Photography as Wall Art

In past blog posts, I have suggested a couple different ways that photography can save you money.  They were:

1) Taking a picture of a picture rather than investing in a scanner (click here to read).

2) Taking your own family/senior portraits instead of paying a professional (click here to read).

My mother recently suggested another topic that involves a money saving technique: using your own photos as art in your home.  Rather than spending money on expensive paintings or framed photos from a store, you can print out your own photos and frame them yourself.  My mother has done this in our own home a few times and has gotten compliments from people who had no idea that she had taken the photos herself.

Not only is it cheaper to get your photos printed out at home or Walmart/Walgreens, but your own photos will offer more versatility.  If there is a specific subject you want featured in the photo, you can take it upon yourself to get the shot you need (your subject can be anything, but nature and still life are your best bets).  Using your own pictures also allows you to match the mood and and coloring of your room perfectly.  If a sepia toned photo would look better in the room than full color, you have the option of editing the photo to suit your needs.  That's definitely not always true with a store-bought print.  It's even possible to match the season.  My mother switches out the photos in our living room to better reflect the weather outside.  It looks weird to have flowers on your wall in the middle of January.

Finally, if you want the photo to have a more artsy feel, applying effects is usually necessary.   Effects that soften or fade the color, such as sepia, black and white, fancy focus, ortonish, cross process or combinations of these will usually do the trick.  A photo is generally more attractive as an artistic piece if it looks less "real."  Below are examples of photography that might work as wall art.

Taken by my Mom.  As you can see, it has a softer, warmer tone rather than sharp,  bright colors.  

Taken and edited by me.  This one works as a more artsy piece because of the selective coloring and glowing edges.

Taken by my sister.  It's simple and pleasing to the eye.  

Taken by me.  This would be a good wall hanging for winter.  It's relatively simple and the black and white effect makes it more neutral.

This one was taken by my mother.  I'm not 100% sure, but she may actually have this photo up in our house.  She has a 3-picture frame that shows various pictures of daycare children playing outdoors.  If this one is used, I think she also added a white vignette to make the photos more ethereal.

Taken by me.  This is a picture of my sisters curtains, but it's ambiguous enough that it could be used as a still life shot.  The effect also neutralizes and softens the color.

Taken by my sister.  The effect she applied to this makes it good for a wall hanging.  I'm not sure exactly which effect she would have used for this one, but it gives it a grainy, sepia-like tone that adds interest.

Taken by my sister.  The colors in this particular photo are probably muted enough as it is, so no editing would necessarily be needed.  This would be a good choice if you wanted a boating or beach theme in the room.

It's a little difficult to give examples for this topic because people's taste and need varies so much.  All of the photos shown above could be edited further to fit the color and style of a particular room.  Anyway,  to summarize, here's what I suggest:

1) Use a relatively simple photo.  Personally, I don't think overly busy photos look as good.  For wall hanging you don't necessarily want something too distracting.


2) Edit the photo to match the look of your room.  Most of my suggestions involved toning down or softening colors, but ultimately you can do whatever you want.  


3) Print the photo in the size you need either at home or at a store that offers a printing service.


4)  Frame it yourself.  Matting the photo isn't absolutely necessary, but you could do that, too.

Overall, it's a fairly simple process that will save you a lot of money.  Prints are ridiculously high priced, so if you use your own photo and (ideally) a frame you already have, you can save yourself a ton of money.   Plus, having your own photos on the wall is nice personal touch you can add when decorating your home.  What could be more original than having your own photography or artwork on the wall?