In this tutorial, we'll look at how to make a photobooth template in Adobe Photoshop. We'll create a wedding photobooth template, but you could use this photobooth layout for all kinds of photos and occasions. So, if you've ever been curious about photobooth print templates, check this out! Here are a couple of resources that you'll find useful as well:
How to Make Photo Booth Templates Using Photoshop
23 Best Photo Booth Strip Templates (Including Wedding Photobooth Layouts)
What You'll Learn
- How to make a photobooth template in Adobe Photoshop
You'll also be able to apply these concepts when customizing photobooth templates created by someone else.
While our focus is an elegant wedding photobooth template, you could work with a different aesthetic too. If you want a minimalist photobooth template, maybe don't try watercolor and keep things more simple. Or maybe you want your photobooth overlay to feature something really specific to you and your wedding—go for it! Use these techniques in your way.
What You'll Need
- Watercolor Greenery Clip Art
- Watercolor Wreathes and Bouquets
- Decorative Frame and Border Elements
- Delphanium Romantic Calligraphy Font
We'll also use stock photography from Envato Elements. You can use these assets as you complete this walkthrough, or you can use assets of your own. The process will be the same either way. Your choice!
1. How to Make a Wedding Photobooth Template
Step 1
First, let's begin our photobooth layout in Photoshop with a new document. You can go to File > New to start one up.
The New Document dialog box gives us a host of options to choose from. You can work with any document size of your choice. However, I'm going to work at 8.5 inches by 11 inches, as it's a rather common photo paper size. This way, if I want to keep it digital or I want to print it out, I have both as potential options. Use this photobooth overlay in any way you prefer.
I'm also going to set my resolution to 300 pixels per inch, so it's a better fit for high-resolution photographs.
Once you're happy with your choices, click Create to create your new document.
Step 2
First, make sure your Layers panel is open. You can open it by going to Window > Layers.
Here's a look at what it looks like. You should have a blank document, with only one layer, as we begin our design.
Step 3
Next, let's draw a rectangle that will act as the base for our photobooth template. We can use the Rectangle Tool, one of the Shape Tools, to do so.
Start by selecting the Rectangle Tool. Then, click and drag to draw an elongated rectangle like the one seen below.
Step 4
Next, let's turn to our Properties panel to change some aspects of the rectangle we just drew. You can open it by going to Window > Properties.
First, let's change the Fill to an off-white color. Under the Appearance options, in the Properties panel, click on the Fill Color. You can choose a new color via your Recently Used Colors, preset colors within folders, or click on the color picker, as highlighted below.
Step 5
Next, let's adjust the size of our rectangle. We can do that, again, in our Properties panel.
In the Properties panel, take a look at the Transform options. In this section, change the Width to 3.75 and the Height to 10 inches. Alternatively, you could use any size you prefer.
Step 6
For this design, I'm going to use some decorative frames around each photo. In this case, I'm going to use these elegant frames from Envato Elements. You could use a similar frame or create another rectangle with the Rectangle Tool—your choice!
Here's a look at the artwork I'm going to use in my design. I've opened it in Photoshop by going to File > Open. Then, I went Select > All to select the entire document, followed by Edit > Copy.
Step 7
Then, return to your photobooth template document. Go to Edit > Paste to insert the artwork into the design. You can see a new layer in my Layers panel; Photoshop typically creates a new layer when you paste content into a document.
Use the Move Tool to reposition any artwork you want to insert into your design. With Show Transform Controls toggled on, I can freely resize this content too by clicking and dragging on the resize handles.
Note, you can rename your layer by clicking on its name. You'll notice that the layers, in this tutorial, are renamed for descriptive purposes. It's a great idea for organization!
Step 8
Then, select the Magic Wand Tool in your Tools panel. With the frame selected, click inside this framed space. You'll notice that the Magic Wand Tool creates a selection that is the inside of the frame.
Step 9
Create a new layer in your Layers panel. You can do so via the New Layer icon, at the bottom of the Layers panel. It's highlighted below.
I called my new layer "Photo Area Top". You could name yours anything you like. However, it's important that it's underneath my frame. You can click and drag to rearrange your layers. Think of this like a placeholder for our photos in our photobooth template.
Step 10
Next, click on the layer containing our frame. Mine is called "Frame Top" in this example. It's important that this layer is selected for this step.
Then, select the Magic Wand Tool from your Tools panel. With the Magic Wand Tool selected, click inside the frame shape. You'll notice that this creates a selection inside the frame for us.
Step 11
Next, select the Fill Color in your Tools panel. Select a white color, and then click OK to proceed.
Step 12
Now, with white as your selected Fill Color, click on the empty layer, below our frame layer. Mine is called "Photo Area Top". It's very important that you have the right layer selected here. We're going to add white to the empty layer, not to the frame!
Select the Paint Bucket Tool in your Tools panel. Click on your work area, and it will fill our selected area in white.
Now, we have a white space underneath our frames, on its own layer.
Step 13
Go to Select > Deselect to clear your selection.
Now, we've got the start of our first photo space in our photobooth template. Thankfully, you don't have to repeat those steps, over and over again, for each photo. We can easily copy what we've created!
Begin by holding down Shift and clicking on both layers—both the frame layer and the photo placeholder layer—so both of them are selected.
Then click on the Create a New Group button, at the bottom of the Layers panel. It looks like a little folder.
Step 14
The result looks like this. We've got a folder (our group) that we can toggle open or closed. It contains our two layers.
Step 15
Right-click on PC or Control-click on Mac on your newly created group.
Then, select Duplicate Group to copy it.
Step 16
Photoshop then prompts us to name our duplicated group. I called mine "Middle Frame" because it's going to be the middle photo in my photobooth template.
Click OK to continue.
Step 17
With our new layer group selected, select the Move Tool in your Tools panel. Then, click and drag to reposition the second frame in our photobooth template.
Step 18
Repeat Steps 14, 15, and 16 to create another duplicate—as many times as you'd like, for as many photo frames as you'd like in your design. In this demonstration, we'll work with three frames.
Step 19
If you wanted to create something like a minimalist photobooth template, you could keep your design really simple. However, we're going for an elegant wedding photobooth template, so let's add some pretty floral elements to our design.
I opened up this watercolor wreath clip art from Envato Elements in Photoshop. Just like earlier, I went to File > Open to open it. Then Select > All, to select the entire image. Edit > Copy will then copy it.
Step 20
Next, I went to Edit > Paste and pasted it into my document.
Looking at the Layers panel, position this artwork above the rectangle we drew for our photobooth layout.
You can use the Move Tool to reposition and resize your imagery, as we did earlier in the walkthrough.
Step 21
However, I don't want the imagery outside of my photobooth template. So right-click on PC or Control-click on Mac on the artwork layer. From the resulting menu, click on Create Clipping Mask.
Step 22
Here's the result. The clipping mask confines the artwork to the rectangle that we drew earlier. This is an easy way to add flourishes, artwork, and other assets to your photobooth template.
Step 23
Repeat this process with as many additions as you'd like to add to your photobooth template. In this example, I added additional watercolor leaves as well as some beautiful watercolor flowers.
Position them in any way you like. Clipping masks can stack, as shown below, so you can add, adjust, and layer them any way you like!
Step 24
Next, let's add some typography to our photobooth template design.
Select the Type Tool from your Tools panel. Then, click on your design to begin typing. Photoshop will create a new Text Layer when you do so.
If you look at the top of the software, in the options bar, you can quickly access things like the font, the font size, and the font color.
I chose to work with an elegant script font to match the aesthetic of our wedding photobooth template. I also chose a green color that matches our design. I repeated this twice, once for each word, so I could more easily move and adjust them independently.
Step 25
However, the letters are a little hard to see in some places. So I added a slight stroke to them—which is like an outline—that matches the background color.
If you'd like to do so in your photobooth template, click on the Effects icon in the Layers panel, as highlighted below.
This brings up the Layer Styles dialog box. I chose Stroke, with a Stroke Size of 9 and a color that matches my background.
Step 26
Notice, now, that where the text overlaps, it's a little easier to see. Our photobooth template is really coming together now, isn't it?
If you wanted to, you could stop at this point and use your work as a photobooth template PNG. However, next, we're going to look at using Smart Objects to easily add photos to our work.
2. How to Use a Custom Photobooth Template in Photoshop
Step 1
Now, let's walk through how to use a custom photobooth template in Photoshop. Smart Objects make it easy to place and swap images into your design.
Begin by creating a New Layer in your Layers panel. You want this layer to be above our photo area, but underneath the frame. Check out the screenshot below, for reference.
Then, select the Rectangular Marquee Tool in your Tools panel. Make a selection around the area where you'd like your photo to be displayed, as shown below.
Step 2
Next, take the Paint Bucket Tool and fill this selection in any color of your choice. I used a light green color, just so it would be easy to see. We won't see this in our final result; it's just there so we can see the space for now.
Step 3
With this layer selected, right-click on PC or Control-click on Mac. From the resulting menu, choose Create Clipping Mask, as we did earlier in this walkthrough.
Step 4
Now, we'll take that same layer and right-click on PC or Control-click on Mac again. From the resulting menu, let's choose Convert to Smart Object this time.
Step 5
Here's what your Layers panel should look like if you've been following along. You'll notice that this layer looks indented, like all of our Clipping Masks layers. However, the thumbnail has a little square icon on it. This tells us that it's a Smart Object.
So what's the deal with Smart Objects? Well, we can double-click to go "inside" our Smart Object. Try double-clicking on the layer thumbnail and we'll give editing Smart Objects a try.
Step 6
Here's a look at our Smart Object. You'll notice that Photoshop opened it up in a new window, almost like a new document. It's a light green square, which is exactly what we created earlier.
However, look at the Layers panel. We can paste content here!
Step 7
In this example, I've pasted a photo into my Smart Object. This is the same process as copying and pasting any image or artwork into a document. Try it out with your favorite photos.
Once you've pasted and resized a photo to fit this space, go to File > Save to save this Smart Object.
Step 8
Once you've saved your Smart Object, return to our photobooth template document. You'll notice that the Smart Object has been updated to reflect our changes. The photo appears here now.
With Smart Objects, you can jump right in and change the photo really easily now. No need to tinker with the original wedding photobooth template.
Step 9
Repeat this process for as many photos as you have in your photobooth template. Keep in mind that you won't want to copy the Smart Object itself—they should all be their own Smart Objects, otherwise it'll just display the same picture more than once.
Step 10
As a final tip, remember that you can use groups to your advantage. Check this out.
I grouped my work and duplicated it. Now, I can use the same photobooth template twice. This will be handy if I'm printing this out from home. Now, I only need one sheet of photo paper. Or you could add and use more Smart Objects if you want to try this with other pictures. Give it a try!
Now You Know How to Make a Photobooth Template
Making photobooth design templates of your own isn't too tough when you know where to start. Use these concepts to create all kinds of photobooth templates; maybe try a minimalist photobooth template or a photobooth template for your vacation pics.
Remember, you could potentially use this as a digital photobooth template PNG or as something you could print from home and share.
Looking for Photobooth Design Templates Ready to Use?
Photobooth templates can be a ton of fun to try out with your favorite photos. If you're looking for photobooth templates to download, make sure to check out Envato Elements. One low price gets you unlimited access to not only photobooth templates, but also fonts, graphics, illustrations, and much more. That's thousands of design assets, all for one price. It's a pretty awesome deal.
Check out these photobooth layout designs from Envato Elements. Consider downloading your favorites or enjoy the photobooth layout design inspiration for your next project.
1. Elegant Wedding Photobooth Template (PSD)
This pretty photo booth layout would be awesome for weddings, formal parties, and so much more. It's easy to edit in Adobe Photoshop and even comes with multiple layouts you can choose from.
2. Formal Party Photobooth Design Templates (PSD)
Looking for something a little more formal? Why not try out this photobooth template with your favorite photos? Remember, these files are totally customizable too.
3. Wedding Photobooth Design Templates (PSD)
If you love a soft, floral aesthetic, then you're probably going to like this wedding photobooth template. Edit this one in Adobe Photoshop, and customize it with your own content, text, and photos.
4. Stylish Photobooth Print Templates (PSD)
Here's a fun photobooth template that could work very well for a wide variety of occasions. You could dress it up to make it more formal or experiment with the colors to create a more relaxed vibe.
5. Formal Party Photobooth Templates (PSD)
Wouldn't this photobooth template be great for New Year's Eve? It has an elegance that would work well for weddings too. Or imagine something like this for invitations. There's plenty you could do with this fun photobooth template.
Learn More About Adobe Photoshop
Love working in Adobe Photoshop and want to learn more? There's a huge collection of free Photoshop tutorials on Envato Tuts+, and there's no better time than right now to keep on learning. Check out one of these Photoshop tutorials today:
