A touch of Imagination

Our four slides are now ready, but they are lined up in a rather drab way. A little movement wouldn't do them any harm. We are going to rotate the layers and use shadow effects for this.

1. Activate layer One.
   
   
2. Select Edit > Transform > Numeric with the rotation angle set to -10.
   
   
The slide holder turns slightly. By applying a similar rotation to the other holders, we can create an effect of perfect disorder.


Good memory! Remember the rotation angle you apply to each slide. You will need these angles for when you insert each of the images into the slide holders.


3. Activate layer Three.
   
   
We are going to use a vertical presentation for this slide.


4. Select Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° CCW.
   
   
5. Select Edit > Transform > Numeric and apply a rotation angle of -10 so as to give the layer a disordered look.
   
   
6. Activate layer Four, select Edit > Transform > Numeric and apply a rotation angle of 5.
   
   

Figure 3: A little disorder in our slides ...

Now all that is left is to move each layer slightly so that the slide holders overlap a little. When you are happy with the result, mask the Background layer and select Merge Visible in the layers palette menu. Your slides are now altogether in a single image. Just one more small effect and we will be able to position our photos.

Select Layer > Effects > Drop Shadow and apply the following settings: normal mode, black for the color, opacity 50%, angle 135°, distance 10 pixels, blur 8 pixels and intensity 0%. These settings should give a little depth to your image.



Figure 4: A shadow to give a little more depth to your image.