A sure sign of a shoot’s success for any photographer – and something that makes our hearts leap with joy – is when a client calls up and says “I love them all! I’m having a hard time making a decision.” Realistically, many budgets don’t allow for the purchase of ‘everything’, so there are tough decisions to be made. Next thing you know, the photos are in, the client gets them home and then there are MORE decisions to be made. You have these beautiful, memorable photographs – where are you going to put them?
I’ve stumbled across a photographer named Melissa Davis, who has done many photographers a favour by creating a series of templates (shown below) for hanging art on a client’s wall in striking arrangements. She has covered many bases, from the client who loves everything to the client on a tight budget who can only purchase a couple of prints. So, to those of you with photos to hang: take a look at the images and get inspired.
I know that the text on the images can be a little difficult to read in this format, so here are some notes on the images, row by row, starting top L:
1) two 11x14s, four 8x10s, two 5x7s
2) two 20x20s, three 10x10s, five 10x20s (could also be varied by using 16x20s, 8x10s and 10x20s)
3) one 16×20, two 10x10s, two 5x7s
4) two 10x20s, one 16×20, seven 10x10s
5) two 10x10s, one 20×20, one 11×14
6) one 16×20, one 11×14
7) four squares (any size)
8) three squares (any size)
9) two 10×10, three 5x7s, one 8×10
10) one 16×20, two 11x14s
11) one 16×20, two 11x14s, four 5x7s
12) three 10x20s, three 8x10s
13) two 10x20s, two 11x14s, two 5x7s, one 5×10
14) two 11x14s, two 10x10s
15) one 10×20, one 8×10, one 11×14, one 5×7, one 16×20
16) eight squares (any size)
17) four squares (any size)
18) seven 10x10s, four 10x20s
Each of the above arrangements comes with its own set of pros and cons, but the most important thing to consider is the orientation of the arrangement (you can always rotate it by 90 degrees) and the orientation of the photos. In order for the arrangement to work, you’re going to need to choose photos that run the same way. Seems a little obvious, perhaps, but it’s easy to get caught up in your love of photos and designs and then discover a flaw when you try to put them together….
If you are looking at this post and considering getting some photos done and then using one of the above layouts, it’s worth mentioning to your photographer if you’re wanting photos with a 1:2 ratio (5×10, 10×20) just because they are less-used sizes and a little advance prep is always helpful when planning shots. If your photographer isn’t convinced that a particular size would work for the style of shoot you’re wanting (or if you can’t find a frame that fits), ask your photographer for suggestions on how they could modify the arrangement to make it more practical for your situation.
