Collage It

As a follow up to my Top 5 Free Photo Managers post, I'd like to share another free but different photo utility.  I'm always keeping my eyes open for ways to make my time on the computer productive and more enjoyable.  After looking at several free collage makers and being disappointed with the results, I recently ran across one that is actually worth using and recommending.  It's called Collage It.

It's a relatively simple program.  Just add the picture files you want included in your collage, set your page size and layout settings, add a background or change its color, hit the "generate preview" button until the collage looks the way you want it, click on and move each individual picture to center it within its frame, then click on save!  It's quite easy, and creates a very nice looking collage.

If you have a wide screen monitor, you could set the size to 1600 pixels wide by 900 pixels high to create a personalized wallpaper for your desktop... or choose any size you want for printing, emailing, or posting on the web.  The photos can be in nice neat rows, as in the picture above, or they can be randomly positioned at whatever angle you choose... it's up to you.

One other program worth mentioning is Shape Collage.  It's a good program, but the free version leaves a watermark at the bottom of the created collage.  There are also online services such as Photovisi and Picnik, but they require you to upload your photos to their server, and so it takes more time.

If you have lots of digital photos, a collage is a creative, fun project.  Give it a try!