Montage Magic v1.0.21 Update now available in the App Store!

A recent fix to Montage Magic is now available in the App store.

v1.0.21 addresses an issue for iOS5 users where images were being incorrectly rotated when imported from the Camera Roll or Saved Photos.

UK App Store
US App Store

Montage Magic Tip: Screenshots and How-To Collages

This tip looks at the possibility of combining screenshots from your iPhone (or iPad and iPod Touch) with text and arrows to create a How-To image.  Screenshots are great for adding all sorts of content such as maps, showing off how well you did in a game, or a maybe a frame grab from YouTube.

If you don't know how to take a screenshot, it's easy - simply hold the Home button and then press the Sleep/Wake button as shown above (this image was made with Montage Magic!).  Don't hold the Home button for too long or you'll activate Voice Control or Siri!  Your screenshots are available in the Camera Roll photo album.

Open Montage Magic and create a new collage from the theme picker.  You may find it useful to keep your screenshots straight and equal size - it's a lot easier if you switch on Snap to Grid.  Tap on the Settings button and choose the Layout Settings.

Import your screenshots by tapping on the Camera button, Choose Existing, and then select the Camera Roll album.  Reposition and resize your screenshots as shown above.

Now it's time to add some arrows - tap on the Arrow button, choose a colour and line shape and then select the arrow you want to add.

Resize and reposition your arrows as shown above.

Finally, I'm going to add some text.  This particular example shows how to re-enable Location Services for Montage Magic in case you see an error message when trying to add photos from your library.

Montage Magic and iOS5 Tip: Cropping & Editing

Although Montage Magic doesn't offer cropping and editing functionality, the recently launched iOS 5 update does provide editing and cropping using Apple's Photos app.  This provides an easy way to create panoramic photos from your iPhone's camera - this tip looks at creating a collage of photos taken with the new iPhone 4S.

Here's a photo I've taken of the sun setting - to crop this image, tap on the Edit button and then tap on the crop icon (bottom right).

Now simply constrain the photo to a more panoramic aspect ratio.  Tap on Crop and then Save.

I'm going to do the same for this photo but in portrait.

Now open Montage Magic and create a new collage - I'm going to use the Postcard Black theme.

Now simply import the photos you want - I've included the two I edited earlier.  Resize and reposition your photos.

And finally I'm going to add a title and a date using the Roundhand and Trebuchet fonts.  I can now rotate and resize and overlay them over the first panoramic photo.  That's it!  The combination of Apple's Photos app and Montage Magic provide a lot of creative possibilities while you're out and about with your iPhone.

And here it is printed in 4x6.

Montage Magic Tip: Contact Name & Number Cards

Montage Magic can add names, photos and phone numbers from your address book.  In this example, I'm going to create an Emergency Contact card for work showing the First Aiders and Fire Marshalls.   Note that the address book contacts below are completely fictitious with randomly generated faces!

Open Montage Magic and pick a theme - I'm going to use the Noticeboard theme.

Tap on the Person icon and the address book names and photos will be displayed.  If no phone numbers appear, tap on the Numbers On button.  Select the people you want - you can also use the Search bar to find people.  Tap done and the people will be added to the collage.

I'm going to change the borders for the photos - tap on the Settings button and select Borders.  I'm going to use black rounded borders.

Reposition and resize.

Finally add some title text.

That's it!  To print, simply tap the Action button and choose small or large (if you have an AirPrint compatible printer)

I've printed this out using the A6/4x6 option.

Montage Magic Tip: Favourite Photos Mosaic

Photo Mosaics can look great printed & framed and make ideal gifts!
There are various layouts available with Montage Magic.  In this tip, we're going to use an iPad to create a mosaic with almost 200 photos.  Before you start, you may want to create a large favourites album in your PC or Mac application of choice (say 200 - 400 photos), then sync this album with your iPad using iTunes.

Create a new collage and choose a Photo Mosaic theme (it doesn't matter which)

Tap on Settings, and select the Layouts menu.  Choose the Mosaic (13 Rows) layout - this layout isn't used by any of the themes.  Or you can choose a different one if you want less photos.

Tap on the Lucky Dip button (star icon).  Select your favourites album and make sure the Amount setting is Auto.  Tap on Done and the import will begin.  If you don't want a random selection & order, then tap on the Camera button instead and select your photos manually.

Wait until the import is complete - Montage Magic runs quicker on the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S because of the second processor!

Tap on the Edit button and then select a row of photos (or a different region) where you want to place some text.  I'm going to remove the middle row.  Tap on Delete and confirm.

Add some text - I've chosen a quote from Imogen Cunningham. 

And that's it.  If you have an AirPrint printer then you can simply Print in A4/Letter size by tapping on the Action button.  If you don't have an AirPrint printer, then simply Export the collage as a photo (you can specify a high resolution in Settings).  Now transfer the photo or email to your PC or Mac and print from there.

Montage Magic Trick: Mr Potato Head with iOS5

If you've upgraded to iOS 5, you may not have noticed the new Emoji keyboard.  To enable this, go to Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> International Keyboards.  Select Add New Keyboard and select the Emoji keyboard.

Open Montage Magic and create a new collage by selecting the Plain Theme.  Add a photo of a potato (i.e. take a picture with your phone camera).

Click on the Add Text button, and when the keyboard pops up click on the Globe button to switch to the Emoji keyboard.  You'll need to add each part as a single character, one at a time.  Most are in the Smiley face category - swipe through to the last page to find the eyes, ears and nose.  You'll need to add the ear twice (don't worry that they are both right ears).

In the bell category, add a top hat.

Get all the body parts together.  You may find since these are each text boxes that it's difficult to pick up the right part since they are actually all overlapping (switch on text borders and you'll see what I mean) - to help, double tap on each part before dragging. 

Use a two finger swipe to flip one of the right ears into a left ear!  You may need to first zoom in to make the swipe easier to do.

Now assemble the body parts together!

Add a text caption and voila!