How to make a collage of photos with your own hands

A collage of several photos can be used for completely different purposes. First, as a decoration for a family album. Secondly, having framed such work in a frame, it can be presented to a friend or to one of the relatives for the anniversary of the wedding, birthday or other celebration. In addition, collages can be an excellent decoration for a living room or a country house. Sometimes they are used for advertising purposes or for drawing.

What can be a collage?

It can be characterized primarily by the principle of execution. A collage of photographs with their own hands can be performed electronically, and then printed (or left for the decoration, for example, of a website) or made immediately on paper.

Secondly, it can be simple or complex. Thirdly, sometimes only photographs are used as a material, but sometimes they are supplemented with ornament, drawings, applique and other decorative elements. Basically, everything depends on the intended purpose and imagination of the author. The concept of "collage" is so wide that it includes a simple composition of several photos, and a real masterpiece using various artistic techniques.

Working with images in electronic form

Creation of a collage from photos on the computer is possible in any graphic editor intended for such processing. As a rule, the action consists in selecting several thematic images, processing, cutting out the necessary fragments and combining them on a common background.

Professionals in this field usually do not stop there. They often get the composition to look like a single whole, and the transitions between its fragments were not noticeable. This is achieved through the use of various tools for graphic editors. All professional photographers know how to make a collage of photos. They offer this service for wedding, prom and other albums.

What materials are needed?

When we are going to create a collage of photos with our own hands, we need to first determine its dimensions and decide what will be the basis. It can be a sheet of A4 or A3 format, whatman, cardboard, piece of plywood or plastic. In addition to it and the photos themselves, scissors, a ruler, a simple pencil and glue will be useful. The rest depends on the imagination of the author. If you plan to use decorative details (ribbons, beads), you need to take care of their availability. In the case of a collage with the help of hand-drawn elements, you will need color pencils or brushes with paints.

The finished product is often framed. You can also do it yourself or go to a baguette workshop. Professionals also strongly recommend, before making a collage of photos, spread them out on the table, think and draw a mock-up of future work. Then the business will move much faster.

Where to begin

As already mentioned above, with the idea. That is, we should not act on the principle of "we start, and then we'll sort it out on the way." Any work, even creative, requires order. Therefore, before creating a collage of photographs, it is necessary to clearly imagine what it is for, what will be depicted on it and in what order.

Then all the elements should be decomposed on a prepared background according to the scheme. If necessary, crop pictures to the desired size. Sometimes they are not used entirely, but only certain fragments of them. This issue is also solved using scissors.

When the composition is laid out, the elements must be attached. This is suitable for PVA, silicate or other glue for paper. Depending on the idea between the elements you can leave empty space, place them closely or even overlap (in parallel, at an angle to each other or with the effect of negligence).

How to choose a photo

If we are talking about a thematic collage, each of its elements must correspond to the idea. For example, creating a gift for the anniversary of the wedding, it is appropriate to insert photos of children, grandchildren, themselves jubilees at different periods of their life together. Images should radiate heat and be positive.

Before you make a comic collage of photos with your own hands, you should think about the idea and work out several options, choosing the most successful one. The composition can contain images of the same size, or one large (basic), and the rest are smaller.

There are several rules, knowing which, it will be much easier to pick a photo. First, the main element should be the largest. For example, if a collage is a gift for a wedding, the main thing will be a photo of the young. Secondly, using fragments of images, you need to act very carefully so as not to get a head without an ear or a figure without one hand. Thirdly, it is desirable that all faces are looked at the center of the collage, and not outward. In this way, the integrity of the composition will be achieved.

Final touches

After all the photos are glued, you can decorate them with ribbons, beads or decorate with a pattern. Sometimes the creativity uses the most unusual objects (buttons, colored threads, dried leaves and even berries). All of this also sticks to the background according to the original plan. Undoubtedly, in the process of creating a job, it can change a little, but without it you can not.

If the composition on the idea should take place on the wall, it is necessary to arrange it in a frame and make fittings. It is better for a beginner to entrust this work to a professional and turn to a baguette workshop.

In principle, a collage of photos with their own hands can make even a child (many kids are very fond of this occupation). No special technique, skill or special knowledge is required here. However, this fact does not speak at all of the simplicity of the process. When creating any work of art (and collage, no doubt, to those concerns), creativity, idea and accuracy of performance are important. Only in this case the result will please both the author and the audience. And if you act not alone, but collectively (noisy company or the whole family), then it will be also fun.