the Layers palette that we currently have just one layer, the Background layer, which contains our original image:

To quickly duplicate the layer, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac). Photoshop creates a copy of the Background layer for us, names it "Layer 1", and places it above our Background layer in the Layers palette:

Step 2: Add A New Blank Layer Between The Two Layers

Next, we need to add a new blank layer between our Background layer and the copy of it that we just created. Currently the copy is selected in the Layers palette (we can tell the layer is selected because it's highlighted in blue). Normally when we add a new layer, Photoshop places the new layer above the layer that's currently selected, but we want our new layer below "Layer 1", not above it. To tell Photoshop to place the new layer below "Layer 1", hold down your Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and then click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Photoshop adds a new blank layer named "Layer 2" between "Layer 1" and the original Background layer:

Step 3: Fill The New Layer With Black

We're going to use black as the background for our effect, so let's reset our Foreground and Background colors if needed by pressing D on your keyboard. This sets black as your Foreground color and white as your Background color, as we can see in the Foreground and Background color swatches near the bottom of the Tools palette:

Now with black as our Foreground color and the new blank layer selected in the Layers palette, let's fill the new layer with black using the keyboard shortcut Alt+Backspace (Win) / Option+Delete (Mac). Nothing will appear to have happened to the image itself, and that's because "Layer 1", which contains a copy of our original image, is blocking "Layer 2" from view. But if we look at Layer 2's thumbnail in the Layers palette, we can see that we've filled the layer with black:

Step 4: Add A New Blank Layer

With "Layer 2" (the layer we just filled with black) selected, click once again on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Photoshop will add a new blank layer between the black-filled layer and the copy of the original image above it:

Step 5: Drag Out A Rectangular Selection As The Inside Of Your First Polaroid

Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool either from the Tools palette or by pressing M on your keyboard:

Then, with the Rectangular Marquee Tool selected, drag out a selection inside your image which will become the inside of the first polaroid (the part which contains the photo). I'm going to drag my selection around the baby's face. It doesn't really matter where you make this selection since you'll be able to move it anywhere you like later:

Step 6: Fill The Selection With Black

We need to fill the selection with black at this point. Technically, it doesn't matter which color we fill the selection with, but to keep things simple and since black is currently our Foreground color, let's use black. Make sure you have the new blank layer selected in the Layers palette, and then use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Backspace (Win) / Option+Delete (Mac) to fill the selection with the Foreground color, which is set to black. Again, nothing seems to have happened in the document, and that's because the image on "Layer 1" at the top is still blocking everything else from view, but if we look at the thumbnail for the blank layer in the Layers palette, we can see that the selected area has indeed been filled with black:

Step 7: Create A Clipping Mask From The Filled Selection

We're going to use the selection we just filled with black to create what's called a clipping mask for the layer above it. What this means is that the layer above it, "Layer 1" which contains the copy of our image, is going to be "clipped" by our filled selection on the layer below it. In other words, the only part of the image on "Layer 1" that will remain visible is the part directly above the section filled with black. The rest of the image will become hidden from view.

To create our clipping mask, click on "Layer 1" to select it in the Layers palette. Then go up to the Layer menu at the top of the screen and select Create Clipping Mask. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+G (Win) / Option+Command+G (Mac). Either way, Photoshop "clips" the image on "Layer 1", keeping only the area above the black-filled shape below it visible and hiding the rest of the image, revealing our black background on "Layer 2" in its place:

If we look in the Layers palette now, we can see that "Layer 1" is indented to the right with a small arrow pointing downward on the left. This indicates that the layer is being clipped by the layer below it:

Step 8: Add Another New Blank Layer Above "Layer 2"

We need to add another new layer, and we need it between the black-filled layer ("Layer 2") and the layer containing our filled selection ("Layer 3"). To do that, click on "Layer 2" to select it and then click once again on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette:

Photoshop adds the new layer between "Layer 2" and "Layer 3" and names it, surprisingly enough, "Layer 4":

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Step 9: Drag Out Another Rectangular Selection As The Border Of The Polaroid

With your Rectangular Marquee Tool still selected, drag out another rectangular selection, this time around the outside of the original selection, which will become the white border of the polaroid. Keep in mind that polaroid photos have some extra space at the bottom of the border, so add some extra space at the bottom of your selection: