How to create a vertically asymmetrical grid in Photoshop

Question

I'm working on a site. The width will be fixed, but the length will vary.

What would be the best way to create a grid like the following in Photoshop?:

Answer 1

What you could do is create a few layers and give them layer masks that are sized to the different image sizes that you want. I did this by using the Rectangular Marquee tool to make a selection, then going to Select > Transform Selection and sizing the selection to be 150px wide by 50, 100, 150, and 200px high:

Now, drag your images in and apply the masks to the images by holding Option/Alt while clicking a layer mask in your Layers palette and dragging it to your new image layer:

Then, click the little link icon that's between the image thumbnail and the mask thumbnail in the Layers palette. Next, click the image thumbnail to select it, then press Ctrl + T to resize the image without disturbing your layer mask:

Repeat as necessary. I would find this to be more intuitive than opening up separate images, cropping/sizing them, then pulling them in; plus, if you want to change how they're cropped later you can do that more easily here. If you convert your image to a smart object right after placing it on the canvas before applying the clipping mask, then that allows for even more flexibility.