How to put your Typology images into a grid layout using PS

NOTE: I don't care what program you use to put together your Typology. PS, Pixlr, GIMP, Paint.Net, etc. This write up is for PS though you should be able to readily modify it for another program.

Now, you are going to take your individual images and combine them into a single image consisting of a grid of portraits. You are going to create the completed grid with adequate resolution and quality to make a print of no less than 16" in the shortest dimension @ 300ppi. Since 16 x 300 pixels = 4800 pixels wide, this would be appropriate resolution for your width. Create a new image with pixels dimensions of 4800x4800.

Then open all 16 of them and edit them all. Make sure that the cropping and editing of the images is consistent. I would like you to edit them all using Levels.

After you images are cropped and edited, you need to re-size them all to an appropriate size. In class, I went through all the math on the board. Basically, you have 4800 pixels from left to right to use.
I decided that I wanted each of my spaces (the right and left border and the spaces between the images to be 1/4" wide. Since you set up the image to be 300ppi, 1/4" would be 75px. Since there are 5 of them total, 75px x 5 = 375. To determine how many pixels are available for each of your 4 images that will span the 4800 total pixels, you subtract the pixels used by the space from the total: 4800 - 375 = 4425 pixels. Divide that by 4 to get 1106.25 pixels available for each of the 4 images. We will just use 1106px as there is no such thing as a fractional pixel.

So, resize all your images so that 1106px is the width. 

To place the individual images together, for each image go to Select > Select All. Then Edit > Copy. Then go to the large white image you created. Then Edit > Paste.

Turn on the grid. Make sure snap is on (click the View menu to check). By default, the grid it is marked every 1/4 inch.

Select one of the layers. Move the first image into place and let it snap to the grid. When using the Move tool, if you have the AutoSelect option turned on in the Options bar, you will find it much easier to use.

You will still need to use pixel shims to insure that the space between each image is accurate. Create a new image 75x4800px. Use that for a vertical shim. Duplicate it as needed. Rotate one to the right and duplicate for the horizontal shims. Since the grid is present and Snap is on, you can just position the shims and images quickly to complete your grid. 

If you cropped your images horizontally or vertically, then you may need to crop once the 16 images are laid out or add canvas to the bottom as needed.

When you are done, be sure to save a version with layers intact (a .PSD file) as well as a version with the layers flattened (.JPG file).

To add a background color, just use the paintbucket tool to fill in the background layer with the desired color.