Pick a Wall: where do you want to display the photos? Maybe there's more than one wall where you'd like to place the photos. Maybe there are many, MANY walls where you'd like to place the photos. Let's make this easy by doing one wall at a time. Pick 1.
Choose an Arrangement: how many photos should you put on your wall? A common mistake made by many is printing too small. Larger arrangements tend to look MUCH better and fill a space much more completely than smaller arrangements. Trust me, I know it's hard choosing how to arrange the photos on your wall. I've been there, done that. I've got two little tidbits here that will help solve all your troubles.
First, I've got an awesome way to show you how your photos will look on your own wall. That's right, your own wall. All that's needed is a photo of the wall you are wanting to fill. I will give you a bunch of options and a clear visual of how great your photos will look all finished. Awesome, right? Just let me know that this is something you want to do, and I will work with you. Secondly, if you are a do-it-yourselfer, I've started to put together a pinterest board of some favorite wall arrangements. Check it out: here. After you've chosen an arrangement for your wall, jot down the size of prints needed.
Print Professionally: where should you print? I cannot stress enough how large a difference printing through a professional printing company makes. As a service-based photographer, I let you decide how you want to print your photos by including print releases (with the best of the photos from your session) with my photo packages. This puts all the power in your hands. Sure, you may be attracted to the pricing when printing at Sam's Club or Walgreen's, but when compared to a high quality, professional print, there really is no comparison in value. You've already invested in a quality product from your photographer, why devalue it by printing cheaply? I can provide you with top quality prints, framed prints, canvases and other specialty products. My suggestion? Come to me for all your printing needs in order to ensure that you have long-lasting, heirloom pieces. After all, this is your family history in the making.
10 EASY STEPS FOR HANGING YOUR PHOTO ARRANGEMENT ON THE WALL
Hanging Prints: you've got your photos in hand, now what? I've developed a straight-forward method for getting complicated arrangements onto your wall. Here are a few tools you will need:
2. Lay the frames/canvases out on the floor in the desired arrangement. I like to measure the distance between the frames, so that they are all evenly spaced.
3. After you've got them arranged, flip them over so that they are face down, making sure to keep the arrangement exactly how it was when they were face-up (may require re-measuring).
4. Using your painter's tape, tape a strip of the tape from the mounting bracket on one frame to the mounting bracket on the next frame in the arrangement. We are, in essence, cutting the tape so that it creates the exact measurement from the bracket on one frame to the bracket on the next.
5. Continue this step until all the frame's brackets are connected.
6. Add reference lines by linking the tape lines at 90 degree angles as shown in the image below. Mark the tape with a pencil so that you know exactly where these reference pieces go. This helps ensure that your arrangement won't get skewed when transferring the tape from the frames to the wall (this will make more sense as you move forward).
7. Move the tape from the back of the frames to the wall, connecting the tape in the same arrangement as it was on the frames. It is important to be quite accurate while doing this. You may want to use the level to ensure that your lines are straight. You will also want to make sure that your arrangement is centered or placed on the wall exactly where you want it. Because of the color of this particular wall and the similar color of the tape, it was hard to see the tape, so I've outlined it for you in the second photo below. Note that the two vertical pieces are my "reference" lines, protecting my arrangement from getting skewed.
8. Hammer a nail into place everywhere that one piece of tape intersects with another (aside from your reference lines).
9. Ready for the easiest step? Remove the tape. (Sorry, no pic of this one, haha).
10. Hang your frames on the nails and... VOILA! We are done! If you look closely, I have left the tape up for this shot, so that you can see how the tape lines matched the final product.
At the beginning of this post, I talked about showing you what your photos would look like on your wall ahead of time. My awesome sister-in-law sent me a cell phone photo of the wall that she wanted to work on, which is where this example project began. We built a digital arrangement using photos from our last photo session together and then completed the arrangement in real life. Check out how the digital version (photo below) compares with the final product, the actual arrangement on the wall (photo above).
Now that wasn't too tricky, was it? Granted, this method works best if your arrangement allows for your photos to be placed in straight lines. If yours doesn't, you might need to get a little creative with your taping. That 7th grade geometry that you thought you would never use (obtuse angles, and such) might just come in handy after all. As always, if you need my help, I'm just an email/phone call/text away. If needed, I've even been known to make house calls for my awesome clients. Keep me posted on how your photo arrangements are coming to life. I'd love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at: info@maeboltonphoto.com
- A photo/diagram of your arrangement (optional)
- A measuring tape
- A level
- A pencil
- Painter's tape
- A hammer
- Brad nails
2. Lay the frames/canvases out on the floor in the desired arrangement. I like to measure the distance between the frames, so that they are all evenly spaced.
3. After you've got them arranged, flip them over so that they are face down, making sure to keep the arrangement exactly how it was when they were face-up (may require re-measuring).
4. Using your painter's tape, tape a strip of the tape from the mounting bracket on one frame to the mounting bracket on the next frame in the arrangement. We are, in essence, cutting the tape so that it creates the exact measurement from the bracket on one frame to the bracket on the next.
5. Continue this step until all the frame's brackets are connected.
6. Add reference lines by linking the tape lines at 90 degree angles as shown in the image below. Mark the tape with a pencil so that you know exactly where these reference pieces go. This helps ensure that your arrangement won't get skewed when transferring the tape from the frames to the wall (this will make more sense as you move forward).
7. Move the tape from the back of the frames to the wall, connecting the tape in the same arrangement as it was on the frames. It is important to be quite accurate while doing this. You may want to use the level to ensure that your lines are straight. You will also want to make sure that your arrangement is centered or placed on the wall exactly where you want it. Because of the color of this particular wall and the similar color of the tape, it was hard to see the tape, so I've outlined it for you in the second photo below. Note that the two vertical pieces are my "reference" lines, protecting my arrangement from getting skewed.
8. Hammer a nail into place everywhere that one piece of tape intersects with another (aside from your reference lines).
9. Ready for the easiest step? Remove the tape. (Sorry, no pic of this one, haha).
10. Hang your frames on the nails and... VOILA! We are done! If you look closely, I have left the tape up for this shot, so that you can see how the tape lines matched the final product.
At the beginning of this post, I talked about showing you what your photos would look like on your wall ahead of time. My awesome sister-in-law sent me a cell phone photo of the wall that she wanted to work on, which is where this example project began. We built a digital arrangement using photos from our last photo session together and then completed the arrangement in real life. Check out how the digital version (photo below) compares with the final product, the actual arrangement on the wall (photo above).
Now that wasn't too tricky, was it? Granted, this method works best if your arrangement allows for your photos to be placed in straight lines. If yours doesn't, you might need to get a little creative with your taping. That 7th grade geometry that you thought you would never use (obtuse angles, and such) might just come in handy after all. As always, if you need my help, I'm just an email/phone call/text away. If needed, I've even been known to make house calls for my awesome clients. Keep me posted on how your photo arrangements are coming to life. I'd love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at: info@maeboltonphoto.com
