Our Verdict
Assembling a photo collage is often a complicated task that requires you to carefully crop , resize , and reposition each exposure on your canvass . cf / x software assay to simplify this extend appendage withcf / x collage1.2.4 , a public-service corporation that lets you create cunning , stunning montage using any number of photos .
Getting start with atomic number 98 / x montage is relatively square ; you simply drag on a set of high - result photos into the new text file windowpane . In reasonably of an oversight , the software does n’t admit a media browser app that lets you spell picture or photo albums directly from Apple’siPhoto ( ) or Aperture ( ) , or Adobe’sPhotoshop Lightroom ( ) , so you ’ll have to choose your exposure , export them to disk , and then drag them into cystic fibrosis / x montage . ( Alternatively , you could drag them instantly from your pic library onto the cystic fibrosis / x montage window . )
Once the photos have been add up to your text file , the coating mechanically produce a montage . This estimator - engender physical composition will call for your originative heart , of course . you could move a photo by plainly dragging it into any other frame , an action that swaps the emplacement of both photos . you could also resize and reposition a photo within its frame for the best potential fit . And if you ’re not felicitous with a photo , it can be swiftly excised with the delete key or put back by dragging a new picture ( or photos ) into the frame .
cf/x makes it very easy to create sleek photo collages, but you’re limited to rectangular shapes.
bare controls let you adjust the color and thickness of the frame ’s grid lines . The shape of any bod , or a set of side by side frames , can be changed by drag the crimson divider lines . As you hale , you ’ll notice that a blue transmission line appear to alert you when your pic are in line with other dividers , a helpful index that let you ordinate systema skeletale across your canvas . Each time you aline a divider , photos are automatically scaled to fit the resized physique ( although you may call for to pluck the crops ) . There ’s no doubt that collage - building with this app is a simple , satisfying summons that would surely take hour in Adobe ’s Photoshop ( ) .
cf / x score it very easy to make sleek photo collage , but you ’re limited to orthogonal shape .
regrettably , cf / x collage stumble a bit with its canvass solution configurations . The mix-up starts with the default canvas size of it of 1024 - by-768 pixels at a seemingly arbitrary 98 battery-acid per inch ( dpi ) , a comparatively low settlement that would commonly head to poor - quality prints . As it turns out , cf / x collage has independent resolution preferences for trailer ( i.e. the display ) , printing , and export . It ’s open that the developer prefers that you put together the collage at a mild resolution ( 98 dpi ) and then choose to export or print it at much higher result ( 600 dpi ) ; in this way , the coating performs faster and the heavy lifting is table until later . This is an admirable intent , but the executing is gawky and certainly confusing to those used to a single document answer setting in app like Photoshop . Be sure to turn back the manual to get a better discernment of cf / x ’s strategy on this exit .
Beyond that , cf / x collage is far too singular in stress . Its grid - based collages can be gorgeous ( and resonant of some paintings by Piet Mondrain ) , but it ’s disappointing that the app does n’t offer a variety of montage style or alternate frame shapes ( circle , triangle , polygon ) , or allow frames to be gear up to a solid color rather than a picture .
Macworld’s buying advice
cf / x collage 1.2.4 is a one - conjuring trick pony that perform its fast one with finesse but comes up a moment short in flexibility . Still , in spite of its limitations , you ’ll find no better app for work simple , satiny exposure collages . For the Mary Leontyne Price , it is a reasonable choice .
[ Chris McVeigh is an author , illustrator , and plaything photographer based in Halifax , Nova Scotia . ]
