Photography News 86 Web

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Beautify your home with photography WhiteWall’s experts offer styling tips and inspiration on how tomake artistic features of your photographs at home

SPRING IS TRADITIONALLY a time for a house clean and a close look at our environment, and that applies even more this year, considering the amount of time we’ve spent there. With the longer days, and the easing of lockdown, it is the perfect time to begin renovations and focus on decor projects. One of the best ways to achieve these goals is by using your favourite images, the right products and frames. Pictures could include landscape shots from your favourite holiday, family portraits or a moment in time. WithWhiteWall, these special memories are turned into stunning works of art, preserving life “Aparticularly cherished image deserves a special place in your home”

events for eternity and personalising the design of your rooms. WhiteWall expert and product manager, Jan-Ole Schmidt, has some perfect recommendations for creating a cozy, yet distinct ambience throughout your entire home. START BY THINKING THROUGH YOUR LAYOUT assembled pictures in proportion on the floor, or by designing it on paper with a sketch. This can save unnecessary drilling, hammering and nailing. Use painter’s tape to align the pictures and make it easier to hang them. For even more accuracy, use a spirit level for perfect results. Pictures should always hang at eye level, as this truly optimises their presence. A reference line is considered to be approximately 1.5m (5 feet) above the ground to the centre of the picture. You should also consider whether the best angle for viewing the pictures is You can spread out the possible arrangements for hanging your

from a sitting position on the sofa or a standing position as they are passed. Here, too, existing reference lines such as window edges, furniture pieces or door frames can provide a good idea of orientation. Not all pictures have to be hung directly on a wall. Picture rails can be used to allow for a more flexible and interchangeable image arrangement. You can also combine a table-top picture ensemble alongside small home accessories or furnishings. The advantage is that picture rails and tabletops allow for the space to be redecorated and rearranged easily. Another presentation method is propping pictures against the wall. This practical alternative creates a casual, yet impactful environment. An important factor here is to use pictures framed in a large format to help define the space. CONSIDERYOUR HANGING OPTIONS If you don’t want to hang a picture in the centre of the wall, and would rather

ABOVE TOP The row method is the classic, effective way to present images of a similar size and orientation ABOVE You could apply the Petersburg method option and go for organised chaos. A mix of sizes and frame styles can work well if your pictures follow a single theme

MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON YOUR ROOM AND IMAGES Generally, you need to get the proportions of your home gallery right. A large picture works well above a large couch. Conversely, wall-filling works of art overwhelm small guest bathrooms. While vertical arrangements make walls appear higher, horizontal groupings give the impression of a wider space. Placed in front of a colourfully painted wall, your own images gain a special place in the limelight. There’s a degree of harmony created when similar colour tones appear on walls, in pictures and in various home accessories or furnishings. You can’t go wrong with a white background, as standalone pictures don’t create a massive impact when displayed against patterned or multicoloured walls. Choose an eye-catching or matted frame that stands out and provides a focal point. When combining several images, it’s helpful to think about the layout and image assortment in order to create harmony. For example, pictures from holiday ‘A’ can be presented on one wall, with pictures from holiday ‘B’ on another. Alternatively, you can hang images that are just black &white next to each other. Images with similar colour styles group well together.

offset it to the side, you should create a visual counterbalance using another piece of furniture or home accessory. A single picture sets a clear focal point in the room. It could be a particularly cherished image that deserves a special place in your home. Whether it’s a large format print set behind acrylic glass, or a small framed art print, if it is hanging alone on the wall, it attracts everyone’s eyes. With the edge-to-edge method, all of the corners and edges of the images are oriented to the same imaginary centre line. The distances between the images should always be consistent. In comparison, the rowmethod is a classic way to arrange images. For the best effect, hang pictures of the same size in a line, either vertically or horizontally. An alternative to this is the grid method. It’s similar to a chessboard, where the individual pictures are arranged according to a strict geometric scheme using the same picture spacing and format. If you wish to cover a large space, you can use the Petersburg method, also called the salon hanging method or ‘ordered chaos,’ which places a number of closely placed images over almost an entire wall. This hanging method ignores visual axes, however there are other connecting elements used for the pictures. These can include images with stylistically similar themes, as well as similar frames and formats. The starting point can be a central image, which could also be in a larger format.

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ABOVE Edge-hanging works if you keep gaps between images consistent and have the same imaginary central line

8 Photography News | Issue 86

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