Thanks to the amazing cameras now incorporated into smartphones we are not only taking better quality holiday pictures, we are taking way more of them. As great as they are, however, and despite all the likes they got on Facebook, they will soon have disappeared from news feeds and be wallowing in phone or on memory cards. If you want a unique and meaningful way of displaying your travels a photo wall ticks all the boxes.
Picking a Theme
Although photography is all about creativity, a random photo wall can look very disjointed and not result in the aesthetically pleasing look you were going for. It can be very easily done when you have a choice of hundreds of pictures so picking a theme can pull it all together. Perhaps choose a specific country or trip, or if you have a favorite type of monument you like photographing that could be your theme. If you have a particular penchant for flora or fauna, these would make for a fabulous photo wall.
Choosing the Best Photos
Taking photos in the days before smartphones wasn’t as fun or as impromptu. Film was not only limiting but expensive to both buy and have developed so a lot more time was spent in preparation before the button was finally clicked. Nowadays you can click away constantly, review them in your hotel room, and delete the ones you aren’t happy with. Then you can post the best ones on your social media accounts to let everyone know what a great time you’re having. However, it is not necessarily these shots that should be considered for your photo wall.
For a photo wall to look great, you’ll need to have images that are high-resolution. You also want to choose those which will evoke the most positive memories. Mix up photos of the Acropolis with some candid shots, group photos and shots that epitomize where they were taken without being a standard image. The inside of a taverna with the bread and wine on the table will instantly rekindle memories of a lovely leisurely meal without anyone having to ask where it was.
Planning Makes Perfect
Before you go to the expense of getting all your photos put onto canvas take some time to actually sit and plan the wall. Decide on sizes and shapes and try to mix them up a bit as rows of the same size canvas will look pretty bland. Also, think about if you want to use a larger canvas as a centerpiece as the link between all the other pictures. If you have chosen a trip to Italy as your theme you could use a map of the country as your centerpiece. Everyone will then know that even your most random pictures were taken in Italy. So nestling alongside the gondolas in Venice and the Leaning Tower of Pisa you could have a beautiful tree from the hotel grounds or a sea view from a rooftop restaurant.
