Friday for Friends

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 8x10 or 5x7, sometimes I pick two.

Then the "others" end up being smaller sizes but usually all something similar like 2x2's, 4x3'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 (4x6) 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 5x7 or 8x10 even though I might choose to make them a 5x5, 4x7 or 7x10.
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 12x12 if I already have one 4x7 down. And I will put them in a folder marked 4x6 (so I know what size they will get sent to the printers as) but they will be 2x3's, 4x4'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 12x12'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!