Learning how to open multiple images in Photoshop is a necessary requirement for exposure blending. It’s quicker and more convenient to open multiple images at once than to have to open them all individually. This short video will also show you how to open multiple raw files as well as regular image files. You can also follow the step by step instructions below in this tutorial.
How To Open Multiple Images In Photoshop
2. Locate the folder where your images are stored and left-click on the first image that you want to open.
3. Hold down the Ctrl key on a PC or Cmd key on a Mac and left-click on the next image(s) that you want to open.
4. With all of the images that you want to open now selected, click on the Open button.
5. Both images will open in Photoshop within their own windows.
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How To Open Multiple RAW Files in Photoshop
1. To open multiple RAW files in Photoshop, we must left-click on Open.
2. Go to the folder location where the RAW files are stored. Then, Left-click on the first image you want to open.
3. Hold down the Ctrl or Cmd key and click on the other image(s) you want to open.
5. Click open to open all the selected RAW files.
6. After you click Open, Abode Camera Raw will load up with your RAW files.
7. To open multiple Raw files in Photoshop, Left-click on the first image.
8. Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the last image.
9. This will select all of the exposures. Now click on the open button to open multiple exposures in Photoshop.
10. It will take a little longer to open Raw files but, eventually, they will open up in separate windows.
Now that you have opened multiple exposures Photoshop you can begin to edit your images. To get all of the images into one window in layers, all you need to do is simply press the Stack button in Raya Pro, then the Align button will align all of the layers for you. With all the layers now stacked and aligned, you can start exposure blending. If you missed our tutorial on How To Layer Images In Photoshop you can find it here on YouTube.
Photoshop isn’t just a photography app; it’s a powerful design tool. Opening a single image is easy, but what happens if you want to put together a poster with multiple different images?
Let’s look at a few of the ways you can open more than one image in a single document.
With a Document Already Open
If you already have a document open, the process is simple.
Go to File > Place Embedded…
Then use the file browser to navigate to the image you want to add to the document.
Click Place and the image will be added to the document.
When you Place an image, the Transform Tool is automatically activated. Click and drag the image to reposition it.
Use the Transform Handles to adjust the size.
When you’re happy with how the image is positioned, press Enter or Return. Now it’s just another layer.
Without a Document Open
If you don’t have a Photoshop document open, or want to load multiple images into a new document, this is the method to use.
Go to File > Scripts > Load Files Into Stack…
In the Load Layers dialogue, Click Browse.
Navigate to the first image you want to add and click Open.
That’s the first image added to the stack.
Click Browse again and navigate to the second image you want to add. Click Open.
Note, the file browser works like your regular OS one. You can select multiple images by Control or Shift clicking on a number of files (Command or Shift on a Mac).
When you’ve got all the images you want added to the stack, click OK.
Photoshop will open all the selected files as a series of layers.
Moving an Image to Another Document
If you have two documents open and want to move an image from one to the other, go to Window > Arrange and select either 2-up Vertical or 2-up Horizontal.
I’ve gone with 2-up Vertical.
Whichever document you clicked on most recently will be the active document. All Photoshop’s tools and interface will relate to that one.
Select the image you want to move and grab the Move Tool (the keyboard shortcut is V).
Click anywhere on the image you want to move and drag the cursor over to the other document. Release the cursor and the image will be added as a new layer.
Go to Window > Arrange > Consolidate All to Tabs to return to viewing one document at a time.
Continue on with your project.
Adobe obviously loves the old proverb, “there is more than one way to skin a cat”. In Photoshop, there are very few things that can only be done in one way. Now you know three ways to combine multiple images into one document.