You’ve invested time and money in having your family’s portraits taken. But choosing which images to display may cause you to freeze with indecision and leave them all on your hard drive.

Nothing makes us happier than seeing pictures of our loved ones, so follow these simple tips to quickly choose your images and get them printed for the whole family to enjoy!

Narrow your images down to your very favorites.

If you work with me, a Seattle area family photographer, to capture your family’s photos, you will receive a large gallery of digital images. I believe you shouldn't have to pick and choose which images to purchase. I want you to have all the special moments we capture together.

When you first receive your family photos, download your images (and back them up), then pull your favorite pictures into a separate folder on your computer. While it’s nice to have a lot of pictures to choose from, it helps to narrow down your favorites so you aren’t going through all your images over and over again to find the ones you love.

Choose unique or unexpected “poses” when printing your pictures for display.

When deciding on your favorite family photos, don’t just choose the perfectly posed images of everyone looking at the camera. From generations past, we have been conditioned to play it safe with classic/traditional portraits on our walls. However, if you want your gallery wall to make a statement, stand out as art, and feel engaging to those who view it, instead choose pictures that show your family members engaged with one another. Consider which images make you feel something, show genuine connection between family members, and make you smile when you look at them. Those are the keepers.

Family playing on docks at Waverly Park beach, family posing ideas, Cloudy sunset session

Children, siblings at Waverly park beach during a cloudy sunset family photo session

As humans, we appreciate a good story, one that draws us in with emotion and connection - a mother’s gentle touch, the relationship between siblings, or the connection the whole family feels when they are having fun together. Choose images that tell the viewer a little more about your family.

Worry less about making sure each and every family member is displayed equally and more about the important relationships and connections within your family. Is your daughter a daddy’s girl? Does your youngest look up to their eldest sibling? Do you want to honor where the family began with a picture of you and your spouse alone together? Focus on the relationships that define your family rather than the individual family members.

Consider how your grouping of family pictures will look together.

Include variety within your overall gallery wall composition. Your pictures will be more interesting and engaging to look at as a grouping if you include not only close up images, but also pulled back showing scenery or sense of place. The juxtaposition of both the details as well as the whole picture will provide depth to your display.

After you have chosen your pictures, place them so the viewer’s eye circles around between the images and doesn’t wander off. I learned this rule of thumb in my high school yearbook staff days. Your picture display will feel more cohesive and like a grouping if the people within your images are facing inwards. Meaning if the people in your picture are facing towards the left, place that picture on the right side of your grouping and vice versa.

Summer family photo session by SHG Photography

Finally, be sure the size of pictures you print matches the amount of available wall space. Two common faux pas when hanging wall art? The first, creating a tiny art island in a sea of empty wall space (too small). The second, hanging a piece so high that people need a stepladder to see it. Your prints should be large enough that people can see your imagery without having to stand right up next to it and be hung at a comfortable eye level. Bigger (and generally fewer) images have a clean, upscale appearance and look less cluttered.

A final word of advice for your gallery wall? Print your images and enjoy!

Ultimately, the most important thing is to get those pictures printed and up on your walls. The wonderful thing about prints is they can be changed. Don’t spend too much time worrying over whether you have selected the perfect pictures, but instead (cheesy as it sounds), lead with your heart. Seeing pictures every day of your family loving on each other will be the ultimate payoff.

Need updated pictures of your loved ones? Reach out to book a family photo session!