How to Choose Photos for a Collage

Before and After

 A before and after example of a photo with a yellow overcast.

I frequently get the comment, "I would love to have a collage, but I don't know what photos to choose.  I have also received the comment, "I have several photos that I would really like to use in a collage, but I don't have time to find them", and even an occasional, "I don't know where I've put my special photos!".

My answer is always the same, "Go through whatever photos you have readily available to you, with whatever time you have to spend looking and pick out the ones that you like.  It is my job to make a cohesive "story" out of the pictures I receive - you chose your favorite photos (out of what is easily available) and leave the rest up to me."

The nice thing about collages is that each photo will bring back a different memory of an emotion, an event, or even a place.  One memory always seems to lead to another memory, so you really don't need a photo of EVERY major event in a person or family's history.  Any group of photos can tell a spellbinding story and bring a lifetime of memories back into our thoughts.

A collage can be used to detail our family history, capture an event, or even honor a loved one who is no longer with us.

Memories are magical, wonderful things and can bring us much comfort, joy and happiness.

The 4 Do's:

- Photos should be in good to perfect focus.  We can correct slight blurriness of a photo (no charge), but not significant blurriness.

- Photos should have little to no damage (unless you want to pay for restoration).

- Pick out your (or the recipient of the collage) favorite photos out of what you have available.  

- If you scan your photos, scan at a minimum of 300dpi...for small photos (3"x4" or smaller), please scan at 600dpi.  This will give us more information to work with.

The 3 Don'ts:

- Don't worry about any color overcast on the photo (usually red or yellow) - our collages come with free color correction.  If severely overcast, we may not be able to fix it - but we can still make it usable by making it a black and white photo.

- Don't worry about each photo having different color tones - we will color correct each photo to make them as close to the same color tone as possible.  We did a collage last year where the photos were all "sepia" - but they were each a different color of "sepia" and we color corrected them so they all had the same color tone.

- Don't worry about red-eye, dust, or small scratches - these fixes are included in the collage price.


Related Articles:

My Favorite Photos

Good Idea #1: Digital Collages

Why Do You Do Collages?


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