Image by A writer afoot
If you’ve just moved to university, or moved into your latest student digs, the likelihood is that you’ve spent the last several weeks partying. Now the dust is beginning to settle you’ve probably looked around your room and thought ‘it really is a tip in here’.
It’s time to clean up, get studying and get back to the daily grind. Most uni rooms are pretty unattractive: slightly damp,minimal décor, wallpaper peeling-you know the score.
So what better way to brighten it up and remind yourself of all those partying memories than with a photo collage? Here’s how to make the perfect one.
Choosing The Photos
Thanks to Facebook most students have a massive archive of photos at their disposal. Our every move is now documented by social media- but they’re not doing any good stored away on your computer!
• When selecting your photos you want to get a good mix.Try to make sure that all of the people who are important to you make it into at least one photo. Some favourites are friends, family, pets and partners.
• It’s also a good idea to go for lots of different styles of photos such as black and white, portrait, landscape and silhouette as it adds interest and means that from every angle you will get a different perception.
•You don’t have to stick to photos of friends and family. You can include anything that makes you happy such as pictures of your home, views or nature.
Getting Good Quality Prints
Good quality prints are essential for a stunning photo collage. This means investing in the right printing supplies. Here are some things to consider:
•The printer you use can make a big difference to the quality of the photos. Ok, so you might not have been banking on investing in a new printer just for your collage, but it is a good investment if you will be printing photos a lot. Which recommends ink jet printers for printing images.
•The paper you use will also have an effect on what your photos look like. Higher-quality paper with have higher-quality results. Whether you go for gloss or matte depends on what look your after- many people feel that matte makes images clearer as it doesn’t have a reflection.
•Some paper is artificially whitened, which can yellow over time changing the look of your photos. To avoid this choose a paper that doesn’t contain artificial whiteners. If the paper is very white on the printable side but not on the other side it has probably been artificially whitened.
It’s Time To Get Creative
Laying out your collage is when you really get to have fun.Unleash your inner artist and get creative. Use a large piece of coloured card as a backing, and get out all of your photos. Spend some time moving them around; which colours look good together? Which images complement each other?
You may want to arrange your photos in a scatter effect, with no real reason behind the placing except the effect of colours and what works well were. Alternatively, you may wish to arrange them in a formal shape such as a heart, or group them in specific sections such as landscapes, friends and family.
Once you have settled on the layout you can decorate your collage. Head to an art shop and buy lots of decorative items such as shells, glitter and ribbon to jazz up the edge of your backing. You could even ‘frame’ the photographs with different materials- whatever you fancy!
A photo collage is the perfect way to decorate your uni room. Not only is quick and easy but you can do it on a budget too!
Have you got any tips for making a collage to share? Let us know in the comments.
