Now the family photos are sorted, it’s time for the exciting part. Hanging them. But first, they have to be arranged BEFORE you even think about banging in the picture hooks!
Lay out the pictures in a large space where you can move them around. Next decide how you’ll group them: by family relationships, in chronological order, or purely by looks.
Most Right Hook clients opt for family groups. It makes it easier to point out who’s related to whom and pre-empts incorrect assumptions – such as when visitors think your husband resembles one of your great-uncles.
Start with his-and-her sections - either of your own parents or that of you and your partner’s.
Select anchor pieces – not necessarily the largest and most imposing photos, but important events, like weddings.
Sort the rest of the photos. Look for commonality - think frame colour, size or subject matter and era – and group these together.
Arrange each of these groups around your anchors. If you can, keep some generational order so the arrangement looks organic. You’ll likely have pictures through the years from your great-grandparents through to your children.
(By the way, in every family there are some members who wouldn’t be in the same room as much less be next to, each other. Think feuding families and disinherited sons. But in your home, on your wall, they don’t get a say. Ha!)
Stand back and check the overall appearance of the arrangement. Now we’re seeking balance and harmony in your photo gallery.
Don’t be afraid to swap one photo for another to get the right look. Even though it might be out of order you’ll get a tick for aesthetics.
This is how we at Right Hook work it. As strangers, we obviously can’t keep track of who’s who so our clients do an initial sort into family groupings, and then we take it from there.
Remember, you’ll probably be working with an eclectic mix of frame types, sizes and styles. Not to mention an array of photos: black & white, sepia, hand coloured, faded, silverfish bitten, UV damaged and brightly coloured digital prints. So don’t expect perfection!
But if you can manage your family portraits to branch out somewhat like a family tree and it looks good, congratulations; you’ve hit the jackpot.
Your final challenge is to convert that layout into marks on the wall. Calculate how much space you have, write down your measurements, draw it all out and go for it.
But if the thought of translating that arrangement on the floor to the walls is daunting, then call us at Right hook and we’ll do it all for you.