Do I have a Lightroom goodie for you today…
Last week, I read a blog post by Terry White, about an iPad app called Cover Photo Maker for Facebook Pro+, that allows you to create various cover photo layouts for Facebook’s new Timeline feature (Timeline is now available for Facebook Pages as well). The app’s premise is simple: you select a layout, add some pictures, possibly some watermark text and you end up with an image sized perfectly for the cover photo area (851×315 pixels), that you can then upload to Facebook and set it as your cover photo.
There was only one problem with this process, as far as I was concerned: the pictures needed to be on the iPad in order to create these images.
This meant that in order to create a custom cover photo, I needed to first decide on a template layout in the app, then switch to Lightroom on my desktop to choose the images I want, somehow imagine how they would fit together in the chosen layout, export them, sync with my iPad, then finally create the cover photo.
It was too long and painful to work. So I asked myself, why can’t we simply create the Facebook cover photos inside Lightroom? Well, yes we can!
Using Lightroom’s Print Module to create Facebook Cover Photos
I used Lightroom’s Custom Packages in the Print Module to create 25 cover photo layouts that once exported, will be sized at 851×315 pixels, the exact size for the Facebook cover photo area. See the template previews below (actual examples are available lower on the page):
Facebook Cover Photo Layouts as Print Templates in Lightroom 4 (Download below)
I am making these layouts available as Print Templates that you can download below.
Creating Cover Photo Layouts with the Lightroom Print Module
The trick in setting up the layouts in the print module is figuring out the right size, since Lightroom doesn’t support pixels as units in the Print Module. We have to deal with inches instead.
Since these images are meant for the screen and not print, we need only set the file resolution at 72ppi, in the Print Job panel. Knowing the final desired file size and the resolution, we can calculate the required file dimensions. This can be done using simple math operations, but I prefer using the Image Size dialog box in Photoshop instead, for convenience:
Using the Image Size dialog box in Photoshop to convert from inches to pixels and vice versa
This gives us the values for Custom File Dimensions to use in Lightroom’s Print Job panel: 11.82 in by 4.38 in @ 72ppi.
With this set, we can go crazy creating all the layouts we want. You can create these yourself or you can download the set of 25 Cover Photo layouts I made. See download button below.
Download and install the templates
If you don’t care about setting up these settings yourself (which you needn’t, because I did it for you), simply download the print templates below, that you can then import in Lightroom’s Print Modules and use directly or modify as needed.
Download Cover Photo Layouts for Lightroom 4
See instructions below on how to install the templates in Lightroom.
How to Install Print Templates
- Click the buttons above to download the Print Templates as a zip file.
- Unzip the downloaded file to your desktop (you will get a folder containing one or more .lrtemplate file).
- In Lightroom, go to the Print module.
- In the left column, make sure the Template Browser panel is open. Right click anywhere in the Template Browser area and create a new folder. Title it accordingly (Facebook Cover Photo Layouts, in this case).
- Right click on the newly created folder and choose Import.
- Locate the extracted files and click Import.
Using & Customizing the layouts
The fastest way to try these out once installed is to select a template (in the Print module), add some images by dragging and dropping them from the filmstrip and click the Print to File… button at the bottom of the right panel to export and save the image as a JPEG.
Once you drag an image in a cell, you can hold Ctrl/Cmd and then drag the image to reposition it as needed inside the cell.
I created these layouts using a black background, white inner stroke and an identity plate in the lower right. You may set your own background color as needed using the Page Background Color option in the Page panel, though that won’t be visible much, unless you leave some of the cells empty, so that the background shows through.
Similarly, you can choose a different inner stroke color, but you may need to increase the width to actually show the color. Currently, due to the way Lightroom processes and exports the images, the stroke turns out a little grey once exported, although it’s set to be a white color. I left it like this intentionally, since I preferred the grey. If you want to end up with white strokes in the exported file, increase the width of the stroke slightly.
You can customize the identity plate text in the lower right by double-clicking on it and typing the desired text. If you wish to change the identity plate text color, use Override Color option in the Page panel. You can also select one of your existing plates or use a graphical identity plate as needed. Or, you can simply hide by removing the checkmark next to the identity plate option in the Page panel.
Examples
Finally, here are some examples created using these templates:
To see them in action, check out my Facebook page. For future updates and more Lightroom stuff, follow me on Twitter.
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Thanks for the templates. Nice work Andrei!
Do these work in Lightroom 3?
Yes, these work just fine with Lightroom 3.
why lightroom 3 print templates won’t work in Lightroom 4 ?
Yes, they should work fine.
Thanks! I’ll be linking this at my site this week. Thank you for taking the time to create them.
thank you for the templates! wonderful share and a timesaver at that! you rock!
Much obliged, sir! Glad my search for LR templates brought me here, loving your work in addition to this great download. Thanks!
Thank you, sir. Happy to share.
thank you for the templates… very nicely done. One question, do you crop all the images to the specific sizes of each cell in the template prior to adding them to the template?
No, you simply drag and drop the photos into the cells and then you can move the photo inside the cell by holding the Ctrl key.
Just figured it out… the command+click to reposition the image in the cell… thanks again!
Thanks so much for these templates! I tested a 1-up and inserted my watermark, but upon ‘printing’ the file to my desktop the logo was not included. Can you tell me why that might be? This is the first I’ve used the Print Module. Thanks!
If you select an Identity Plate, then it should print just fine. Not quite sure why it didn’t work for you, but here are the basic steps:
- Select the 1-Up template and drop a picture in it.
- Reposition the picture as needed inside the cell, by holding Ctrl/Command key and clicking and dragging the image inside the cell
- In the Page panel on the right, make sure Identity Plate is checked and select the Identity Plate you want.
- You may need to override the color (if text), depending on your image.
- Make sure Render behind image is NOT checked.
- When ready, scroll down and click Print to File… to have Lightroom export the image.
This should do it.
Thanks so much, Andrei- it worked this time. I’m not sure what the issue was, but your instructions worked flawlessly.
You’re very welcome.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for your help!!!!
I cannot get my photos to drag and drop into the layouts. Any help?
It may be because you have multiple photos selected and Lightroom doesn’t know which one you’re actually trying to add to a cell. So make sure you only have one photo selected at most and try dragging it (you can try pressing Ctrl/Command+D to deselect all photos).
No luck:( I wonder what I am doing wrong?
I click on the image to drag it but it doesn’t show up. It will only appear in the single image contact sheet
Olivia, I’ve been trying to replicate your problem, but I can’t. It works for me every time. I’ll make a quick video on how to use the templates shortly. I’ll add the link as a comment here.
Olivia I am having the same problem! Can see it in Single Image or Picture Package but the Custom Package remains grey. And it puts that one photo in all the slots when I can actually see it. I can’t get any of my images to drag and none are selected but the one I want. And when I try to click it to drag it, the hand doesn’t actually grab my photo to place it. I’m so frustrated it’s supposed to be so easy! Hope someone can offer us some advice!
Andrei,
just downloaded the FB cover presets, and put one on FB. THANK YOU!! i am going to enjoy using these!
Sherry
Olivia … I figured out what we’re doing wrong. We need to grab the picture itself w/in the box in the filmstrip … not the gray area. Click right on the face of your subject, then drag. This will grab the picture (you can see it grab it now) and then it will place. HTH!
Great job figuring that out, Maria! And thank you for taking the time to post the solution here. I am sure it will help others.
Here’s a quick video on how to use the print templates: https://vimeo.com/46372181
This is awesome… What if I am a Mac user?
The templates are for Lightroom, regardless of operating system. So they’ll work the same whether you’re using a Mac or a PC.
You are the best, thank you so much!
This is so awesome and nice of you to share. I have another question…..maybe it is already on here, but have not searched around yet. Is there a way to do story boards in LR as well. For say, posting like 3-5 pictures on my wall of some family or something similar?
Chris, there may be, but I need a better idea of what kind of story boards you have in mind. Do you have an example?
it works fine with.but author you should include how to save the it in jpg file.just my 2 cents
This actually was specified right under the Download button, but I updated the article a bit to make it clearer.
Now there is a using & customizing header that starts by describing how to use and save to jpeg.
Thanks for the suggestion.
For some reason it wont work on my LR4?
Hi Natasha,
Would you please describe a little more what you mean by it won’t work? There’s virtually nothing that can go wrong with the files that would cause it not to work so to say.
You may want to read through the above comments. Some people were dragging the images wrong. You need to click and drag on the image, not the border around, in the filmstrip. That’s just the way Lightroom works.
Just knocked out two new Facebook fanpages for my personal genealogy websites with this template package. It took me longer to decide which photos to use than it did to create the collages. Thanks for this incredible time saver and thanks for including the text box as well!
Thank you for this! Is there any way to move the image around inside the cell? On the ones where they are long horizontals, it only takes the top part of the image.
Yes, you can move the image inside the cell by holding Ctrl/Cmd and dragging the image inside the cell.
thank you these are great.
Just wanted to say a big thanks for these. Much appreciated. Excellent job.
Thanks! This helped me a ton! I wanted to add I found it loaded faster to facebook when I added image to album first then used that as cover photo, rather then downloading directly to cover photo.
Thanks! I will be posting a link in FB for you. These are nice!
Thanks so much for the great templates. So nice to have more choices and they work wonderfully as an actual print template when you raise the resolution and settings.
I am grateful for your generosity. I just haven’t had the time to make more than a couple of layouts for myself so this is fantastic.
Have a brilliant day!
Joy
Thanks you very much for the templates.
dude, you are a lifesaver! I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this, but the pixel issue was stopping me. I am building my first professional facebook site and wanted to do a cool, unique cover photo and knew LR should be able to. Thanks! J.
I love these but I get an error in LR 4 saying this is the wrong type of template. Any help please?
thanks!
Nicole
nope! figured it out! Thanks!
Great work! Thank you so much!
Thank you for this, I really liked it. Now to figure out how to save it…
I made a quick video here that shows that: http://blog.27shutterclicks.com/2012/07/how-to-use-the-facebook-cover-photo-print-templates-for-lightroom/
You basically just have to click the Print to File… button at the bottom of the right panel to export and save the image as a JPEG.
Thank you very much for these great templates!
Thank you So much for these amazing templates. I appreciate your creativity, time and generosity very much indeed. Thank you. Ness
Hi,
My Lightroom 4.3 doesn’t have the “Save as Jpeg” option. Would you know why? I have used this on my other computer but on this new MacBook Air, there are only Save as PDF option. Do you know how to fix it? Thank you
Amy
Thank you!
Hi.
Trying to use these as a Facebook timeline cover….. have no problem getting photos in…BUT…. How do I save it in the print module as a photo to put on Facebook?
I’m the dumb one obviously because nobody else asked this! lol….
Helpppppppp
Gina, you save it by clicking the Print to File… button at the bottom of the right panels, right below Print Job.
Great job and easy to understand instructions!! Thanks!
So cool! Thank you!
Thanks for these great templates. I’ve been loving lightroom and experimenting with presets. What a timesaver.
This is AWESOME!!!! Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much!!!!!!!
Wow, this looks cool!!! Thanks!!
So helpful, thank you!! I was having trouble with the image quality once I uploaded to facebook – even though I had the pixels sized correctly. This helped tremendously!