Scrapping Servant

My hope is that this will help more than one of you, but I got the idea from Rebecca (The not so desperate housewife) who commented asking how I decide the size of my photos, and if I already know my layout design before I choose sizes. Here is the method to my madness Becca…

I decide on my picture sizing by picking my main “favorite”, a family shot, or the best of the bunch to make it a 8×10 or 5×7, sometimes I pick two.

Then the “others” end up being smaller sizes but usually all something similar like 2×2’s, 4×3’s, or some of both. The smaller ones give me more choices in photos also because they could be pictures that wouldn’t look good huge or “normal’ size (4×6) anyway, like a close-up on my daughter’s head or a blurry smiley one of my son, you get my drift?

These are the steps I follow that work for me… 

1. I pick my photos (usually all digital) unless I know a family member gave me doubles or memorabilia I know would go with them.
2. I pick 1-3 “favorites” to put them in a folder on my computer marked either 5×7 or 8×10 even though I might choose to make them a 5×5, 4×7 or 7×10.
3. Then I go through the rest that I chose in step 1 and kinda randomly pick their sizes knowing how much room I should have left on my 12×12 if I already have one 4×7 down. And I will put them in a folder marked 4×6 (so I know what size they will get sent to the printers as) but they will be 2×3’s, 4×4’s and so on.
4. I send them to my online printer, crop them when they get here.
5. Then I do a rough layout on two blank white 12×12’s, sometimes I draw a sketch. 
6. I pick my paper, my embellishments and so on, and when I put it my whole layout together my pictures will usually shift a little again to make the colors and shapes on the layout more pleasing to the eye… visual triangles, “color throwing” and such.

There is a pretty good video of a method similar to mine over at paperclipping.com that you could check out if you want…. have a GREAT friday!