Black and White Family Wall Montage

Black and White Family Photography: Creating an Awesome Wall Montage

Displaying your family photos in black and white can be a great way to highlight your special moments. Converting your color photos to black and white is simple and affordable and arranging them into a montage is an effective way to create an attractive visual statement.

Choose photos that will tell a story when grouped together, perhaps of family trips you’ve taken or a collection of special events. Once you’ve decided on the photos, you’ll need to convert them to black and whites. If your pictures are in digital format, you can use a program like Photoshop to instantly convert your color photos to black and white without damaging the original photos. You can convert those old photos from your albums by scanning them and printing them out onto photo paper. You can also edit these photos in Photoshop if you like. If you’re not computer savvy, go to your local photo shop or kiosk and have a professional convert your digital photographs for very little cost.

Now you’re ready to choose the frames. Montages work best when the frames are unified in some way. This can mean using frames that are similar in style, shape, or color. However, this does not mean you should go out and buy twenty of the exact same frames. Try buying a mixture of frame styles, but get them all black. Or buy frames of different shapes, but get them all in the same style. Mix it up a bit by getting some square, rectangular, and oval frames.

Black, silver, or white frames work best with black and white pictures, so take some of your photos with you while you’re shopping to see what looks best. Don’t be afraid to shop at flea markets, discount stores, or yard sales because you can unify them by painting all the frames the same color. You should also consider using mats for your photos because it will give them a professional and finished look. Try combining black frames with white mats, silver frames with black mats, or white frames with white mats for a stunning combination.

The best way to organize your wall montage is to trace each frame onto a piece of craft paper, cut them out, and hang them on the wall with low-tack masking tape. This way you can see what the final result will look like before you start putting holes in the walls. You can rearrange these templates over and over again until you find an arrangement you like.

Try keeping the focal point of the montage at eye level. Also, stagger the photos in uneven patterns with varying spacing distances between frames to create a more interesting look. Once you decide on the placement, simply hammer the nails right through the paper, remove the templates, and hang the photos. Finally, step back and enjoy your beautiful new black and white wall montage.

©2007, Kathy Burns-Millyard