Hello, Jennifer Larson again, sharing more about creating two-page layouts. Today I'll write about how I go about selecting photos to scrap and deciding how to size them.
First, photo selection: I keep a list of page ideas to scrap in my journal, but when I edit photos, I also figure out which pages I want to do. Based on the number of photos, I know if it will probably be a one or two-page layout. It's pretty simple: more photos or more big photos (I swear that's grammatical), I will do a two-page layout. Fewer photos or smaller photos means a one-pager.
In general, I look to see if any photos are "lead actors." Those I size bigger--4x6, 5x7, or larger. These photos will be the star on the page and should be bigger.
If the photos are "supporting actors"--providing detail and color but maybe supporting the story rather than being the star--those I print smaller: 2.5 square, 3 square, more rarely 4 square, or wallet sized. (NOTE: I don't print at home. I send them to a local developer online.) Sometimes a story might be all "supporting actors," sort of like the cast of Friends. It's the ensemble that's important in that case, not one photo above others, so those I print all the same size.
Next, more specifics about photo size. There are basically 4 types of photo sizes I use on a two-page layout:
1. A BIG photo with several smaller ones.
My local developer doesn't print 12x12 or 8.5x11 photos, so I can't do a photo on the whole page unless I send away for the photos to be mailed to me. Then I have to wait, and I hate waiting to scrap, so I rarely do that. My local developer DOES print 8x12, which I love. It doesn't fit the whole page, leaving some room for paper strips and embellishments, like on the page above, Around Town. I mostly added smaller photos plus one normal sized photo to complete this photo record of the places I go in my town.
On this page, I did something similar, this time with a people photo. I find this photo of my husband and son walking in the woods evocative, so I loved enlarging it to epitomize the lovely scene. (I'm pretty sure this is a Donna Januzzi sketch.)
2. Several 4x6 photos
I used pure 4x6 photos on this page about my beloved scrapping group, the Scrappin' J's, because to crop the photos would be to leave out details from our scrap retreats and shopping trips. It is harder to fit a bunch of 4x6 photos on a two-page spread, so when I want this to happen, I follow a hint I got from Angie Lucas at Simple Scrapbook years ago when I found the online scrapbooking community: I start at the middle, placing the photos there, and working outward until all the photos fit well and look good.
3. Tiny photos
This is an example of a page filled with supporting actors but no star. I didn't want to highlight one photo or one moment, so instead I tried to show the process where I documented my vacation via Instagram. To do so, I printed them all 2.5 square. (NOTE: I am not a Photoshop Elements expert, but I learned to make a 4x6 print that housed smaller prints by following this tutorial by Cathy Zielske. It's for a multi photo grid, but the concepts apply to fewer photos on a 4x6 print.)
4. Cropped 4x6 photos
(Please ignore the bent page; I have no clue how that happened!) Although a lot of time I plan on making a two-page layout when I'm editing photos, sometimes I print them and then decide on design later. That's the case for this page: I'd printed the photos then decided to use a sketch by Allison Davis. So I did what scrappers have done for years: trimmed the photos to fit the design, keeping the best photos the largest. (NOTE: The photo of my husband and me I took using the classic extend-an-arm technique. It's served me well for getting photos of me and my guy.)
Thanks again for sharing my process for selecting and sizing photos! Come back tomorrow when I talk about the number of photos I use.
