FIGURE C

Masks can enhance the images in your collage. Click picture for a larger image.

Figure D shows a typical compilation collage, wherein ordinary snapshots and portraits are combined.

FIGURE D

Here's a simple image collage. Click picture for a larger image.

There's virtually no limit to what can be done with Photomix. Effects such as mixing black and white or sepia with color images, such as in Figure E can make a real statement. Photomix also has the ability to insert text into the project for captions and expressions.

FIGURE E

Unconventional mixtures can make your images stand out. Click picture for a larger image.

The real boon of a program like Photomix is to the amateur wedding photographer. Imagine how impressed your clients would be when presented with composite images of their wedding. Photomix is excellent for conveying timelines like in Figure F.

FIGURE F

A collage can show a timeline, such as this bride and groom's impromptu kiss. Click picture for a larger image.

Figure G shows the tossing of the bouquet and garter at the reception, using the cake as the background.

FIGURE G

Here's another timeline of the events at a wedding reception. Click picture for a larger image.

I'm done, now what?
So what do we do with our collage now that we're done with it? Honestly, I don't know. There are several output options presented in Photomix. You can print to your home printer, set it as wallpaper, or save it as a mixed image. I'm not exactly sure what the intended output is, and as of the writing of this piece, the Photomix developers have not gotten back to me on that topic.

I for one don't see why anyone would want to print out psuedo-photos on their home printer when it's so inexpensive to take a digital file to Walgreens or Wal-Mart and have a real photo made. Some of the more inexpensive home photo printers really just can't do a photo justice, especially at larger sizes.

Photomix can save the image in just about any format you'd like, except as far as I can tell, it's limited to 72 dpi. That's not all that great if you're looking to have a print made. You can adjust the resolution according to device, and I've found that by setting it as high as possible, you can get a little better quality out of a saved image file. An image that comes out at 24 x 36 inches at 72 dpi would be the same as 12 x 18 inches at 150 dpi, and so forth. But that's not really the way you'd want it. You'd want to be able to create a 9 x 11 inch document at 150 dpi, without playing around with work-arounds.

What I'd like to see in a future version of Photomix is the ability to save the images at a high dpi for quality output at a photo lab. Other than that, I really can't see where Photomix needs any further improvement. One thing I should probably mention about Photomix is that it doesn't have an Undo feature, and that's because it doesn't need one. Any applied action can be removed at any later point, regardless of what has been added afterwards, simply by deleting it on the Layers screen.

I rate Photomix from fCoder at 3 out of 5. This program could very easily have been a 4, but if you're at all familiar with my other articles, you'll know that customer service is very important to me. It has been a week since I requested further product information from the developers, and I still haven't had a response back. I think that's a bit long for a support response, so it cost them a rating point.

OUR RATING: 3 of 5

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise, has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com.