I use Photoshop CS2 for my digital layouts, but one thing I am with it is SLOWWWW. I spend way too much time picking out all the possible papers, elements, alphas, fonts, etc. to go with one or two photos, and then spend more time getting everything arranged ** just so **. So the layouts I do finish, I'm generally pleased with, but of course, I have way more photos that I'd really like to scrap. And frankly, not every photo is really worth 3-6 hours of messing around.

I'm thinking of getting the pro version of Foto Fusion so I can export the collages to print 8x8 pages. I imagine using it to easily collage a group of related photos without spending lots of time. The idea is that I'll devote my Photoshop time to only the special photos.

Does anyone else work this way with FF? I was really impressed by their demo, but after spending all the money I did on PSCS2, I'm reluctant to spend more money on software unless it can really speed things up and still do a good job. Any and all input greatly appreciated!

Beth

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Beth
my gallery

Beth - I could not be more pleased with FF. I LOVE it. And they have a new version comiming out very very soon that will be 1000% better. I can't wait!!! The pro version does everything you could possibly need except for let you export large collages (bigger than 12x12). I don't know what the differences are in the new versions of the new release so I can't speak to that. But getting the Pro is always a great start, you can later upgrade to the Studio (if you choose to) for a discounted price.

I can not use PSCS for scrapping. It's way too slow. And I have a good, powerful computer. I do still use PSCS for all my photo editing, designing, etc.

To see what you can accomplish with FF, I'll direct you to Katy (PLucky) 's gallery. She does EVERYTHING in FF and she has gorgeous layouts. She and I both use PSCS for text paths, and fancy text that (so far) FF doesn't accomplish. So it is very handy to have both.

Katy's Gallery: http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/galle...p?ppuser=36282

My Gallery:
http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/galle...p?ppuser=23622

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Take a look at my gallery as my work is ALL foto fusion! I do some simple photo editing and such in another program but essentially everything is FF. I have the pro version as I dont need anything to be larger than 12x12 - hope this has helped!

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My Gallery is here, comments are always welcome!

I love all the FF layouts! I recently bought Foto Fusion Pro and love it, but I am still learning. I use Paint Shop Pro (much faster than Adobe) for graphics and photo editing. But I have not figured out how to make scrapbook layouts in FF. Something is "sticking" for me and I'm having a difficult time!

CRabcakes- where are you getting stuck tell us more or start a help me thread. There are alot of FF users in this forum and I for one would be glad to help you - once you learn this program LO's can be made in a short time. You are always welcome to pm me if you do not want to post on the forums - but please ask for some help!

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My Gallery is here, comments are always welcome!

Thanks for all the info about FF!

I downloaded the trial version to play around with it. At first I thought that all it does is variations of the autocollage (which is the way-cool feature that lured me in in the first place!), but later I noticed that there are other ways to start off a new project. So I need to go back and explore some more. I will always love Photoshop for the artsy-collagey layouts, special blending, and element / paper creation, but FF looks like a good tool for many styles of LOs. And it's good to know there's a forum for asking questions! :-) Thanks again for all the input.

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Beth
my gallery

I have pscs and use it for a lot of artwork but 95% of my scraps are done in FF. You can see my LOs at the fotoscraps gallery which is all FFusers' stuff.

There is soooo much you can do in FF, beyond the auto-collage thingy. The Mattes feature is awesome. It is like clipping masks in ps. You can make your own custom shapes (in true 0-0-0 RGB black) and save them in the mattes folder for awesome effects.

I LOVE how you can crop a photo (hold the control key while resizing), pan and zoom the photo to highlight one part of the picture. Then after you have worked on the LO some more and change your mind you can change the zoom or pan at any time because the whole photo is there still in that window. You haven't cut it away.

The default shadow setting is pretty strong so be sure to look closely, you may want to adjust the offset, blur and amount.

there are a bunch of FF tutorials at the fotoscraps site (not a store, just a gallery and forum for FF stuff) There is also an ftp server with lots of mattes, tiles, templates, etc that have been made and shared by fellow FF users. Info for the ftp is in the forum there.

Give the trial version a good workout, it isn't timed, but you won't be able to print or save as a jpg/tif/bmp without it being covered with watermarking. You can save your work in the native FF format which will then be printable after you buy the program. You can also email LO from the trial version. So play away, you'll be hooked

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tlc
child of the King - that makes me a princess !


FotoFusion User

My layouts are all Fotofusion too.
They are on my blog:
http://sugarstamp.blogspot.com/

I also have Memory Mixer but don't use it because I have had so many technical problems with it.

Beverly