I love the expression “go big or go home”. I’ll be honest, I like to apply it whenever possible. And when it comes portrait prints, it could be be more appropriate.
I was recently introduced to a general rule of portrait prints which says that faces should be at least 80% of life-size in the portrait. Now obviously no one expects you to do the math to figure out that exact size. But, hey, I can get you started on it.
So for example, my head is about 9 inches tall. Based on the 80% rule, my head should be at least 7.2 inches in print. So what does that mean?
That means that an image which is a tight shot of only my head could be an 8X10 and look great. But that if I have multiple people in the image, an 8X10 is just too small to do anyone justice. See the example below of a framed and matted 8X10.
Clearly an 8X10 is just not large enough to showcase your family on the wall. But surely a 16X20 is a good size, right? Maybe so depending on the use. On a photo wall display like the one in the first part of this series, two 16X20s looks perfect surrounding a 20X30. And depending on your wall and room, when properly framed and matted, it could very well stand alone as you can see here.
But look at how the photo becomes a show stopper when you do the same for a 20X30 print. There is no denying that when you go big, your precious memory becomes a work of art in your home. Go big or go home. . .
XOXO
PS: Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for small prints too. Stay tuned for small print ideas. . .
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