Let's talk about choosing the photos for your wall art collection by creating a make-believe example. Here's what happened. Your wedding is in the books, and you recently returned from your honeymoon. There's an email from your photographer, letting you know it's time to meet to review the photos and choose the artwork that will adorn your walls. Well, that sounds easy enough. You're going to look at a few photos, pick the ones you like, and then choose a print. Or maybe a canvas. You always wanted one of those. You'll figure it out. How hard can it be, right?
Even though you have a few errands to run, you meet with the photographer who sits you down in front of 75 photos to look through. One at a time. On the table next to you is a small stack of sample prints on various media, with frames ranging from 8x10 to something the size of your dining room window. As you look through those photos, you notice that some of them are very similar. In fact, in one set, only the eyes changed from slightly over there to a little more over there.
So, which photos do you like?
Sigh... There must be an easier way to choose. Let's dive into figuring out the right photos for your wall so those errands don't have to be rescheduled. First of all, if you're starting to feel a bit overwhelmed and your eyes are going buggy from staring at all those photos, stand up and walk around for a minute. Stretch those eyes. Look anywhere you can that will distract you from thinking about the photos. Now go back to those images. As you scroll through them, which images catch your eye? Are there any that stop you or cause you to ponder just a little longer than others?
Let's go back to "your" wedding. If you are struggling to choose your favorite photos, I can direct you to the photo that has the better expression or the photo that gently illuminates your face better than others. Look for the intangible emotion or "something" that moves you in one photo differently than in another. You know, like that way you always look up when you begin to grin or the photo of you when your eyes were forming tears, but you were still kind of laughing when your dad walked towards you with arms extended. When considering one image over the other, look to the eyes, then look around the rest of the image.
The photos on your wall will be those that have meaning to them. Even though you may be looking at 50 photos, 75, or even more during your image reveal and ordering session, there will be some images that separate themselves from the others because of how they make you feel.
Images that stand the test of time are those with a special meaning. I see my kids every single day but there are photos of them on our picture wall that I love to see every time I pass by. The inquisitive look of my middle son when he was five, the smiles, my oldest who somehow managed to photobomb almost every photo of his younger brother without any of us even knowing it until they were printed... These were selected for the wall because they had a special meaning above all of the others taken at the same time.
Of course, once the images have been selected, you'll want to choose how to display them. I believe that once you find your favorite images, you'll find choosing how to display them will come much easier. You may choose a frame that matches a certain element in the photograph (like the worn-out wooden fence you are leaning against). Or maybe you choose a frame that compliments the brightness of the gown you are wearing. All of these come together after the image is selected but remember, I am there to help you along the way. You are always welcome to ask which frames or materials I think work best with a certain image or why I prefer one image over other.
I hope I have eased any concern about choosing photos for your wall. If you have a question or would like to book a session, please contact me!
