How to hang photos to create a 'Family wall'

Speaking at a QIDA meeting last week in Brisbane gave me an excellent opportunity to refresh on a couple of areas that still need to be covered by way of advice to professionals and non-professionals alike.

Having reflected on the fantastic questions asked and going over an article I wrote for Queensland Homes a couple of years ago about how to go about displaying family photos in your home, I felt I should share my philosophy around the ‘Family wall’.

Photos of family members are often fun, emotional, beautiful and spark the feelings that we have for those close to us. Each person in a family plays a role and has a personality, the picture we choose of these individuals are picked from several images and usually show that person in your interpretation of their best light. Matching the picture to their personality is usually a natural process.

There are inevitably going to be a mixture of images within the whole display. The differences won’t be limited to the people, expressions, moods but extended to the photographers composition, colours, finish of the paper, whether the image is black and white, the list will go on. These choices should be part of the overall display and should be embraced as the diversity of your family.

Frames, can be bought from Picture Framers, department stores, charity shops, shops anywhere but finding a range of frames will extend the connection you have to the display and shouldn’t be rushed, it is a process that will be added to and changed as the family grows. Try not to stick to the same colour frames, the same thickness of those frames or same size and constraint, varying these choices will give a warmer feel.

The idea is to give the wall a story, expression, extend the personalities beyond the images and the display will spark beautiful memories.

By Luke Norman