Daily Mom Expert Corner: Photo Collage, Turning your Favorite Photos into Masterpieces

Do you catch yourself admiring your bestie’s family photo collage in her entryway while visiting? Or do you catch yourself loving a certain landscape photo that you’ve taken but are unsure of where it would look good in your home? Better yet, do you stop to ask yourself how in the world can you make your photos into works of art in your own home? Daily Mom is able to help remove the unknown and offer you some great beginner guidance from the Expert Corner in creating a great photo collage for your home or office!

After the best trip of your life, do you find yourself scanning through hundreds of photos on your camera? Okay, maybe not that many are filling up your storage card but you did snap plenty of photos in all those memorable moments throughout your trip. Yes, some may be blurred or maybe you start reminiscing about what you were actually thinking in that exact moment…but then it happens…You freeze. Staring at the picture.

The picture brings a slow smile to your face and immediately, you are taken back to that special moment. That moment may be remembing the happiness radiating from your family’s face, your pet catching the ball mid-air, or the first time you saw the city skyline. No matter the image, the photos on your camera now hold the potential to become timeless artwork in your home as a photo collage. The question becomes, where do you start? That’s where Daily Mom Expert, Gvido Grube, Author at Digital Photography School comes in to offer his helpful guidance on creating a flawless photo collage in your home. 

Meet the Expert

Working as a photo printing expert at Canvas Discount, Gvido is able to share his knowledge of turning your photos into canvas prints to bring creativity to your photo collage. His goal ultimately though, is to assist in turning your photos into statement pieces throughout your home. He has a great curiosity and passion for photography which enables him to see endless possibilities when you choose to create custom printings for your photo collage.

Q: Tell us about when photography came into your life?

While photography was always there in the background of my life, it wasn’t until my early twenties that I really started to take an interest. My grandfather was a photojournalist who worked for his local newspaper for nearly 60 years. Starting in the 1950s, he witnessed the switch from analog to digital first-hand. One thing I remember quite clearly is the fascination I had for the old photos in his archive. 

There were many outtakes from his newspaper photoshoots, images he’d discarded because of light leaks, flares, or fogging. But the defects just made them all the more fascinating to me. It could well be that this is where my admiration for photography, especially film photography, really derives from. 

Where to Start When Designing a Photo Collage

Q: When deciding on a collage, where should one start when it comes to creating a memorable canvas from such a vast collection that is stuck in our phones? 

A good place to start would be coming up with a unifying theme. Given the sheer number of photos stored on our phones and personal computers, the choice can feel overwhelming. Settling for a specific theme or perhaps a recurring visual motif can focus your mind and make the process much more enjoyable. Of course, the theme chosen is totally up to the individual. But in our experience, it’s canvas prints featuring weddings, family trees, and travel that most often employ the collage format. 

Read More: How to Take Family Photos Like A Pro

Q: For someone who is starting out but doesn’t have a natural eye for creating a photo collage, what types of images are easiest to create a breath-taking print but was really easy to photograph? 

There are a few time-honored rules you should follow if you’re aiming for truly professional-looking results. For starters, it’s worth looking up the Golden Ratio and the Rule of Thirds. Following these two guidelines should set you on your way to creating first-class captures. 

Landscape photography is one of those fields where it’s hard to miss the mark, creatively speaking. Pictures of sunsets over the water, dense forests or mountain ranges will almost always look good on canvas, regardless of the photographer’s level of experience. The same goes for macro shots of flowers, unusual textures, or the surface of the water. 

That said, an image will never translate well to canvas unless it meets certain technical criteria. Sufficient photo resolution is crucial if you want a high-quality canvas print at the end of the line. 

If you’re wondering what is the best resolution for canvas prints, you can learn more on their blog page.

Best Type of Prints for Different Areas for Your Home

Q: What areas of the home do best with what types of prints? i.e. Kitchen – Flowers? Food? Family? 

This depends on individual taste, really. It’s also influenced by the overall design theme of the property. 

One evergreen trend is printing motivational quotes to display in living rooms and home offices. Tranquil photos like sunsets and flowers, and more personal images such as romantic photoshoots, are usually displayed in the bedroom. An emerging trend is prints featuring alphabet letters and cartoon characters getting displayed in the nursery. 

Large canvas prints featuring cityscapes and iconic landmarks are often hung in living rooms and offices. Interestingly, it’s not unusual for family photos to end up being displayed in hallways and flights of stairs. 

Q: You take a lot of city and landscape photos – where should people display those types of images- Office? Home Office? 

A home office would certainly make a good setting for these kinds of photos. But, again, it’s a question of what the individual finds inspiring. I find that this type of photography has a positive effect on my creative thinking. It strikes the perfect balance between dynamism and a sense of calm and helps me get the job done. 

Read More: 10 Tips for Photographing Landscapes

Q: What types of prints are best for pets? Collages/single images? Why?

While it’s difficult to say that one is better than the other, single-image canvas prints are definitely more popular for pet photos.  Pet photographs can have genuine artistic merit, they can be just as evocative as images with human subjects. And if you’ve got a really great pet portrait, it’s perhaps natural that you’d want it displayed on a stand-alone canvas, in a decent size. On the other hand, if you want to capture your pet’s growth through the years, a series of small-format canvas prints might be the best opinion. 

If you’ve been thinking about creating a beautiful photo tribute to your pet, perhaps we can make the decision easier for you. We’ll give you a 10% discount on your purchase. Use code DAILYMOM to get the high-quality canvas print your pet deserves!

Lo-fi Film Photography and Digital Photography

Q: What is the difference between Lo-fi Film photography and digital photography? 

People feel that film photography has a certain unmistakeable transcendental quality-something nigh on impossible to replicate in digital photos. I think this is one of the main reasons behind its recent resurgence in popularity. 

The technical limitations of lo-fi photography also give certain freedom. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to enjoy using it, because any mistakes you make can often bring something fresh to the final composition. Then of course there’s the nostalgic appeal of the grainy, muted visual quality. 

The best thing about lo-fi photography is that the results are always something of a surprise. Accidental double exposures, film burns, all these “defects” can make the final capture more interesting. It’s as close as you can get to doing impressionist paintings with a camera!

Read More: Easiest Way to Back Up Iphone Photos While Charging

How to Select Quality Printing Services

Q: When families are choosing the right portraits for print, what should they be looking for in a quality printing service? What are your recommendations?

The market is becoming fairly crowded and we’re seeing new printing services popping up almost daily, so it’s not always easy to tell the trustworthy providers from the opportunists. I recommend judging by how much industry experience a company has, as well as the customer reviews they get. 

Online reviews are a good way to tell whether a provider really lives up to its promises. It’s always worth checking customer scores on review sites such as Trustpilot or just browsing the comments left on the service’s social media channels. Beware of services that list all kinds of unique selling points using fancy industry jargon, as this is often done to justify unreasonable prices. And keep in mind that low pricing doesn’t have to mean questionable product quality. 

Canvas Discount is a case in point — with a decade of industry experience under our belt, we keep our prices low by relying on economies of scale and streamlined production, not by cutting corners.

---

With Gvido Grube’s advice, you can have more confidence in selecting the best options for your home in creating a flawless photo collage. Before you know it, the photos stored on your phone or camera will come to life bringing inspiration and joy to your unique environment. Don’t forget to use his generous discount code, DAILYMOM, for your next order when creating your photo collage.

Visit:
Gvido Grūbe
EXPLORE AND CONNECT:
Canvas Discount | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Pinterest

💖 NEWSLETTER: DAILY READS IN YOUR INBOX 💖
Sign up to receive our picks for the best things to do, see and buy so you can relax and focus on more important tasks! Let us help you be the best version of yourself you can be!

GET MORE FROM DAILY MOM, PARENTS PORTAL

Newsletter: Daily Mom delivered to you
Facebook: @DailyMomOfficial
Instagram: @DailyMomOfficial | @DailyMomTravel | @BestProductsClub
YouTube: @DailyMomVideos
Pinterest: @DailyMomOfficial

📌 LOVE IT? PIN IT!📌