Make a picture shortlist without a Photoshop subscription

A contact sheet puts small previews and filenames together so you can choose pictures for a flyer, a family album or a design review. ImageMagick can make this locally for free. Keep the originals: the sheet is a preview, not a backup or an editable layered document.

This is a terminal exercise for a desktop that already has ImageMagick 7. It was tested on Linux with ImageMagick 7.1.1-43 and the installed DejaVu Sans font. It has not been tested with a beginner, on Windows or macOS, or on a phone. If you want a point-and-click route, Adobe also offers Bridge free and documents PDF contact sheets in its Output workspace. We checked those sources but have not tested that Bridge workflow.

1. Make the first sheet.
Keep the numbered practice PNGs together in an inputs folder. Save make-proof-v1.sh next to it, read the command, then run: sh make-proof-v1.sh
The command writes proof-v1-direct.png. Open that PNG in your usual image viewer. There should be twelve numbered previews, in order, with readable filenames and original pixel dimensions. Check the whole image, especially the first and last row.

The command uses small previews that keep their aspect ratio. Source files are read, not edited. The script refuses to overwrite its existing output. This is an ordinary existence check, not an atomic or concurrent-writing safeguard. Do not run two copies simultaneously. If you get an output-exists message, choose a different output filename in the script, including its matching existence check. Do not delete or overwrite your only good copy.

2. Keep what makes the sheet reproducible.
Save the inputs folder and make-proof-v1.sh together. The PNG is the finished preview; the command and original images are what let you recreate or change it. Close the image, open it again, and check the labels. To make a second copy, duplicate the command file, give its output a fresh name in both places, and run that copy.

3. Return and make a shortlist.
Save make-proof-v2.sh alongside the first command. It uses the same originals but selects eight, in this order: 12, 11, 09, 07, 05, 03, 02, 01. Run: sh make-proof-v2.sh
Open proof-v2-direct.png. Check two columns, eight pictures and the changed order. Keep V1 as well as V2.

For your own work, copy the command and replace only the explicitly listed input filenames with copies of images you own, preserving quotes. Choose a new output name. Use short, non-private filenames because the sheet displays them. Do not include every file in an unknown folder or run recipes from an untrusted source. Large images, unusual filenames and unsupported image formats need separate checking. This small example covers ordinary synthetic PNG files only.

4. Check before sharing.
Check every picture, filename and dimension label. A long title clipped in our first two-column attempt; the final example uses a shorter title. Your font and layout can change line lengths. The filenames and visible picture content will travel with the sheet. Metadata stripping is not a guarantee of anonymity. A low-resolution screen preview is not a colour-accurate print proof.

If you move the folder, keep the relative inputs paths intact. Our copied folder reran on the same Linux environment. A different machine also needs a compatible ImageMagick installation and the selected font. This test does not establish cross-machine portability, RAW/HEIC or EXIF-orientation handling, professional colour management, PDF export or print quality.

Why it is free
ImageMagick permits personal and commercial use without a licence fee. This exercise uses no account, upload, subscription or remote processing. ImageMagick's software licence is separate from rights in your pictures, fonts and other components. The software licence does not give you permission to reuse somebody else's pictures.

Photoshop includes a contact-sheet feature, but you do not need to buy that whole application for this small job. Bridge is another free option. We have not demonstrated that you personally would otherwise pay, or that this command replaces Photoshop's editing features.

Official references, checked 10 November 2026:
ImageMagick montage: https://imagemagick.org/montage/
ImageMagick licence: https://imagemagick.org/license/
Adobe Photoshop contact sheets: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/app-integrations/create-a-contact-sheet.html
Adobe Bridge: https://www.adobe.com/products/bridge.html
Bridge PDF contact sheets: https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/desktop/fix-and-prep-photos/create-pdf-contact-sheet-in-the-output-workspace.html