My to-do list since I got back from Colorado has been getting increasingly longer as I realize that the art fair next weekend in Wayzata isn't going to prepare for itself, and I don't want to procrastinate at all on preparing. I've gotten into bad habits in the past of staying up very late at night the night before getting everything ready and I'd much rather have a restful night's sleep. So unfortunately, the WordPress blog is going on the back burner for a bit, but the blogs will not!
Today I'm going to write a little about the process I go through of creating a custom collage. You can find out more about my custom work by visiting my website.
My job:
What I love best about doing custom collages is that I get to tell a story through the items that I'm given. I can always tell people who cherish their stories (or the stories of loved ones) by the photos/items that I've been given. The thoughtfulness really comes out in the package that I receive. I enjoy custom work so very much because each collage is like a puzzle. I never know what kind of photos and other materials I'm going to get and opening that package is always exciting!
After I get all the materials together I do three things:
1) Sort
2) Scan (if necessary)
3) Start!
1) I look through every photo and item that I've been sent and determine what will work as a focus image, what kind of story I can tell with the photos and what needs to be left out if I've been given too much. This is the best part, especially for collages of 50th anniversaries and milestone birthdays, like 70 or 90. I love old photos!!
2) This step is pretty self-explanatory. I have an Epson scanner and I go through and scan all of the items in. I don't do any photo correction during the scanning process, only enlarging if necessary.
3) And away I go! Starting with the focus image, I begin layering the images. How I begin the placement stems largely from the composition of the photos that I've been given (individuals, group shots, portraits, etc.).
Deconstructing the collage:
Above is a collage I did for a local MN couple for Valentine's Day. I was given the instruction that they loved my collages where everything is very blended and not immediately apparent, which is my favorite style of collaging. While I always enjoy working every collage that I do, one of the hardest tasks is trying to bridge the style of collage that I gravitate towards and the style of collage that my clients like. For me a collage goes together a little easier if my preferred style matches what the client wants, and in this instance, it did.
This client gave me an excellent mix of photos of them, photos of their favorite places, and other items like a handwritten note. In my opinion, the collages turn out the best when they are a diverse mix of items rather than just photos of people. Though I've been very pleased with how collages have turned out with only photos of people, my personal preference is to have a nice blend of photos of people with photos of things and if possible, other items like tickets, programs, newspaper articles, stickers, notes, etc.
As you can see in this collage, I used the corners of the collage for focus images of the couple, and then spread the other images throughout. I generally do this because while the center image is the main thing that you see, I want your eye to easily move around the collage, taking in all the corners. By using larger images throughout rather than just in the center, your eye takes in the piece as a whole composition at first glance and not just a center photo with other photos around it. If there is every any text included, as there is in this collage, I blend it in so that it will be readable but not overpower the other photos.
Coming up soon.....
I've just started work on a custom collage for a 70th birthday and will be documenting the process as I go. You'll be able to see the whole process from beginning to end in a blog coming up soon.
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