Make It Work For You - An Approach to Editorial PL Templates

Hey there everyone! Don't fall off your chair, I'm back again with some little tidbits on knowledge.

I've been using the Project Life App 3.0 for a few weeks now, and have come around to the idea of using the Editorial Templates more and more.

Sometimes I feel the need to tell the story behind the photos on a page. Using a normal PL collage page is fine for 80% of the pages I create because  I like to "show" the photos.

But at other times, there's a story I want to tell. You know, the WHO, the WHAT, the WHERE, the WHEN, the HOW COME, and the WHY of the situation the those photos come from. That's when I'll tend to lean more towards the PL Editiorial templates.

As you may have seen in the app, there are a couple of different "sets" of Editorial templates you can purchase, along with a couple freebies, too. First let's talk freebies.  You have the "No Photo" template which just has text boxes for a title and two columns of text. Then you have the "Full Photo" template that is just a single photo--but remember, you can export a completed collage page and bring it into this template as a single photo, so there's that little trick. (You can get an idea of what I mean by exporting a completed page and bringing it back as a single photo in THIS post.)

Now let's talk about the editorial kits that you can pay for. Each set of templates has 4 styles included. The number indicates the number of photo pocket in the template (Template sets 1A and 1B have a pocket for one photo, 2A templates have 2 photo pockets, etc.)  What I'm here to tell you, is that you don't necessarily have to purchase those extra templates simply because you want to fit in more photos!  That's today's tid-bit of knowledge.

Let me show you what I mean.

I did actually purchase the Set 1A. It has four templates. I liked this set because it had two templates with large photo pockets, one vertical and one horizontal. 

And I knew that I could import pages/partial pages that I've made into those pockets.

Here's an example of a page I did that way. You may have seen this page on my @projectlifeappdude Instagram account.

I knew that I wanted to use the Set 1A (no. 2) Editorial template, but I wanted to use three photos in the pocket, not just one. And I didn't want to spend the additional $5 for the Set 3A Editioral templates that had three photo pockets.  There's always a workaround, if you know how, or take some time to experiment!

I put the three photos I wanted to feature on the page, and put them into a normal collage page using template Design W.

I exported the incomplete page and saved it to my camera roll, knowing that all the "empty' pockets would fill in with a white background. Hint: Whatever color you have chosen for your page background, that is the color any empty pockets will fill in with if you leave them blank and export your page.

Then I switched over to the Editorial page in the PL app, pulled up the template I wanted to use, and tapped the photo icon to add a photo.

I found my three-photo "page" on my camera roll and added it to my editorial page. It fit like a glove! Though you may have to pinch and zoom a little to get yours to fit depending on how you arranged your photos in your original page.  Play around with it. Experiment! Make mistakes! Learn from them! 

(Wow, I totally sound like Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus!)

Then I added my journaling and title, and was done! Saved a little money not having to purchase additional template sets with a little outside-the-box thinking!

Here's another example.  

I made this page:

It was the same kind of situation. I wanted to use 3 photos, but only had a 1-photo Editorial template. This time, I pulled my photos into collage template Design 6x8 B.

The only catch was, that this template was vertical, but the photo pocket on my Editorial page was horizontal.  No problem. Once I had pulled my photo into the pockets, I tapped on each one, and 1) tapped the EDIT icon, and then 2) manually rotated the photos so they were all sideways. Then I exported that page and saved it to my camera roll.

I opened my Editorial page template next, pulled in that sideways page, and repeated the steps above to  get them right-side up again!

Easy peasy!

I hope this has helped your realize that you don't have to necessarily spend money on additional templates to simply be able to feature multiple photos on an Editorial page.  Some might think spending the extra money so you DON'T have to go through all these extra steps might be worth it. To each their own! I find it a creative adventure!

Until next time....