How to Make a Photo Collage

A photo collage is a unique piece of artwork that will always attract the eye of visitors to your home. It also makes a great gift! Photo collages can be personalized to any occasion or personality. Here is a step-by-step guide to creating a photo collage.

1.Decide on a theme for your photo collage.

If you are making a photo collage as a gift for someone, your theme could just be that person and their friends/family/etc. You could also make photo collages for your home of any of the following ideas or one of your own;
-A vacation
-Special events such as a wedding, graduation, prom, or birthday party.
-Your children
-Extended family members

2.Decide the design you are going for with your photo collage and begin to plan.

There are several options you have when making your photo collage and it is best to decide before hand what you are going to do. Some ideas include:

-Many photos enhanced with stickers
-Photos enhanced with keepsakes. For instance, for a wedding collage, you could include a napkin, the program, the wedding announcement from the newspaper, ribbons from the decorations or bouquets, etc.
-Photos enhanced with magazine clippings. This can be fun for added humor, using words to make captions for the photos.
-All black and white photos
-Many photos with a quotation printed in the center. This works great for family photos, using a quotation about love or home. Ideas for quotations to use can be easily found by searching the internet.

3.Gather a good amount of pictures that match your theme and design.

I do not recommend using original photos for this, as you want to feel free to cut and glue as you please. You can make copies of photos by using a scanner and ordering digital prints, which is the most cost effective method. Having a photo developing center do this for you can cost around $1 per 4x6 photo.

Now in the age of all things digital, one of the best ways of compiling photos is to create a folder on your computer, go through all your digital photos and copy and paste into the folder any ones that you think might look good in your collage. After you have gone through all of your photos and have many photos in the folder (they add up faster than you think), start to cut it down to a reasonable number of prints to develop. (You can have prints developed from a CD at most photo labs, or your can upload them onto an online site and have them mailed to you.)

For a collage that is ALL photos (no keepsake items), these are some good maximum estimates for the number of photos:

18x24 inch collage - No more than 40 photos
24x36 inch collage - No more than 60 photos

If your photo collage is bigger or smaller, then adjust your size accordingly. (I have used the 18x24 and 24x36 sizes because they are easy to find frames for. If you are using an odd size, you may want to make sure you can find a frame first.)

4.Gather/purchase supplies for your photo collage.

For all collages, you will need the following items:
-A good pair of sharp scissors
-An acid-free glue stick or photo adhesive
-A poster board cut to whatever size you have decided on
-A picture frame

You may also want to purchase:
-Stickers
-Magazines
-Glitter or other fun items scrapbook type items
-Construction paper

5.Begin assembling your photo collage! The first step is to prioritize your photos.

It is very likely that you will have picked out more photos than you will actually have space for. (It's actually best to have more than you need.) Go through your photos and make three piles: "Must use," "Would really like to use," and "Will use if I have leftover space." You may move photos from pile to pile as you go along, but this will help you know where to start.

6.Begin designing a layout .

Starting with the "must use" pile, go through and start placing your photos. Like
putting together a puzzle, start with the edges first. Put your favorite or most eye catching photos in the corners, as they tend to draw attention.

After you have the outline completed, begin filling in the center. It is okay if photos overlap, so try not to crop photos more than necessary. You can always cover up blank spaces later.

7.Put on the finish touches.

Once you have finished, you may have blank spaces. If they look alright, you can leave them blank. If they are small and just too light compared to your photos, feel free to fill them in with a black marker.

Finally, when you have completed your collage, place it carefully in the frame, being sure to place it in the right direction for hanging.