One of the most interesting and creative installations that one can do is a photo wall. Most often, photo walls are comprised of family photos, but that certainly does not need to be the case. While many agree that it would be nice to have such a wall, it is easy to be intimidated by the undertaking. There are many choices and variations with no absolute correct answer. Plus the possibility of a great number of pictures requires a great number of hooks in the wall which can be equally intimidating to think about. While this series of posts will primarily be about photo wall installation, most of what is discussed applies equally to arranging painting montages.
The first step is to gather the images you want to use. Now there are several approaches to this. Do you want a black and white collection? A color collection? A mix of the two? Are they all the same size, if so what size? Or a mixture of sizes? Only family members? Just trips and events? Or do you mix?
Again there is no absolute correct answer. But there are several things to consider. How big is the space you can use? If it is large, you can use 8×10 and larger for a more formal arrangement. A long hallway has plenty of space, but can be narrow. So small format pictures work well, because the viewer will be within a foot or two. On a high space small formats work poorly, because they would be hard to view from the ground. And so on.
Also think of how you want the pictures to be viewed. Do you want to draw the viewer in or have a more formal portrait arrangement? Larger, similar sized, studio shot photos lend themselves to the latter while shapshots of various sizes are more in the former category. Black and white photos tend to have a “classic” and “timeless” quality about them. Similar or same sized pictures lend themselves to more formal arrangements, while varying size arrangements tend to be more informal. As for mixing b/w with color, it looks great with the one caveat that you can’t have just one color in a sea of b/w. The mix doesn’t have to be equal, but it should feel natural so it does not feel like a mistake. Much of the same can be said for picture size, subject matter and the mixing of old and new photos.
It is easy to get caught up in making your photo wall installation perfect, but since there is no true correct answer you need not worry. So relax, enjoy it and have fun. The most important thing is that the photos are important to you.
And one last thought: there is one rule that rarely applies in design, but it can apply here (especially if you go for varying sizes and mixing color and b/w) … overkill works. Not only does it work, but it can take the photo wall from being nice to amazing. So don’t feel restrained and push the boundary of what feels comfortable. Nothing is set in stone and you can always pull back and reduce the quantity. But when you are planning it out, you should definitely think about going all out for it.