A photo wall is a great way to show off your favourite professional photographs, family portraits or holiday snaps. A photo montage is a collection of photographs you can display on your wall. But if you’re not careful, it can look cluttered and chaotic. Here are our tips to help you make a photo gallery that looks elegant, ordered and impacting.
Stick to a Theme
Subject matter
The human eye is easily overwhelmed. So if there isn’t one unifying factor in your pictures, your photo wall could end up confusing your guests.
You need a theme to connect all your photos in some way. One of the most popular ways to do this is to feature the same subject matter. For example, you could have a photo wall dedicated to your best-loved family portraits.
(Image courtesy of Decozilla)
Or you could showcase the best work of your favourite professional photographer, such as Ken Duncan or Ansel Adams. These photographers often stick to one particular theme (Australian outback, Yosemite), which helps add continuity to your gallery.
Aesthetics
Another way to unite your montage is to use similar photo features. If you use the same frame or photo style, your may not need to have all the same subject in your photos.
You could, for example, display only black and white images. This is a great way to display old and new images together. Throughout time, photo quality changes, but choosing the monochrome look helps hide the discrepancies.
Another option is to use all the same display format. You could choose between canvas, glass art or classic frames to create cohesion in your wall display.
(Image courtesy of Today's Mama)
Choose your display arrangement
Collage posters
Your options are limitless here. For a start, you can order a professionally-made collage. Such a product will feature all your chosen images on the one poster, which you can have mounted or framed.
Canvas displays
Thanks to our broad range of print shop options, you can also have a pre-made montage with canvas photos. Canvas prints create a seamless look across your photos, since there are no borders to interfere with the image.
That means you can have an impressive split canvas display – that is, three separate canvas panels displaying one third each of the same image.
[Insert split canvas image]
Or you can create any arrangement of smaller canvas prints to create one striking effect.
Framed arrangements
Of course, if you’re old-school or you just love the timeless look of frames, you can easily create your own photograph gallery.
Frames give you a bit more artistic direction over your wall arrangement; you can use matching frames, colours or styles.
Of course, you don’t want to punch nail holes in your wall before you’re certain you’re happy with the way you’ve grouped the photos. We recommend playing around with cut-out paper you can stick to the walls before you nail in the real deal. Hammer the nails into the paper, remove the paper and hang up your photos.
If you're game enough to create your own wall display, here are some easy tips to keep you on the right course:
Choose a central image
In photography, you're taught to always pick a point of interest and make sure the eye is somehow drawn to it in your composition. It's the same with your photo display.
Your central image is the one you want your guests to see first. It's often the largest photograph in your arrangement. This picture should be centred so your display looks more symmetrical. It also gives the eye a chance to take in the big image before it begins to rove around the surrounding images.
Keep your gallery at eye level
For the best effect, keep the natural centre of your display at eye level, which is usually between 140 and 150 cm off the floor.
Leave some space for larger images
Larger images can already look a bit bulky on your walls, so it's best to give them some space. Big photographs should be placed about 5 cm apart. On the other hand, smaller images work well clustered together.
Here at Camera House, we have a huge range of photo printing options. We can cater to all your photo wall needs. Our print shop offers collages, canvas prints, and high quality photo prints with custom framing, along with much more. Check it out today, or share your own photo gallery creations in our comments section below.
