Decorating With Photography

One of the easiest ways to enhance either a home or an office is with pictures - the difference a single framed painting can make to a bare wall can be huge. However, even more different is decorating a wall with photography, especially personal photography, which can add something completely unique to any room. However, there are certain things you should take into consideration first, to enable the best effect.

The first thing you'll want to consider is whether to have the photograph in black or white. This can be decided by many factors - for instance, in a modern bachelor apartment, a classy black and white photograph will look a lot better than a colorful montage. The same goes for a boardroom or office - staff or corporate photographs will usually look better in color than a black and white print.

However, if you have a really good color photograph and you wish it were black and white (or vice versa), there are ways to achieve this. If the photograph has been taken via a digital camera, you can then upload it to a computer and use a program like Photoshop or similar to edit it. This can give you a myriad of effects - from straight color swap to adding a tinge of sepia to give an air of aging, the possibilities are endless. Even if you've used a traditional stills camera, you can ask for a CD when developing them that the negatives will be transferred to, so you can still upload them to a computer and amend with a photo editing software program.

Depending on what look you wish to go for in whatever room you're putting the photograph(s) in, the frame is the next choice to make. If you wish, you can purchase different frames for different walls in the same room. Far from them not looking right, the different approach will allow them to be more prominent. Look to match them to your surroundings, if you wish, so that frame blends in with carpet, or rug, or sofa.

The next thing you may wish to consider is whether you want to hang a single picture, or a group together. This is fairly easy to decide - a single photograph picture frame will usually look out of place the larger the wall, so let that dictate your approach. Groups of frames offer a warmer sense of being, especially if it's children and family. Have a collage of school photos from different ages as the central theme, and perhaps miscellaneous family photographs surrounding them to finish an inviting look.

The last thing you really need to decide is whether you wish to use your own photographs, or professional ones from an art shop. This is really down to how much quality you wish to involve. Although obviously not up to the standard of a professional photographer, your own photographs can be of a more than presentable quality, if you're prepared to take the time to get the right shots. However, by mixing photographs from a studio with your own, you can achieve an excellent effect and add that little bit of difference to any room.