I see so many photo galleries that just aren't quite right. Sometimes I want to tell them to use all one frame. Sometimes I want to tell them to have variety. When it comes right down to it, when it doesn't feel quite right, when it doesn't scream- "Hey, that's cool!" it is usually because of scale and negative space.Scale I just referred to in this post, so I won't go there again so quickly. Let me talk for a moment about negative space. Negative space, in the picture above, is the space where you see the wall. There are shapes made in the negative space. When the eye is drawn to one space as odd, or larger than all the others, or smaller than most- this creates an uncomfortable negative space. Sometimes it is hard to put your finger on it, exactly why the photo collage is not working, but you just know it isn't.
OK- so what do you do, if this is your problem? Get some help. :) Get your friend who is right brained, your friend who you think has a good knack at this. (it is time to admit now that you might not have a good knack at this)- and ask your friend to come over and help you. It is like decorating an etegere- you either have the knack of inertly feeling balance and scale and negative space, or you do not. OR- if you want to do it on your own, start by taking a photograph of your wall. Sometimes it is easier to work in two-dimensional terms. Go easy- go with one frame style, keep it spaced evenly. Keep your frames pretty close to each other. Make sure that the overall scale has a relationship with the wall. Know that to pull off the great look in the photo above- although it looks easy- takes a professional, or someone with a really good sense of style, shape and balance.
What do you think? Do any of you have issues with photo galleries? Do any of you have a fantastic creative look? Tell us about it!
Photo from Coastal Living March 2008
Posts
3 comments:
I love that photo gallery. It seems like it would be so easy. I'm actually wanting to order some prints from my sister, who's a photographer, and don't even know where to begin. I keep thinking I want big prints, but then I think I should get a bunch of small ones. I guess I'll make up my mind one of these days.
It is harder than it looks. A trick my grandma taught me was to lay out the photo gallery on the floor, then use paper in the exact size of each picture and put the paper on the wall first temporarily with masking tape. I then find it easy to move the papers around so that the negative space is even and looks like the collage I have laid out on the floor (this works much better when little ones are not under foot). Then I measure the hangers on the back of each picture and make a mark on the paper. I nail right through the paper into the wall and hang the picture up WHILE THE PAPER IS STILL ON THE WALL. This ensures that the picture is exactly where I want it. I pull off the papers from under the frames when the whole wall is complete. Hanging pictures like this really helps to keep the nail holes to a minimum (my husband thanks me).
I should have done the paper thing when I did a wall like this. I did lay everything out on the floor first, but I underestimated my hubby's ability to hang everything exactly where I wanted it. Its not too bad though! Here is a pic when I was still working on it, it has a few more pics up now and is a bit better balanced.
http://tamlynnj.blogspot.com/2008/07/project-showoff-or-blue-line-is-gone.html
I'd love to see other people's photo walls!
Post a Comment