Photography is a marvellous way to keep all the memories alive. The camera is with us throughout our lives – we take pictures of our children, It’s there on our wedding day and on every important family occasion. It’s the first we pack when go travelling.
Unfortunately too many of us keep the photos hidden and rarely take a glance at images that bring so many emotions. They are statements of what our lives look like, where we’ve been, what we’ve done, who we love. It doesn’t have to be this way and it seems not only internet or good old photo frames give us a chance to show our photos. There are plenty of original and fun ways to display your photography. Here are few of them:

1. Photo in a (not regular) frame – to get them you might have to order online, but tons of such products might be available nearby in an interior design shop or a photography one. You can find hanging frames, you can hang next to the window; special trays with slots you can insert your photos in a plastic cover and arrange them as you wish, umbrella frames, spider frames, multiframe clock… there are numerous collage photo frames collage photo frameof different designs and sizes – they will allow you to create a beautiful composition of your photos.
2. Photo on your mug – the idea is not fresh, but still serves its best and thanks to new printing techniques instead of blurry images you can have a high-resolution photo on your coffee cup. Not only! Printing services will print whatever you desire on almost anything – you want to have your photo on a t-shirt, on your bag, a tray, on a mouse-pad, wallpaper? You’ve got it.
3. Photo on a canvas – you don’t have to be a professional photographer to really show off with your shots – aesthetics is important in photography, but what is really great about this, is that photos are not only nice images to look at. Once they have a meaning, they depict a significant moment, they have emotions – they are worth showing. So why not pick one you are especially attached to and have it printed on canvas? You’d be surprised – it will look like painted by photorealist. Might suit great in your house or be a very special gift.
4. Photos in your bathroom – why would you limit yourself and hang photos in your living room or a bedroom? Be original and make yourself a gift and surprise the others – get laminated, waterproof photo frames and install them in your bathroom – this could be even under your shower!

Experiment, have fun and don’t forget not to overdose. The one thing about photos is that just as a delicious and rich cake, they shouldn’t be served excessively.

Photographing landscapes requires a different approach than photographing indoors or in a city. To look for a right shots this might lead you to take a trip in search of breath-taking scenery, but the results are really worth it. Here are some tips you want to bear on mind before starting.

Depth of Field

For landscape photography the normal approach is to make sure that as much of your scene is in focus. The best way to do this is to choose a small aperture (a big number) as the smaller your aperture the greater the depth of field in your shots. )

Use a Tripod

Using a tripod can be beneficial for you while shooting landscapes – it will ensure that your camera is still during the complete exposure.

Focal Point

If you don’t choose one, your photos might look empty – a viewer always look for a point on an image his eyes can rest. It could be either a flower in a foreground, a building, an unusual tree etc.
Foreground
Foreground is no less important than the backround – it gives your photo sense of depth and give the viewers a way to look “into” the image

The Sky

If the sky is boring or bland, don’t make it the dominant element of your image. But in many occasions the sky playes the main role – the colours, interesting clouds formations – in those cases the horizon may be lower in the photo.

Movement

Though landscape photography makes you think of still and calm images, there’s always some kind of slight movement you can capture. Either moving clouds, waterfalls, waves or birds – capturing them will add drama and action to your shots and don’t hesitate to photograph them. To do it, you’d need to take a longer shutter speed.

The Weather

Experiment with different weather conditions – a scene can change dramatically depending upon the weather at any given moment. Search for a storms, dark clounds, rainbows, sunsets and sunrises etc

The Golden Hour

Some landscape photographs never shoot during the day – only around the dusk and dawn. Those times the light is best – it can create interesting patterns or shadows. The landscapes come alive then.

Keep your eyes open

You never know when you might be struck with an amazing beauty of landscapes. Slight changes of weather, the light might give you a good chance for a unique shot. Think out of the box and look for original points of focus or perspectives. Go around with your camera as much as possible.

Later…once you have achieved mastery in landscapes photographing use the aesthetic value of them by making gifts of the prints of your photos or decorating your house. Either non-framed large-scale ones or smaller in a collage photo framewill be an original and a beautiful element of your interior.

I visited a house of my friend who is a photographer. In his living room there was a huge collage photo frame. hanging on a wall; filled with amazingly good portraits he took of his friends. They were taken outside of the studio: on the market, in the office, on the street, in the house…While looking at them I was stunned how well he caught not only the looks of those people, but reflected their personalities. Since I am still a newbie in photography, I asked how he did that. He agreed to share some tips of how to take a good portrait:

1. There should always be some characteristic in a portrait –  each photographed person has its own mimics, it’s own expressions which are unique and sometimes last really briefly – it’s not easy to capture “this special moment” in every shot, but keep your eyes open and wait this magical moment to press the shutter.

2. There should be a meaning full story behind the shot. Don’t ask your models to pose – they should be natural, caught in their own life; you may want to interact with them or be invisible voyer, but try to understand the scene and the point of time and the story of a photographed person.

3. Train yourself to choose the right composition while photographing people. It’s not only about the face – sometimes the background and the body language plays as important role in depicting the character. Look for a relevant backround. If it’s disturbing, focus on the person.

4. Avoid using flashes, they not only change the look of the faces, but create less intimate atmosphere. Use natural light – the best during dusk or dawn “the magical hours”.

5. Don’t be afraid to shoot in public. You might feel awkward while photographing strangers without them knowing, but you could go unnoticed. Or simply ask for permission and take pictures of unnamed people while doing their work, waiting, having coffe or just passing by. On many occasions people will feel flattered that you want them to model for you.

All of us experienced the pain of not being able to decide what to get as a gift. No matter if it’s your mother, best friend, or just acquaintance from work, no matter if it’s Christmas, birthday or a wedding, there’s always this dilemma hanging in the air – what to get? In many cases we go for a safe/practical option. But haven’t you yourselves been a victim of such gifts? Plate sets, warm socks, candles, photo album…this makes you think your friends or family have no imagination but it’s your turn you do exactly the same mistake.
Here’s an idea of how, in an easy way create an original gift with a use of a collage photo frame.

It would require knowing the person fairly well. If it’s the member of your family – all you have to do is to look for the right photographs of them. They might be from different periods, different location – make sure they are personal in a way. If you appear on the photos, even better – the composition will be a statement of your relationship with the person. Arrange them in a collage frame – you can order them online or look in an interior design store.

In case you know the one who will be granted the present only slightly, whether it’s a new colleague from work or a friend of a friend, you might still use the idea. Have other’s invited for the celebration to collaborate. It might be a grand concept to have a composition of photos of each of you in one frame. This would be a first step of making a closer friendship to this person. Better yet – you could arrange a special photo-shooting session especially for the purpose which could be a lot of fun.

Such frame will not only be a sentimental and original gift. If you make sure the frame has the right design and matches with the photographs and choose the best images it will also serve a practical and aesthetical purpose once hanged on the wall. And you have it for granted that it won’t be forgotten and when your time comes to receive a present you might get some originality back. Enjoy.

All of us store photographs of our ancestors. When you browse through the family albums you come across images from different times, you see how your family changed over the years. Those photographs sometime are the only thing left after people who lived a long time ago and the only chance to get to know the stories behind them – of your great-grandfather, who crossed the sea or your grandmother’s aunt who was a mother of 9 children. Some faces you recognize, in some you can clearly find a resemblance to your own reflection in the mirror…You might find pictures that were taken during the first years of photography – sepia-toned, a little rusted, portraits of people who lived in a totally different world. Looking at them from the perspective of nowadays’ photography they are unique artworks. And also they are personal, they tell stories, bring back memories.

Such unconventional images shouldn’t be kept hidden. Choose the best and put them in matching frames and arrange them on your walls. It doesn’t matter if your place has a modern look – when you use modern frames, it makes the place look artsy.

Those images might look really good enlarged. You could even go a step further and if your funds allow you, you could hire a graphic designer or an illustrator to work on the photographs to add some colours, modern background, different texture or some graphic elements. This would make it look like an amazing work of art and could be a perfect gift for a member of your family who is a relative of the portrayed person.

Another good tip would be making a collage of such photos. You either choose images from the same period, or create a story of either your whole family or only one member and gather photos of them – showing different moments from their lives. To see how they grew up, got married, grew old…This might be a wonderful journey to the past and a beautiful composition. Use collage photo frame to install them on the walls and enjoy the beauty and private stories kept in those old photographs everyday.

Thanks to new accessible equipment and photo softwares anyone can now create beautiful panoramic images.

Some digital compact cameras are equipped with a panoramic mode – this would help you choose the next frame perfectly, so that it would be the continuation of the previous one and later the image would be processed automatically.
The best option however would definitely be a reflex camera with a tripod – this would allow you to achieve the perfect precision and best quality of photos. The trick is to rotate the camera around the tripod’s axis and taking one shot after another, bearing in mind you’d want each next frame to overlap with the previous one. What needs to be done afterwards is merging the images in photo editing software.

There are some rules regarding the theme of panoramic photos – landscapes in most cases are perfect for this, however make sure there are no dynamic objects in the scenery, the wether is stable and the lighting doesn’t change rapidly – all the shots should have the same exposition parameters.

The photograph you can call panoramic would be the image whose width is at least 3 times longer than its height. In opposition to regular shots they cannot be viewed at one glance, you’d have to scroll to view it on your screen, it would occupy more space on the wall if you decide to make it a part of your interior design. Not to mention that you would need to use professional printing service to have the photo printed in high quality. But the effect will be really worth all the effort. Wondeful city skylines, mountain ranges or high buildings might complement your room with timeless elegance.

Choose good quality frames – you’d probably end up ordering one online or at a specialized shop, because of non-standard dimensions or use a fine glass clip frame. There are some collage frames designed for panoramic images available also – using such would give you an amazing chance to display couple of such images in one frame. Next step would be finding a right location – the wall needs to be spacious enough so the image is well exposed, not squeezed between the table and shelves. That’s why it is essential to measure the space available before printing.

You moved into a new apartment. It’s such a thrill to choose the furniture, the colours you will paint your walls, to shop for accessories that will bring some personal touch and style to your place. After all is done you might still face an issue of how to fill the some blank space on your walls. What you choose to hang there is always some kind of statement, letting your visitors know about your taste and personality.

You don’t have to be a contemporary art collector to dress up your walls with style. There are lots of original ways to do it – here you might find some inspirational ideas:

1. Movie posters – in many cases movie posters are one of the finest examples of graphic design, reflecting the style of a certain decade. Blow up, The crow, Metropolis, Vertigo or Breakfast at Tiffany’s are just few examples of vast selection. You can easily find them online, or take a walk to a fleamarket, you might find maybe even more rare ones.
2. New artists – markets are a good way to fish for artworks by unknown artists. You can come across fresh art that will catch your eye and will match your apartment more than reproductions of Monet or Picasso. Considerably low prices and a chance of making an investment.
3. Photos – either use yours, or look for interesting images on the web – there are plenty young talented photographers who allow use of their works with no commission. Then you would want good prints of those, done by professional service. Put them into regular frames, collage photo frames or glass clip frames. Arranging them on the wall is a great way to express creativity.
4. Prints on canvases – you might want to go a step further with a way to display your photos, or interesting images you want to hang on the wall and have them digitally printed on canvas. They have a professional and really eye-catching look, you will be able to do that with any good printing service.
5. Stencils – this would require either artistic skills to precisely cut out the image or use one of decorative stencils manufacturers available online. And once you have the stencil ready it’s easy, you just stick it on a wall, paint it over, take the stencil away and voila. This will bring to your house a bit of a street-look.
6. Stickers – even easier than stencils, huge decorative self adhesive wall-tatoos look simply amazing. Choose from thousands of designs, different styles, that would suit any room – from your kitchen to your bedroom.
7. Wall papers – last but not least, let’s not forget about traditional way to cover the walls – wallpapers. You’d be surprised what amazing wallpapers are manufactured today. You could mix different textures, colours and designs – remember not to go too wild.

Each new place I visit brings something valuable into my life. I always feel I learn more and evolve as a person while travelling. All the new views, smells and thoughts come to my mind and leave me in a great awe of how diversed our world is. Such encounters seem to empty my mind from all the problems that seemed vague back at home and I feel incredibly free and inspired. The one small problem I always faced was dealing with a fact that it’s not possible to share all of it with the loved ones back home. Breathtaking views, challenging situations, strange encounters. How many times I thought: how I wish he/she was here.

I take pictures and show them after returning. I write notes – I’ve thought I’d publish them one day so finally everyone would get a clue of what it felt like being there.
I write emails…But somehow I felt always lacked a good medium of sharing my travelling experiences in a more profound way.
Until one day, when I realized someone was experiencing my trips with almost equal excitement, joy and pride. I came to my aunt’s home – I haven’t seen her in years. At her age she decided she wouldn’t even bother with internet communication and ever since her hearing became weak I thought we kind of lost contact. I sent her postcards though. I thought she’d keep them in a drawer…
When I met her, accidently enough it turned out that she is the one who was the most fascinated and eager to listen and discuss my trips. All because of the postcards. I kept a short list of people I would send them to from each new city or country I lay my feet. She was among them. With excitement she showed me a photo album with the postcards from me, neatly organized, dating 15 years back. She started asking questions about little details I wrote there, I myself almost forgot about…It felt incredible, reading those short notes and looking at images of the places that left a mark in my heart forever. But the best part was seeing her happiness while browsing the album, as if she knew all of the postcards by heart, as if she had done it hundreds of times already. As if she was there with me.

Finally she showed me a huge collage picture frame on the wall – filled with some of the nicest looking ones. Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Cape Town…She was proud of it and proud of me.
- Oh, I should visit you more often – I said before leaving. She hugged me and said:
- But if you didn’t travel how would I see the world?
I hope the beautiful tradition of sending postcards will never die and I will also be a lucky one to receive a breeze from a distant lands from someone I love straight from my mailbox.

Have you ever thought of adding some flavour to your apartment but couldn’t figure out how or just lacked the sufficient funds to shop for fancy accessories?

Changing your living space is always a challenging task, especially if you are limited with your budget.  However there are some easy to do and affordable tricks to change the ambience of your room and by doing so add some freshness to your life.

Sometimes even minor changes might create a new look. You don’t have to buy new furniture or repaint the walls.

A new fancy lamp or designer’s chairs would be something, but it is definitely not a must to spend a lot. Be creative – shop for fabrics in oriental shops and later use them as new curtains or a sofa cover.

Go to the nearest fleamarket and look for cheap art – it’s amazing what original and wonderful artworks you might discover there. Old movie posters, map prints, old photos or self made paintings or drawings by young artists – this might be a good investment too, all of them on your walls would look more original and perhaps  be more interesting visually as a concept than hanging a reproduction of Monet or Van Gogh. Fleamarkets are also perfect places to find vintage lamps, mirrors, candle holders – as a matter of fact all you can imagine.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with paint yourself, use stencils or go all the way and with use of cheaper than oil, acrylic paint and blank canvases create your own art.

Look for interesting photos and buy or make colourful frames with unique designs and make your own photo exhibition. Use collage photo frames – it’s a brilliant idea to change the look of the walls and display photos.
Add colour – if you want to change the palette of your environment, you don’t have to paint the walls anew – curtains or cushions plus sets of frames or candle holders of the same colour will be sufficient if you dream of a colour touch in your room.

It’s good to do some proper research and look for inspiration in magazines or online.  Take your time and don’t pressure yourself, visit your friend’s houses and look around, don’t hesitate for ask for suggestions. With time you might discover you are more experienced in interior design and then you’ll be ready to intuitively implement changes in your apartment. Follow your intuition then. Your room is not a display, remember it’s your living space and it must be functional, that’s why be aware of the aesthetic part of the project as well as the practical one. Once you applied new ideas you’ll see that the change of the space has brought a new flavour to your life.

Wedding is an occasion that happens once in a lifetime, it needs a great amount of planning ahead – everything needs to be perfect – the dress, the reception, invitations, the menu, the music. One essential part that is sometimes neglected is planning how this important event will be recorded and photographed.

To make it right on this special day and have images that you will come back to over and over again, follow the guidelines below

Make sure you get the right man – the best way to judge is looking at the portfolio and references of the photographer. No matter how you trust your brother’s artistic skills it will be a better idea to use a professional, because there won’t be a chance to have a second try! It’s always good when you find a person who not only produce terrific shots but who also makes you feel comfortable – you want to be natural while photographed on that special day and be able to show your emotions of joy and pride without thinking that there is a stranger following your every step with a camera.

Be inventive – even if the photographer is experienced one and already has some suggestions of locations, set-ups, or the poses, remember this is your day and the images will remain important for the next generations to come, so don’t hesitate to implement your own ideas. Wether you decide to have a photo-shoot in a discrete park, a busy street or on the top of the roof, it’s mostly up to you and your significant one. If you want to be natural and have fun and lie on the grass or ride bicycles, rather than do stiff posing, don’t think twice before doing this. Follow your intuition and make sure the pics will depict not only beauty of your dress, but also the personalities of both you and you as a couple. It’s always a good idea to use accessories or play roles – pose in front of a vintage car handling guns like Bonnie and Clyde, play with balloons, use music instruments, whatever comes to your mind.

Let your loved ones join – it’s all about you the two of you, but don’t forget after many years you’ll be pleased to see happy faces of members of your family or friends on the same photograph with you. And they would be honoured as well.

Keep the photos alive – this might be the most important tip, because far too often wedding photographs end up hidden in the drawers. Make sure you have them uploaded on one of the photo-hosting providers on the internet, so you can share them with friends from far away, but also take time to find a right way to display them in your house. You could use one of the huge selection of collage photo frames and make a composition of the best shots and hang them on a special place in your living room or your bedroom. You could also use different frames of the same colour and arrange them on your wall. One way or another, don’t let them be forgotten, having a look at wedding pictures once in a while is a good way to refresh the feelings for your other half.