You have your gorgeous family photos, now what are you going to do with them? Of course you will probably show off the "web ready" images on any social media platforms you love, share them with friends and family and make sure they're backed up on your computer but don't forget to get them up in your home - your family should see them every day - surround yourself with your love.
I firmly believe your photos should be printed, and not just the professionally taken ones; although they are a good place to start, you've spent all that money on preserving the memories, now show them off where they'll be seen every day and make you smile, laugh and/or cry all over again.
Don't let them be forgotten on a hard drive somewhere, put it to the top of the list (and let me help if it's too daunting a task) and let those images out! I know how it is, you plan to print them and suddenly it's been months (*cough* years) and you just never get round to it. I'm guilty. I didn't print any photos of my kids for about two years, I desperately need to update our gallery wall in the dining room and I know once I do, I will love it all over again, even more!
Of course, I'll keep a few of those baby ones but plan to have some more pre-school adventures up there too, including some of my all time favourite images (which will no doubt change as I take hundreds more).
Anyway, as for my 5 ideas for what to do with your prints, here they are - all as they're displayed in my own home. Various rooms showing various layouts or ideas on how you can make the most of your investment and get those photos on display!
1 - Gallery wall
As I mentioned above, something to keep updating as the years pass, this is a great way to show off family life. Whether you use identical frames (as I did with our honeymoon safari photos in our old flat - see tip 5) or mismatched ones, as long as they are neatly spaced out, it looks great!
Here I've used a varied assortment in a random (but carefully planned) layout in our dining room. I used many different styles of frame from plain to ornate but only black and white to tie it all together and I love how they stand out against my olive green wall.
2 - One big statement piece.
I have a 1m wide canvas of one of my favourite landscape photos up in our hallway which I love and makes a great impact as you walk in the house.
I also have a fairly large framed print of the twins (taken on one of my own family sessions by the talented Laura Aziz) on another wall at the bottom of the stairs which is directly opposite our front door, a lovely way to be greeted as I walk in.
There's another large piece of wall decor (a weatherproof option) in our bathroom showing the kids having fun with the shower in the very room it was taken. And another canvas in our main bathroom of the jetty and island we got engaged on in the Maldives! Our home really does tell the story of our lives together and I love that so much.
3 - A multi-aperture frame
When you just can't decide which ones to frame, go multi! These two examples are samples I had printed and framed for an exhibition I was part of, to show off two different family sessions with the stories flowing through the frames. I offer both of these frames as add-ons to my packages.
4 - A collection of frames on a windowsill or shelf
I also love this collection of three on a windowsill by our stairs which were from a local Homewares store, Into Mills and a cute little shop in Cheltenham called Vinegar Hill.
5 - As a set
You could make a smaller set such as a group of two, three or five to have a few more on display together but without a full on gallery wall.
I have taken the 9 safari images I had filling a wall in Glasgow and now have 5 of them along our upstairs landing and another four together in Nik's study.
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