Portrait Collage

[straightupmode]

hi all,

my friends just bought a house and i wanted to get them a picture of them framed for their housewarming gift. they're getting married in the summer so i figured a collage geared towards them individually and together. so i searched and rooted through my collection for any pictures of them and picked out bought 20 from tens of thousands. i greyscaled them and tinted them with a lil yellow/green using lightroom. then i used elements for collaborating the collage. i don't know exactly what i'm asking for here. maybe some pics don't look good and should be tossed, you tell me. or another setup/arrangement should be considered. anything you guys would think to make this better would be much appreciated.

it's gonna go in black bezel frame. size 14x18 in and white matted to 10x13 in.

thanks

[wulf]

This looks like it belongs in the processing section more than the portrait section, since your question is about making the collage rather than a single shot (so I've moved it ).

It would be worth considering where the eyes are looking in each individual shot. For example, in several of the photos round the bottom left, the eyes are looking out of the frame. Those images might be better on the right of the collage so that they look inwards at the other shots.

You could also think about putting the strongest images in the centre. At the moment, I think the prime position is taken by a shot where the lady is asleep and the guy looks pretty tired. That would probably be better with a shot that makes them both look as good as possible - awake, positive and either looking at the viewer or at each other.

Wulf

[Gina9942]

I think it's too busy. My eyes don't know what to focus on. Try taking some pictures out. You can do more of a storyboard than a collage, I personally think that those work better.

A Sister Is.... on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Storyboard on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

These are two storyboards that I have done. Sometimes less is more.

[daddyoproductions]

+1 on the direction of the eyes...I like it otherwise, except that it looks like most pictures are straight and only some on the left tilted. I think I might make them all straight instead. And maybe a bit more contrast. You can tell you put a lot of thought into this; I'm sure they'll love it.
~C

[straightupmode]

thanks for the feedback everyone. i sided with the storyboard outline and tried to be conscious of eye direction. i still need to line up the shots and sync the black and whites.

also any big chains that will print a 11x14 within 2 business days? otherwise i'd have to ghetto rig it into multiple 4x6 and piece together and overlap them. might or might not work or i'll settle with a late housewarming gift to order the 11x14.

[wulf]

I think that works better, not least because black and white is often more formal and the straighter layout seems to suit that.

Wulf

[pro3carp3]

The second example is much more balanced, in my opinion as the subject in most of the images are facing forward or to the left, and the large image in the center offsets that.

[lputman]

Originally Posted by straightupmode

also any big chains that will print a 11x14 within 2 business days?

Do you have a local printer that you could walk in and have them print for you?

[straightupmode]

last go at it, went for a sharper than my previous soft look and went deeper in contrast. black background to basically go with the theme so it can contrast with the white matte backgroumd.

as for the 11x14 prints, developing time takes too long for me. so i'm gonna try and section the pic and get this developed in 4x6 and stack the sections in a cascading order. this will also let me make sure no pictures are overlapped. this idea sounds cool/good in my head, won't know until i piece it together.

thanks for input guys, this went through a lot for me the past few days. very much appreciated

[wulf]

Looking better all the time. The first draft is rarely the best.

Wulf