MarkBarbieri
Semi-retired
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
My current photo project is to build a banner of photos across the two main walls in our kids' computer room. The pictures will cover a 3' tall band and stretch almost 12 feet on one wall and 10 feet on an adjoining wall. The prints range in size from 8"x4" to 21"x14". All of the prints include a 1 inch white border acting as sort of a mat. We painted the walls a medium to light gray so that the pictures will stand out.
The pictures are arranged roughly chronologically. I used a pattern of different aspect ratios laid out on a 1"x1" grid. You can see the Photoshop version I created to work out the layout and help set up the pictures. The Photoshop files dimensions are life size, but only at 30 dpi, so that the file isn't too cumbersome to work with. The pattern repeats 5 times across the overall layout.
To hang the pictures, we're going to put use thumbtacks. We'll use metal thumbtacks in the walls behind the pictures. Then we'll use magnets on top of the pictures to hold them against the thumbtacks. It's a technique I've used many times before. It isn't an extremely secure way to attach the pictures, but it does allow for easy micro-adjustment of their placement, which will help us line things up. It also makes it easy to swap out pictures. It's not a great way to hang pictures that are really important. With no glass, they get more UV exposure than is good for them. I only use this on prints that I don't plan to keep more than 5-10 years. Because these are all our pictures, we can easily reprint them as needed.
I'm printing the first set of pictures now. My plan is to test those to see how well the concept works both physically and aesthetically. I'm a little concerned about the ceiling fan blowing them. If it survives the tests, we'll build it out over the course of the next week. I'll post a picture of the final results.
The pictures are arranged roughly chronologically. I used a pattern of different aspect ratios laid out on a 1"x1" grid. You can see the Photoshop version I created to work out the layout and help set up the pictures. The Photoshop files dimensions are life size, but only at 30 dpi, so that the file isn't too cumbersome to work with. The pattern repeats 5 times across the overall layout.
To hang the pictures, we're going to put use thumbtacks. We'll use metal thumbtacks in the walls behind the pictures. Then we'll use magnets on top of the pictures to hold them against the thumbtacks. It's a technique I've used many times before. It isn't an extremely secure way to attach the pictures, but it does allow for easy micro-adjustment of their placement, which will help us line things up. It also makes it easy to swap out pictures. It's not a great way to hang pictures that are really important. With no glass, they get more UV exposure than is good for them. I only use this on prints that I don't plan to keep more than 5-10 years. Because these are all our pictures, we can easily reprint them as needed.
I'm printing the first set of pictures now. My plan is to test those to see how well the concept works both physically and aesthetically. I'm a little concerned about the ceiling fan blowing them. If it survives the tests, we'll build it out over the course of the next week. I'll post a picture of the final results.