Memories of a Lifetime
A Lifetime of Memories
Large montages are a popular way to memorialize a loved one.
This type of project is a good way to bring together in one place any collection of photos you have. It presents a coherent story better than a wall full of individual frames, gets pictures out of albums and on the wall, and saves a lot of room on that wall too. It works well for memorials, events of all kinds, vacation memories, the family album, etc.
It would also work very well as a lobby display for a business's reception area.
Tim
This montage is sized for a 24 X 18 inch frame.
The central portrait is 8 X 10 inches.
The surrounding photos are all sized for common frames,
and were delivered as separate files, in addition to the collage file.
Each of the pictures got considerable retouching, but the end result is very satisfying.
Dorothy
This montage is sized for a 16 X 20 inch frame.
The center portrait is 8 X 12 inches.
The extended length allowed room for the text without overlapping her necklace.
The other photos are all sized 'to fit'.
The center image overlaps the corner images.
This gives it a bit of extra attention,
and with proper layout the covered areas aren't critical to those images.
Mac
This montage is also sized for a 16 X 20 inch frame.
The central portrait is 10 wide X 8 high.
This is contrary to normal practice for portraits of an individual,
but it works in this instance because there is so much around it to contain it.
The other photos are all sized 'to fit'.
For A Family Reunion
This montage is also sized for a 16 X 20 inch frame.
The top group is 10 X 8.
Two of the smaller images are collages.
One of the family photos needed extensive retouching.
Some thoughts about this type of project:
These montages were all a huge amount of work, and therefore correspondingly expensive. The individual images got a lot of attention, and the layouts and backgrounds are all fully custom.
With some careful planning on your part, the time and work involved can be much more reasonable. In addition, we are developing a set of montage templates to simplify the whole process, and bring the cost to more attainable levels. Check back for new additions.
Consider the distance and height that the picture will be viewed from. Close in and eye-level will allow the montage to be smaller, while larger frames first noticed from further away 'invite' the viewer to come closer for a better look.
Avoid the natural desire to make the images as large as possible -
so large that the overall montage crowds right up to the frame's edge.
About 1 inch of just background around the edge will result in a montage that fits 'comfortably' in its frame,
... unless really-crowded-in-with-lots-of-overlaps is the look you're going for!
Lastly, I can say from personal experience that a memorial montage on this scale takes a lot of time and planning, and a lot of collaboration. Begin it ahead of time if you can, or take it on after you've had some time to grieve. If we're doing it ahead of time and you wish to include life dates, we'd be happy to work on it up to the point where including the final date is all that is required, and then finish and deliver it at the last minute for you. A 'rush' central portrait for a memorial service as a separate project is not unreasonable, and can be included later as part of a montage that will be correspndingly cheaper.
