It’s been a while now since I’ve decided to do a bit of decoration to the house using photographs I took. The obvious thing to do is simply take a nice image, give it a bit of editing, maybe black and white- print, frame and hang it up. That I did as well, but how about something a bit more unique and original?
The project to be was creating a photo “strip” showing different elements from a specific object. This takes just a bit more effort than the regular print and frame method, but it’s worth it.
In the last summer, while biking in the French Alps, I stopped by this nice bell tower in Morgin, switzerland- it has a cool metallic color and many shapes and elements to focus on.
The theme you chose can be just about anything- a car, an old house, a local bar, a junk yard or a nice garden… there’s no limit except for what you can think of and how far can you drive to get it.
Once you decide on a spot, here is what you do:
1. Take a bunch of close-ups and open shots. Try to compose a few frames for print, but don’t dwell on that only.
2. Sort out the images you took later on your computer, and take advantage of today’s multi-megapixled cameras to crop out elements from your close ups.
3. pick 3 images that fit in well, showing different elements of your spot, and make sure they are cropped to the same ratio (width and height..)
4. Use photoshop or any other editing software to stitch them together to one image file. I’ve added black borders for devision, but this is up to your taste of course.
5. save the image file as large as you’d like to print it- and go to the local print shop to have it all done.
A note here- my strip was produced in a non standard size, which basically raised the price on the print and frame. It might be worth checking first your printing options, or simply print 3 seperate images that can be hanged adjacent to each other.
Here’s the final result- ready to print and decorate your favorite spot of the house:
If you have other ideas on how to create art from someone’s photos- let us know!
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I am not professional photographer. One thing I like to do is printing my shots with one of many online digital printing services. The web sites are not too expensive and quick. If you have not done it in the past then open up this link about Fotki http://www.printrates.com/fotki.php my favorite site.
Hi Tyrone,
Thanks for the info. It’s true that there’s a wide collection of online printing services which are decent in both quality and price.
My specific project mentioned in the post was a bit more expensive to print since it wasn’t in one of the standard sizes supported by most of the printing services.
I’m all for using online services, but there are times where the best thing to do is drop by the local shop and talk to whoever is in charge of printing.